Part 2 Module 5 Analyzing premises, forming conclusions

Part 2 Module 5Analyzing premises, forming conclusions

In Part 2 Module 3, we identified a number of common forms of valid arguments, and common fallacies. For our work in Part 2 Module 5, it will be especially helpful if we are able to recognize these common forms. Common forms

Direct Reasoning, Fallacy of the Converse Valid Invalid AB AB A B  B  A If today is Wednesday, If today is Wednesday, then I have math class. then I have math class. Today is Wednesday. I have math class. Therefore, Therefore, I have math class. Today is Wednesday.

Contrapositive Reasoning, Fallacy of the Inverse Valid Invalid AB AB ~B ~A  ~A  ~B If today is Wednesday, If today is Wednesday, then I have math class. then I have math class. I don’t have math class. Today isn’t Wednesday. Therefore, Therefore, Today isn’t Wednesday. I don’t have math class.

Transitive Reasoning, False Chains Valid Invalid AB AB AB BCACCB  AC BC AC

Disjunctive syllogism (valid) AB I own a cat, or I own a dog. ~AI don’t own a cat.  B Therefore, I own a dog. AB I own a cat, or I own a dog. ~BI don’t own a dog.  A Therefore, I own a cat.

Disjunctive fallacy (invalid) AB I own a cat, or I own a dog. AI own a cat.  ~B Therefore, I don’t own a dog. AB I own a cat, or I own a dog. BI own a dog.  ~A Therefore, I don’t own a cat.

Exercise #1 Select the statement that is a valid conclusion from the following premises, if a valid conclusion is warranted. I use my computer or I don't get anything done. I get something done. A. I use my computer. B. I don't use my computer. C. I use an abacus. D. None of these is warranted.

Solution #1 I use my computer or I don't get anything done. I get something done. Symbolize the premises p: I use my computer q: I don’t get anything done Then we have this symbolic premise arrangement: pq ~q We recognize that this is the premise arrangement for a valid argument (disjunctive syllogism), so, by finishing the pattern, we will state the valid conclusion. Symbolically, the valid conclusion is “ p” In words, the valid conclusion is “I use my computer.” Note that the word “therefore” will not be included in any of the multiple-choice options.

Exercise #2 Select the statement that is a valid conclusion from the following premises, if a valid conclusion is warranted. If we strive, then we excel. We didn't strive. A. We excelled. B. We didn't excel. C. We didn't inhale. D. None of these is warranted.

Solution #2 If we strive, then we excel. We didn't strive. Let p: we strive; q: we excel. Symbolically, we have this premise arrangement: pq ~p We recognize that this is the premise scheme for an invalid argument (fallacy of the inverse). This means that there is no point in finishing the pattern (“~q”), because that would provide in invalid conclusion.

Solution #2, page 2 pq ~p We recognize that this is the premise scheme for an invalid argument. ~q (choice B) is not a valid conclusion. Moreover, choices A and C are not valid conclusions, either. The correct choice is “D. None of these is warranted.”

Guidelines In this course, when we are trying to select a valid conclusion from a collection of premises, if we have the premise arrangement for an invalid argument, the correct choice will always be “None of these is warranted.” This is because it is never possible to turn an illogical premise set-up into a non-trivial valid argument. Moreover, if we have the premise arrangement for a valid argument, the correct answer will never be “None of these is warranted.”

Exercise #3 Select the statement that is a valid conclusion from the following premises, if a valid conclusion is warranted. If my car doesn't start, then I'll be late for work. I'm not late for work. A. My car started. B. I rode the bus. C. I'm late for work. D. None of these is warranted.

Solution #3 If my car doesn't start, then I'll be late for work. I'm not late for work. Recognize that in this argument, one premise is an “if…then” statement, and the other premise denies the consequent. This is the premise scheme for a valid argument (Contrapositive Reasoning), so the correct answer will not be “None of these…” To finish the argument, the valid conclusion will deny the antecedent: “My car started.” The correct choice is A.

Exercise #4 Select the statement that is a valid conclusion from the following premises, if a valid conclusion is warranted. No kittens are fierce. Fluffy isn't fierce. A. Fluffy is a kitten. B. Fluffy has fleas. C. Fluffy isn't a kitten. D. None of these is warranted.

Solution #4 No kittens are fierce. Fluffy isn't fierce. One way to arrive at the correct answer (D) is to recognize that this is the premise arrangement for fallacy of the converse. Another approach is to use the diagramming method, since this is a Universal-Particular argument. The two categories are “Kittens” and “Fierce things,” and the symbol “X” represents the particular person “Fluffy.” The marked diagram shows that choice A (“Fluffy is a kitten”) is uncertain and choice C (“Fluffy isn’t a kitten”) is uncertain. Choice B (“Fluffy has fleas”) is a non sequitur or joke. That leaves choice D.

Exercise #5 Select the statement that is a valid conclusion from the following premises, if a valid conclusion is warranted. All politicians are promise makers. Gomer is not a politician. A. Gomer is not a promise maker. B. Gomer is a politician. C. All promise makers are politicians. D. None of these is warranted.

