Basic Terms of Logic

Peter Suber, Philosophy Department, Earlham College

There are many definitions of logic as a field of study. One handy definition for Day One of an introductory course like this is that logic is the study of argument. For the purposes of logic, an argument is not a quarrel or dispute, but an example of reasoning in which one or more statements are offered as support, justification, grounds, reasons, or evidence for another statement. The statement being supported is theconclusion of the argument, and the statements that support it are the premises of the argument. Studying argument is important because argument is the way we support our claims to truth. It is tempting to say that arguments establish the truth of their conclusions. But the study of logic forces us to qualify this statement. Arguments establish the truth of conclusions relative to some premises and rules of inference. Logicians do not care whether arguments succeed psychologically in changing people's minds or convincing them. The kinks and twists of actual human reasoning are studied by psychology; the effectiveness of reasoning and its variations in persuading others are studied by rhetoric; but the correctness of reasoning (the validity of the inference) is studied by logic. To assess the worth of an argument, only two aspects or properties of the argument need be considered: the truth of the premises and the validity of the reasoning from them to the conclusion. Of these, logicians study only the reasoning; they leave the question of the truth of the premises to empirical scientists and private detectives. An argument is valid if the truth of its premises guarantees the truth of its conclusion; or if the conclusion would necessarily be true on the assumption that all the premises were true; or if it is impossible for the conclusion to be false and all the premises true at the same time; or if the conclusion can be deduced from the premises in accordance with certain valid rules. It turns out that all these formulations are equivalent. (The last formulation is that of syntactic validity, the rest are formulations of semantic validity.) If an argument is not valid, it is invalid. Note that only arguments can be valid or invalid, not statements. Similarly, only statements can be true or false, not arguments. Validity pertains to reasoning, not propositions, while truth pertains to propositions, not reasoning. The first fundamental principle of logic is the independence of truth and validity. When the reasoning in an argument is valid and all its premises are true, then it is called sound. Otherwise the argument is unsound. If an argument is sound, then its conclusion must be true and we would be illogical to disbelieve it.

An argument is deductive if the premises claim to give conclusive grounds for the truth of the conclusion, or if the premises claim to support the conclusion with necessity. An argument is inductive if it makes the milder claim that its premises support but do not guarantee its conclusion. The black and white categories of validity and invalidity apply only to deductive arguments; inductive arguments are strong or weak. In a valid deductive argument with all true premises, the truth of the conclusion is necessary and its falsehood is impossible. In a strong inductive argument with all true premises, the truth of the conclusion is merely probable and its falsehood merely improbable. The kind of support that valid deductions provide their conclusions is not a matter of degree; it is "all or nothing". But the kind of support that strong inductions provide their conclusions is a matter of degree; it is "more or less". The conclusion of a valid deduction never contains more information than was contained the premises; the conclusion of an induction always does. That is why deductions possess certainty (they never tell us anything new) and why inductions are always uncertain in some degree. Do not confuse inductions with bad deductions. The difference between deduction and induction is not the difference between good and bad reasoning, but between two ways to support the truth of conclusions. Deduction is the subject of a rigorous exact science; induction, unfortunately, is not. A fallacy is a bad method of argument, whether deductive or inductive. Arguments can be "bad" (or unsound) for several reasons: one or more of their premises may be false, or irrelevant, or the reasoning from them may be invalid, or the language expressing them may be ambiguous or vague. There are certainly an infinity of bad arguments; there may even be an infinity of ways of arguing badly. The namefallacy is usually reserved for typical faults in arguments that we nevertheless find persuasive. Studying them is therefore a good defense against deception.

Logical Arguments: Introduction to Logic, Arguments, Reasoning

What is an argument? What are logical fallacies? In order to debate well and think critically, we need the proper skills. Whether reading advertising, listening to politicians, buying a used car, or considering arguments for religion, we need to know how to carefully examine what is being said and consider the validity of the content or structure. Introduction to Logic & Arguments: What is Logic? What is an Argument? The term 'logic' is used quite a lot, but not always in its technical sense. Logic, strictly speaking, is the science or study of how to evaluate arguments and reasoning. Logic is what allows us to distinguish correct reasoning from poor reasoning. Logic is important because it helps us reason correctly - without correct reasoning, we don't have a viable means for knowing the truth or arriving at sound beliefs. Why is Logic Important? Logical Arguments, Reasoning, and Critical Thinking Why bother to learn more about logic and arguments? Does it really matter and does it really help anyone? As a matter of fact, yes it does - and there are several good reasons to take the time to learn more about both topics. The most immediate and obvious benefit from such a study is that it can allow you to improve the quality of the arguments you use.

