Module 1: Understanding Arguments: Premises, Conclusions, and Reasoning

As intellectual beings, humans possess the basic capacity to define and organize observations, classifying them based on similarities and differences.
As linguistic communicators, we re-present our perception of the world through this conceptual organization.

Concepts:
- Are mental constructs, symbolized by words.
- Identify a mentally organized class of things, based on fundamental similarities and differences.
- A concept is not a complete thought.
Words:
- Are audible or visual symbols that signify concepts.
- Express a concept (e.g., noun or action).
Linguistic Grammar: Enables the communication of relationships between concepts.
Proposition:
- A complete thought.
- Conveys a meaning about the relationship between two or more concepts or particular things.
- Is linguistically communicated by a statement (a sentence).
- Example: “All butterflies are insects.” This is an indicative assertion about a factual relationship between the concepts “butterfly” and “insect.”
- Is a building block of thought, speech, inference, and argumentation.
Statement:
- A declarative (indicative) type of grammatical sentence.
- A complete unit of thought.
- Expresses a proposition (subject and predicate) that conveys the factual relationship between concepts.
Truth Value of Propositions:
- A declarative proposition, communicated as a statement, asserts a complete thought and states a fact.
- Every proposition is either objectively true or false.
- Simple (categorical) propositions have a subject-predicate sentence structure in asserting fact.

Reasoning:
- One of three sources of how we arrive at knowledge or understanding of truth.
- The process of inferring (deductively or inductively) a conclusion by relating two or more premises together.
- This process takes the form of an argument (inference).
Argument:
- A basic unit of reasoning.
- A set of propositions, one of which (the conclusion) is supposedly supported and demonstrated by the other propositions (the premises).
- Propositions are the building blocks of arguments.
Logic:
- The science of correct reasoning.
- Primarily concerned with evaluating the strength of an argument (e.g., the validity of its form).
- Distinguishes between correct and incorrect reasoning.
- Identifies and evaluates the reasons that ought to be persuasive (prescriptive).

Indicator Words: Serve as hints that a series of propositions is forming an inference.
- Premise Indicators: Since, because, inasmuch as, given that, as, for, assuming that, supposing that, in that, owing to, also, in addition.
- Conclusion Indicators: Therefore, thus, consequently, hence, so, in conclusion, it follows that, we may infer, implies/entails that, as a result, for that reason.
Contextual Identification: Sometimes, premises are identified by what is offered as reasons/support, and conclusions by what appears to be the author's main point if indicator words are absent.
Distinction between Argument and Explanation:
- Argument: Reasons forward from premises to propose a conclusion that is not yet an established fact. The conclusion must be true before it is directly observed.
- Explanation: Provides facts that account for how or why an already established fact has been caused. Explains why something already evident or known is the case.

Characteristics:
- A closed, well-defined set of premises and a conclusion.
- The conclusion necessarily follows from the established premises because it is already contained within them (like a mathematical problem).
- Intended aim: To make the conclusion certain on the basis of the premises.
- Greatly relies upon precise, clear definitions, words, and classifications.
Validity:
- All about form; like gears of a machine relating correctly.
- Is all or nothing; an argument is either valid or invalid, not