Solution #5 All politicians are promise makers. Gomer is not a politician. Again, we will use diagramming. Let Po represent “politicians,” Pr represent “promise makers,” and X represent Gomer. The marked diagram shows that choice A (“Gomer is not a promise maker”) is uncertain, choice B (“Gomer is a politician”) is false, and choice C (“All promise makers are politicians”) is uncertain, so the correct choice is D. You should also recognize that this is an example of Fallacy of the Inverse.

Exercise #6 Select the statement that is a valid conclusion from the following premises, if a valid conclusion is warranted. If you want a better grade, then you bring an apple for the teacher. If you bring an apple for the teacher, then you expose the teacher to dangerous agricultural chemicals. A. If you expose the teacher to dangerous agricultural chemicals, then you want a better grade. B. If you don't expose the teacher to dangerous agricultural chemicals, then you don't want a better grade. C. You want a better grade. D. None of these is warranted.

Solution #6 If you want a better grade, then you bring an apple for the teacher. If you bring an apple for the teacher, then you expose the teacher to dangerous agricultural chemicals. Let p: “You want a better grade;” q: “You bring an apple for the teacher;” r: “You expose the teacher to dangerous agricultural chemicals.” Then we have this symbolic premise arrangement. pq qr This is the premise scheme for a valid argument, Transitive Reasoning. The middle term, q, cancels, and we have the following valid conclusion (in symbols): pr In words, the valid conclusion is “If you want a better grade, then you expose the teacher to dangerous agricultural chemicals.” This is not listed among the multiple-choice options.

Solution #6, page 2 p: “You want a better grade;” q: “You bring an apple for the teacher;” r: “You expose the teacher to dangerous agricultural chemicals.” We have the following valid conclusion (in symbols): pr In words, the valid conclusion is “If you want a better grade, then you expose the teacher to dangerous agricultural chemicals.” This is not listed among the multiple-choice options. We need to recall that an “if…then” statement is equivalent to its contrapositive. This means that there is another valid conclusion, namely, the contrapositive of the valild conclusion that we have already identified. ~r~p In words: “If you don’t expose the teacher to dangerous agricultural chemicals, then you don’t want a better grade.” This is choice B.

Using Transitive Reasoning In order to see that we can use Transitive Reasoning to arrive at a valid conclusion, it may be necessary to replace one or more statements with their contrapositives. We can never replace a statement with its converse or inverse.

Exercise Select the statement that is a valid conclusion from the following premises, if a valid conclusion is warranted. If you aren’t bitey, then you aren’t a wolverine. If you are bitey, then you aren’t cuddly. A. If you aren’t a wolverine, then you are cuddly. B. If you are cuddly, then you are a wolverine. C. If your name is Dudley, then you are cuddly. D. If you are cuddly then you aren’t a wolverine. E. None of these is warranted.

Recognizing common forms The presence of a common logical form may not be obvious when you first read the premises of an argument. To help recognize the occurrence of a common form, we can always: 1. Rearrange the order in which the premises are presented; 2. Replace statements with equivalent statements; In particular, we can always replace a conditional statement with its contrapositive.

Solution #7 If you aren’t bitey, then you aren’t a wolverine. If you are bitey, then you aren’t cuddly. Let p: “you are bitey”; q: “you are a wolverine”; r: “you are cuddly” We have this premise arrangement. ~p~q p~r In order to use transitive reasoning, we need to see if there is a “middle term” that will cancel. We can always replace an “if…then” statement with its contrapositive, if that will help us to find what we art seeking. Replace the first premise with its contrapositive. Then we have qp p~r

Solution #7, page 2 p: “you are bitey”; q: “you are a wolverine”; r: “you are cuddly” qp p~r Now we see that there is a middle term, p, that cancels, so we can form a valid argument whose conclusion is q~r. Since q~r is a valid conclusion, its contrapositive, r~q, is also a valid conclusion. We have found two correct answers. 1. q~r “If you are a wolverine, then you aren’t cuddly.” 2. r~q “If you are cuddly, then you aren’t a wolverine.” The second of our two correct answers was listed as choice D.

Exercise #8 Select the statement that is a valid conclusion from the following premises, if a valid conclusion is warranted. If I invest wisely, then I won't lose my money. If I don't invest wisely, then I buy junk bonds. If I read Investor's Weekly, then I won't buy junk bonds. A. If I invest wisely, then I read Investor's Weekly. B. If I buy junk bonds, then I don't invest wisely. C. If I lose my money, then I don't read Investor's Weekly. D. If I eat junk food, then I invest weakly. E. None of these is warranted.

Solution #8 Symbolize each premise 1. wisely  ~lose 2. ~wisely  junk 3. read  ~junk We can begin our chain of reasoning with premise #3, followed by the contrapositive of premise #2, followed by premise #1. 3. read  ~junk 2. ~ junk  wisely 1. wisely  ~lose From this arrangement, transitive reasoning gives the following valid conclusion: read  ~lose “If I read Investor’s Weekly, then I won’t lose my money.” The other valid conclusion is lose  ~read “If I lose my money, then I don’t read Investor’s Weekly.”

