I. Introduction to Arguments What an argument is An argument consists of a set of premises that gives us reason to believe that a conclusion is true.

1. Socrates is a man. 2. All men are mortal. 3. Socrates is mortal. Premises (1, 2) give us reason to believe that the Conclusion (3) is true.

What is above the line (1 and 2) are the remise(s). What is belo! the line (3) is the conclusion. "he remises are the reasons for believing the conclusion is true. What an argument is not "he !ord #argument$ it is often used in %nglish to include& a. A firml' stated o inion (is argument is that Smith should be in the (all of )ame. (is argument is that *ush is a great resident. b. A firml' stated fact +' argument is that !e$re in )lorida. c. A firml' stated falsehood (is argument is that %lvis lives. d. A shouting match "he' had a huge argument last night, "hese are erfectl' legitimate uses of the term #argument. *ut none of these are A-./+%0"S as hiloso hers use the term. Threats & Bribes A threat& *elieve this or 1$ll fire 'ou, A bribe& *elieve this and 1$ll give 'ou lots of mone', A bad argument about arguments& 2"hreats and bribes are arguments because the' give 'ou reason to believe something. And that$s !hat arguments do. "he 2Socrates3 argument gives 'ou reason to believe that Socrates is mortal.3 "he difference bet!een arguments and threats 4 bribes& Arguments give 'ou reason to believe something is true. "hreats and bribes give 'ou a reason 5 in the sense of a motive 5 to believe something. (er argument is that the moon orbits the %arth.

1. Socrates is a man. 2. All men are mortal. 3. Socrates is mortal. 1. 1f 'ou don$t believe 1$m great, 1$ll flun6 'ou. 2. 7ou don$t !ant me to flun6 'ou. 3. 1$m great.

Premises (1, 2) give us reason to believe that the Conclusion (3) is true. "he reasons (1, 2) don$t give us an' reason to believe that (3) is true. "he' do give us a MOTIVE to believe (3).

How to identify arguments 8oo6 for a C90C8/S190 first& 1s there a thesis that the assage is attem ting to convince 'ou of: 8oo6 for P-%+1S%S& Are there reasons given for the conclusion: -easons for thin6ing that the conclusion IS TRUE: Argument Identification Problems & Which are arguments: Which are not: %;P8A10, 1f the moon is made of green cheese, then there are mice on the moon. "he moon is made of green cheese. "herefore, there are mice on the moon. 1 solemnl' s!ear to tell the truth, the !hole truth, and nothing but the truth. -as berr' Sur rise 1ce Cream has big chun6s of real fruit, What a combination, -ich ice cream !ith delicious fruit< it$s m' all=time favorite ice cream. Cand' Puffs is a nutritious cereal. After all, +ichael >ordan a ears in Cand' Puffs advertisements, and he is certainl' health'< so Cand' Puffs must be nutritious. 1n order to ma6e 'our com uter roduce high=?ualit' gra hics 'ou must have the right soft!are, lus a gra hics card< 'ou !ill also need a rinter that has the ca acit' to rint in man' sha es and shades. 1n fact, a color rinter !or6s best. 1 hereb' leave m' boo6s, m' com uter, and m' bottle ca collection to m' cousin, because of all m' relatives he is the one !ho has been 6indest to me. "he team !ith the best itching al!a's !ins the World Series. So the 0e! 7or6 +ets !ill !in the World Series, since the +ets have the best itching. Could 'ou give me a ride to the air ort: +' lane leaves in @A minutes, and m' car has a flat tire and 1 can$t afford to ta6e a cab. 7ou gu's charged too much for fiBing m' car. 1t onl' needed ne! s ar6 lugs, !hich are fairl' ineB ensive and are eas' to install. So 1 don$t thin6 1 should have to a' this outrageous re air bill. 1 am not a'ing that re air bill, 1 ma' have to hire a la!'er, 1 ma' have to call the state attorne' general$s office, ma'be m' credit rating !ill be ruined, erha s the'$ll sue me. 1 don$t care !hat ha ens< 1$m still not a'ing, "hree reliable !itnesses sa! the defendant in 0e! 7or6 Cust one hour before the murder too6 lace in 8os Angeles. "here$s no !a' the defendant could be guilt' of the murder, then. *esides, the defendant had no reason to 6ill the gu' 5 the' !ere good friends.

