ARGUMENTS

ARGUMENTS
An argument is a set of statements which an arguer wants to use to persuade an audience or

listener to accept a position.
In philosophy, an argument is a set of statements that consist of a claim or conclusion and at least
one premise or grounds.
A claim or conclusion is the position an arguer wants to convince his or her audience to accept,
while the grounds or premises are the statements the arguer presents as the reasons why an
audience should accept a claim. That is, the claim is the assertion, while the grounds gives
support to the claim.
Examples:
1. Given the sudden rise in global temperature, the decrease in snow cover and the rising of
the sea level, we must accept that climate change is real.
2. A woman is the one that carries a pregnancy alone. Moreover, she bears all the
discomfort and risks associated with pregnancy. Therefore, the decision to abort should
be left solely to the woman and not to a man or a religious body.
Grounds/Premise and Claim/Conclusion Locators
Arguments sometimes have what we call locators. That is, words or phrases that introduce
premises or the claim in an argument. Not every argument will have locators, but some do.
Examples of ground locators are – because, if, on the condition that, given that, in case,
assuming provided that amongst others.
Examples of claim locators are – therefore, then, in conclusion, it follows that, thus, hence, it
can be implied that, it is clear that amongst others.
Canons of Reasoning
There are basically two types of reasoning in philosophy, which are also known as the canon of
reasoning. The first is deductive reasoning and the second is inductive reasoning. Arguments are
by-products of reasoning. Hence, deductive reasoning produces deductive arguments, while
inductive reasoning produces inductive arguments.
Deductive Arguments
A deductive argument is an argument in which the conclusion seems or appears to follow from
the premises necessarily. That is, the premises appears to give conclusive support to the
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conclusion. The relationship between the grounds and claim of a deductive argument is that of
certainty.
Examples:
All dentists are doctors Nigeria is a country or a continent
Dr Smalls is a dentist Nigeria is not a continent
.: Dr Smalls is a doctor .: Nigeria is a country
A deductive argument can either be valid or invalid. When the premises actually gives
conclusive support to the claim, then the deductive argument is valid. Where it appears that the
premises gives conclusive support to the claim, but it does not do so actually, the argument is
invalid. For example:
All dentists are doctors
All dentists are endodentists
.: All doctors are endodentists
Although the premises of this deductive argument seems to give conclusive support to the claim,
it does not. Hence, the argument is an invalid deductive argument.
In this example:
Nigeria is a country or a continent
Nigeria is not a continent
.: Nigeria is a country
The premises of this deductive argument appears to give conclusive support to the claim and it
actually does. Hence, it is valid.
A deductive argument can also be sound or unsound. When all the statements in a deductive
argument are true and argument is also valid, it follows that the deductive argument is sound.
When a deductive argument is invalid, it does not matter if its statements are true or not, it
cannot be sound. An invalid argument is automatically unsound. Hence, it follows that only a
valid deductive argument can be sound. A valid deductive argument can be unsound when at
least one of its statements is false.
Example:
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The capital of Lagos is either Accra or Ikeja
The capital of Lagos is not Ikeja
.: the capital of Lagos is Accra.
Although this deductive argument is valid, it is not sound because at least one of its statements is
false.
It is possible to have a deductive argument that has only false statements, yet true. This is
because in philosophy validity does not consist in the content of the statements of a deductive
argument, but in its structure.
Determining the validity of a deductive argument by sight alone can be tricky. Hence, in
philosophy, there are methods such as refutation by logical analogy, Venn’s diagrams, truth-
tables, invalidity by the method of models, invalidity by the method of false translations and
invalidity by the method of truth functional expansion amongst others.
Inductive Argument
The other canon of reasoning is inductive reasoning. An inductive argument is an argument in
which the premises gives probable support to the conclusion. That is, given the premises it is
probable that the conclusion is true. The relationship between the premises and conclusion of an
inductive argument is that of probability.
For example:
I got bread from ivory bite 35 times and it was delicious all those times
My friend got from them over 100 times and they were all delicious
.: the next loaf of bread I will get from ivory bite will be delicious.
An inductive argument cannot be valid or invalid, neither can it be sound or unsound. It can only
be weak or strong. When given the premises of an inductive argument the probability that the
conclusion will follow is high, then the inductive argument is strong. When given the premises
of an inductive argument the probability that the conclusion will follow is low, then the inductive
argument is weak.
Examples:
I have used Amatem soft gel 15 times and it cured malaria.
I have recommended it to at least 60 people and they all testified it cured their malaria.
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They have also recommended it to several other people and it cured their malaria.
.: Amatem soft gel is a perfect treatment for malaria.
The claim is neither true nor false, but given the premises, the probability that the conclusion will
occur is high. Thus, the inductive argument is strong. This implies that the stronger the premises
of an inductive argument is, the more likely its claim will follow.
Personal Task: 1. Identify some differences between inductive and deductive arguments
2. Construct some deductive and inductive arguments on your own.

ARGUMENTS

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An argument is a set of statements which an arguer wants to use to persuade an audience or

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