Using Transitive Reasoning In order to see that we can use Transitive Reasoning, it may be necessary to rearrange the order in which the premises are listed. We want the first “if…then” premise to begin with a term that appears only one time in the premise scheme.

Using Transitive Reasoning Continue rearranging the order of the premises, and perhaps replacing premises with their contrapositives, so that the antecedent of each successive premise matches the consequent of the preceding premise. When we have used every premise in this manner, we can form a chain of reasoning to state a valid conclusion that uses every premise (a major valid conclusion).

Using Transitive Reasoning If at any point it is impossible to continue this linkage of premises, then the argument involves a false chain. In this case, the correct answer will be “None of these…”

Universal statements Universal statements (“All are…” “None are…”) can be written as conditional statements. Examples: “All poodles are yappy” means “If it is a poodle, then it is yappy.” “No porcupines are cuddly” means “If it is a porcupine, then it isn’t cuddly.”

Universal statements “All A are B” is equivalent to AB. “No A are B” is equivalent to A ~B.

Particular statements Particular statements can also be written as conditional statements. Example “Gomer is a judge” means “If you are Gomer, then you are a judge.” “Homer isn’t a lawyer” means “If you are Homer, then you aren’t a lawyer.”

Existential statements Existential statements (“Some are…” “Some aren’t…”) cannot be written as conditional statements, so don’t even try. Example “Some lawyers are judges” cannot be written as an “if…then” statement.

Exercise #9 Select the statement that is a valid conclusion from the following premises, if a valid conclusion is warranted. All people who get many tickets are uninsurable. All careless drivers get many tickets. All people who are uninsurable have bad credit ratings. A. All careless drivers have bad credit ratings. B. If your car is repossessed because you have bed credit, then you are a car-less driver. C. All people are uninsurable get many tickets. D. None of these is warranted.

Solution #9 Symbolize each universal premise in its “If…then” form. 1. tickets  uninsurable 2. careless  tickets 3. uninsurable  bad credit If we start with the second premise, we can form the following chain of reasoning: careless  tickets tickets  uninsurable uninsurable  bad credit From which we get the following valid conclusion: careless  bad credit along with its contrapositive ~bad credit ~careless In words, any of these three statements are correct: “If you are a careless driver, then you have a bad credit rating;” “If you don’t have a bad credit rating, then you aren’t a careless driver;” “All careless drivers have bad credit ratings (choice A).”

Exercise #10 Select the statement that is a valid conclusion from the following premises, if a valid conclusion is warranted. If you aren't a good stirrer, then you aren't handy with a swizzle stick. If you are a graduate of Billy Bob's Big Bold School of Mixology, then you are a bartender. No good stirrers have weak wrist muscles. If you don't have weak wrist muscles, then you have a firm handshake. All bartenders are handy with a swizzle stick. A. If you are a graduate of Billy Bob's Big Bold School of Mixology, then you don't have a firm handshake. B. If you don't have a firm handshake, then you aren't a graduate of Billy Bob's Big Bold School of Mixology. C. If you have a firm handshake, then you are a graduate of Billy Bob's Big Bold School of Mixology. D. None of these is warranted.

Solution #10 1. ~ good stirrer  ~ handy 2. graduate bartender 3. good stirrer  ~weak 4. ~ weak  firm 5. bartender  handy Beginning with premise #2, we form the following chain of reasoning: 2. graduate bartender 5. bartender  handy 1. handy  good stirrer (contrapositive of #1 above) 3. good stirrer  ~weak 4. ~ weak  firm We arrive at the following valid conclusions: graduate  firm ~firm  ~graduate The correct choice is B.

Exercise #11 Select the statement that is a valid conclusion from the following premises, if a valid conclusion is warranted. Sylvester isn't a parakeet. Elephants never squawk. All parakeets squawk. No elephants are tiny. A. Sylvester is an elephant. B. Sylvester isn't tiny. C. All parakeets are tiny. D. None of these is warranted.

Solution #11 Sylvester isn't a parakeet. Elephants never squawk. All parakeets squawk. No elephants are tiny. We have found that it is impossible to form a valid conclusion that uses all four premises, because a false chain is embedded in the premise structure.

Further discussion Focus on the two middle premises. Ignore the first premise and the last premise. 1. Sylvester isn't a parakeet. 2. Elephants never squawk. 3. All parakeets squawk. 4. No elephants are tiny.

Further discussion 2. Elephants never squawk. 3. All parakeets squawk. Translate into conditional statements 2. elephant --> ~squawk. 3. parakeet --> squawk Replace #3 with its contrapositive.

Grimy details 2. elephant --> ~squawk 3. ~squawk --> ~parakeet From these two premises, we arrive at the following valid conclusion: elephant --> ~ parakeet or “No elephants are parakeets.” This is an example of a minor valid conclusion (a valid conclusion that doesn’t require the use of every premise).

Minor valid conclusions For a problem like this, in this course, a minor valid conclusion will never be listed among the multiple choice options. The right answer will always be a major valid conclusion (a valid conclusion that requires the use of every premise), or, if a major valid conclusion is not possible, the right answer will be “None of these…”

Part 2 Module 5 Analyzing premises, forming conclusions