Logical Reasoning Chapter 1

What do arguments consist of?

Arguments consist of premises and a conclusion.

What is the goal when evaluating arguments?

The goal is to distinguish good arguments from bad ones.

What is a statement (or proposition)?

A statement is either true or false and possesses a 'truth value'.

What are not considered statements?

Requests, commands, and questions are not statements and do not have a truth value.

What does validity apply to?

Validity is a technical term applied only to arguments, not statements.

What is a deductively valid argument?

A deductively valid argument is one where it's impossible for the premises to be true and the conclusion false.

How is validity determined in an argument?

Validity is determined by the form of the argument, not the actual truth or falsity of the statements it contains.

What is an example of a valid argument?

If the moon is made of cheese, then mice live on it. The moon is made of cheese. Therefore, mice live on it.

What is soundness in an argument?

Soundness is the 'gold standard' for a deductively valid argument; a sound argument is both valid and has all true premises.

What is an example of a sound argument?

If you pay your bills on time, this will improve your credit score. If your credit score improves, you can get a better interest rate on a credit card. Therefore, if you pay your bills on time, you can get a better interest rate on a credit card.

What are conditional statements?

Conditional statements are of the form 'If A, then B'.

What is the antecedent in a conditional statement?

The antecedent is the component that follows the 'if' clause.

What is the consequent in a conditional statement?

The consequent is the component that follows the 'then' clause.

What condition does the antecedent represent?

The antecedent is a sufficient condition for the consequent.

What condition does the consequent represent?

The consequent is a necessary condition for the antecedent.

Provide an example of a sufficient and necessary condition using matches and oxygen.

If the match lights, then there is oxygen present. The match lighting is sufficient for oxygen presence, while oxygen is necessary for the match to light.