Arguments Minds and Machines Arguments When people think

Arguments Minds and Machines

Arguments • When people think of an argument, they usually think of a fight between two people (‘they’re having an argument’). • In contrast, in philosophy, an argument is a piece of reasoning for the truth of a certain claim. Thus, one person can give an argument for or against something.

Premises and Conclusion • An argument has any number of supporting claims, and 1 supported claim. • The supporting claims are the premises of the argument. • The supported claim is the conclusion. • Example: ‘We shouldn’t get pepperoni on the pizza, because pepperoni makes me sick. ’ – 1 premise: ‘Pepperoni makes me sick’ – conclusion: ‘We shouldn’t get pepperoni on the pizza’

Validity and Soundness • A good argument needs to satisfy 2 criteria: – 1. The conclusion should follow from the premises; the truth of the premises should make the conclusion (likely to be) true – 2. The premises should be acceptable; the premises should (likely to be) true • An argument is valid if it satisfies the first criterion. Otherwise, it is invalid. • An argument is sound if it satisfies both criteria. Otherwise, it is unsound.

Deduction and Induction • A deductive argument is one where the truth of the conclusion is (claimed to be) guaranteed by the truth of the premises. – Mathematics is deductive • An inductive argument is one where the truth of the conclusion is (claimed to be) more likely given the truth of the premises. – Science (and most of real life) is inductive