What is an Argument? Understanding Premises, Inferences, and Conclusions When a lot of discussion consists of people creating and critiquing specific arguments, it is helpful to understand just what an argument is and what an argument is not. Sometimes an argument is seen merely as a verbal fight, but that is not what is meant in these discussions. Sometimes a person thinks they are offering an argument when all they are actually providing is assertions. What is NOT an Argument? Differentiating Arguments from Hypotheticals,... We've just seen a description of what an argument is and why, so now may be a good time to take a look at some things which are not arguments. Premises, propositions and conclusions - the pieces of arguments - may usually be easy to spot. But arguments themselves aren't always so easy, and very often people will offer things which they claim are... Critiquing Arguments: How To Tell When Arguments Are Valid And/Or Sound Assuming that we have established that we have an actual argument, the next step is to examine it for validity. There are two points on which an argument might fail: its premises or its inferences. Because of this, it is necessary to distinguish between valid arguments and sound arguments. What are Definitions? Defining 'Definition' Because the Definition of Terms Matters in Debates It may be true that defining key terms and concepts is important to the start of any productive argument, but not all definitions are the same. Most logic texts list five different types of definitions which people might use. This can give the impression that the matter is pretty well settled, but it's not. In fact, the assumption that the matter is settled is part of what gives rise to debates about the nature of definitions every so often. What is a Fallacy? Understanding Defective Arguments Fallacies are defects in an argument - other than false premises - which cause an argument to be invalid, unsound or weak. Fallacies can be separated into two general groups: formal and informal. A formal fallacy is a defect which can be identified merely be looking at the logical structure of an argument rather than any specific statements. What is an Explanation? Explanations are not Arguments An explanation is not an argument. Whereas an argument is a series of statements designed to support or establish the truth of an idea, an explanation is a series of statements designed to shed light on some event that is already accepted as a matter of fact. Agreement and Disagreement: Why It Is Important To Understand the Nature of Disagreement When people argue about something, it is because they disagree. If they already agreed, they probably wouldn't be offering arguments for or against anything. Unfortunately, when people are in the midst of a disagreement, it isn't always clear to them or to others just what they are disagreeing about. Figuring out where the actual disagreement lies and where potential agreement might exist can be very helpful. Theoretical Definitions: Constructing a 'Theory' About the Nature of a Concept If a definition is supposed to help us better understand a concept, theoretical definitions are those which do the most heavy work in that regard. Lexical definitions try to help us understand how a concept is used, but theoretical definitions try to help us understand how a concept is and should be used in all cases. Theoretical definitions occur whenever we try to characterize all entities or examples of a particular type thing or concept... Stipulative Definitions: Arbitrary Definitions for New Concepts We have a stipulative definition any time a word is being defined for the first time or in a brand new way. Stipulative definitions are in a sense completely arbitrary this means that they are basically non-binding proposals which no one needs to assent to. Precising Definitions: Limited Definitions to Reduce Vagueness in Specific Contexts Although a good lexical definition should reduce the ambiguity inherent in a term, it cannot reduce the terms vagueness. For that, we need to move to a precising definition (also sometimes called an explicative definition). Lexical Definitions: Explaining How a Word is Used In General Contexts Most of the time when encountering a definition, we are looking at a lexical definition. A lexical definition (sometimes also called a reportive definition) is any definition which explains how a word isactually used - it is thus distinct from stipulative definitions which simply propose a possible way to use a word and which may or may not be accepted. Therefore, lexical definitions are capable of being true or false, of being accurate or inaccurate. Persuasive Definitions: Using Definitions to Pesuade Others to Accept a Claim

Whenever a definition is offered for the purpose of influencing a persons attitude or feelings towards the subject in question, we are dealing with a persuasive definition. As should be obvious from the name, the whole point is to 'persuade' rather than simply explain or clarify - for that reason, persuasive definitions often arent considered entirely honest because they mask what they are really doing. Argument Clinic: What is an Argument? What is not an Argument? Everyone thinks they know what an argument is, but in reality too few genuinely understand what a logical argument is and what it is not. If you don't understand what an argument is, you won't understand when someone is making a genuine, legitimate argument or something much weaker that only looks like an argument. You also won't be able to...