- The premises are plausible.
- The premises are more plausible than the conclusion.
- The argument is valid or strong
A strong/weak argument is an argument that somehow has true premises but a false conclusion.
The conclusion is the judgment of the premises.
Here is an example of an argument that is good:
-Lizards are reptiles. reptiles are vertebrates. So lizards are vertebrates.
Analysis As we can see, both of the premises are true, because everyone knows lizards are reptiles and that reptiles fall in the category of vertebrates, which makes the conclusion true. In order words, because people know that the premises are true, it leads them to believe that the conclusion is right. The argument is valid because both premises and the conclusion are true.
I really, really enjoyed your example. Your argument follows a line of reasoning that is support by fact which strengthens the plausibility of your premises. Your example also enforces the idea that strong argument has a bigger impact because of its simplicity.And…although I’m not a big fan of lizards, the imagery of your subject allowed me to see them in the projected stages of lizard, reptile and vertebrae. Your example helped me understand the concept of a good argument and provided clarity on the criteria for making a good argument. Great example, I wish I had thought of it.
ReplyDeleteGood job with coming up with an interesting example. I agree with your analysis about your argument. There is no possible way that the conclusion is false while the premise is true. Your premises and conclusion are plausible, and your argument is valid. You said, “everyone knows lizards are reptiles and reptiles fall in the category of vertebrates”, which gives plausibility to your premise. You conclusion was very logical and could not have been false because of your well-written premises. Overall, your argument's analysis was a good, clear, simple and logical example of how to test whether or not an argument is good.
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