Questions and Problems What$s an argument: What$s the difference bet!een a threat and an argument: .ive an eBam le of each. What$s the difference bet!een a bribe and an argument: .ive an eBam le of each. Argument identifications.

II. Arguments: The

ood! The Bad! The "gly # And $%erything In Between

There is a wide s&ectrum in the 'uality of arguments. "errific .ood 9D Wea6 *ad Atrocious

What ma(es an argument a good one) %ver'one !ith initials +.A.*. is erfect. 1 have initials +.A.*. EEE "herefore, 1 am erfect. Problem& "he first remise is false. 1n order for an argument to be a good one, A88 the remises must be true (or at the ver' least lausible). Some roses are red. Some violets are blue. EEE "herefore, 1 am erfect. Problem& "he remises of this argument don$t su conclusion is true. ort the conclusion. "he' don$t give us an' reason to believe the

An argument *regardless of what it is about+ is a good argument only if *,+ all the &remises are true *or at least &lausible+! and *-+ the &remises su&&ort the conclusion *they gi%e us reason to thin( that the conclusion is true+. 09"% the var'ing ?ualit' of arguments (not Cust good vs. bad)& Premises can be more or less lausible 5 so an argument is stronger to the eBtent its remises are more lausible. And remises can give more or less su ort to a conclusion 5 so an argument is stronger to the eBtent its remises su ort the conclusion. It is harder to construct a good argument for a &osition than to successfully critici.e an argument: 1n order to successfull' construct a good argument, 'ou must do both (1) and (2). *ut in order to successfull' criticiFe someone$s argument, 'ou onl' need to sho! that (1) is false or that (2) is false. *ut 'ou don$t have to do both (though, of course, 'ou can). Arguments and /ational Belief .ood arguments give 'ou good reasons to believe something. *ad arguments don$t give 'ou good reasons to believe something. *ut good arguments can lead to false conclusions. *ad arguments can lead to true conclusions. $0ercises& 1. Come u !ith a bad argument in !hich at least one remise is im lausible, but the conclusion is true. 2. Come u !ith a bad argument in !hich the remises don$t su ort the conclusion, but the conclusion is true.

3. Come u !ith a good argument in !hich the conclusion is false. ("his !ill be the hardest. "he tric6& Come u !ith an argument in !hich the remises are lausible G ma6e the conclusion ver' li6el', but the conclusion is still false.) Arguments and Intellectual Honesty Su ose 'ou have a et belief. *ut 'ou find& 0o good reasons to acce t 'our et belief. .ood reasons for reCecting 'our et belief and believing something else. As an intellectuall' honest erson, !hat should 'ou do: "here are a number of different !a's to revise 'our beliefs& H 8ess confidence in et belief. Continue loo6ing for good arguments. H *ecome an 2agnostic3 b' refusing to ta6e a stand on the issue. H .ive u et belief in favor of belief !ith good reasons in its favor. A Plausible Principle& 9ne must be more !illing to attend to reasons and change one$s mind in the face of reasons to the eBtent that the issue in ?uestion is li6el' to lead to grave conse?uences. Questions & $0ercises 1. .ive an eBam le of a good argument !ith a false conclusion and a bad argument !ith a true conclusion. 2. What are the t!o !a's to sho! that an argument is a bad argument: .ive one eBam le of an argument that fails in each of those !a's (but not the other). 3. 1f given an argument, identif' remises G conclusion. @. 1f given an argument, determine !hether remises su ort conclusion. (o! !ell: