StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

Evaluation of an Argument - Essay Example

Cite this document
Summary
This essay evaluates the validity, degree of soundness, and truth of the premises of the following argument: some sound arguments are valid, some valid arguments are arguments with false premises, some arguments with false premises are arguments with mood and figure OAO-2…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER97% of users find it useful
Evaluation of an Argument
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "Evaluation of an Argument"

Evaluation of an Argument Introduction The chief aim of this paper is to evaluate the validity, degree of soundness, andtruth of the premises of the following argument: Some sound arguments are valid. Some valid arguments are arguments with false premises. Some arguments with false premises are arguments with mood and figure OAO-2. No arguments with mood and figure OAO-2 are sound Accordingly, the above argument can be termed as invalid despite the conclusion of the argument, based on the premises, being true (Hyde 4). Moreover, since the premises of the argument are true, then it is conclusive that the argument is sound. Incidentally, Rubinelli defines a sorite as an argument that lacks a significant premise (43). In the instant argument, there is no major premise present and thus, the argument is categorically a sorite. Furthermore, the above argument can also be described as an enthymeme because the intermediate conclusion utilized is in fact the missing premise of the original argument (Rubinelli 54). Syllogism According to Hyde, a syllogism refers to a deductive argument comprising of a minor premise, major premise, and a conclusion (14). The first syllogism for the above argument, which we have established to be a sorite can be deduced as: Some arguments with mood and figure OAO-2 are not sound. Some valid arguments are not sound. Some arguments with false premises are not sound. No arguments with false premises are valid. In the general sense, the conventional logic expression of this argument: Some T are not Q Some F are not Q T is not F The second syllogism for the original argument can be deductively interpreted within the context of the sorite to imply that: No arguments with false premises are valid. Some arguments underpinned with false premises are not sound. All arguments with mood and figure OAO-2 are generally not sound. Therefore, in the second syllogism, the conclusion of the original argument being evaluated has been transformed into a portion of the second syllogism. Moreover, the changed premise of the original automatically became an intermediate conclusion for the second syllogism. The example below shows this unique character in which sorites tend to change the premise as discussed in the succeeding syllogism above. Jack is a man. All men are polygamous. Jack is not polygamous. In the above argument, the deduction that can be interpreted represents quasi syllogism, that is, men are categorized as polygamous in nature. Therefore, is sound to argue that if Jack is a man but is not polygamous, then it follows that the truth and validity of the initial argument that men are polygamous in the society is significantly altered to become invalid and without an element of truth. Accordingly, the initial syllogism in the example above lacks validity because the conclusion is false even though the premises of the argument are true. Generally, the argument in the said example cannot be referred as valid because of its form. Incidentally, since the original argument in the example is invalid based on its premises being false, a counterexample can be used to demonstrate a similar claim of validity of an argument. The second example is provided below: Nokia is a mobile phone type. A mobile phone is a portable communication device. Nokia cannot be used for communication. In the above example, the initial premise portrays soundness and validity. However, the conclusion of the argument nullifies the soundness and truthfulness of the argument by claiming that Nokia (a type of a mobile phone) cannot be used for communication. Incidentally, in the previous discussion, it was established that based on the second premise of the said argument, some arguments that are termed as valid have false premises. This means that the validity of an argument only depends on the presence of premises. In the instant argument, the claim that a mobile phone is a communication device is both true and valid. Conversely, the premise cannot be termed as sound because the conclusion of the argument refutes that Nokia can be used for communication, despite the fact that it is a mobile phone type. Another example for the evaluation of the argument is shown below: All animals die. A dog is an animal. A dog dies. In the above illustration, the first premise of the argument is categorical in nature, that is, it includes all animals wholesomely. On the other hand, the second premise of the argument focuses on a dog as a member of the class Animals. In this second premise, the argument has validity and can be deduced to imply for a dog to die, it must first be an animal. Conclusion Generally, an argument is said to be valid if it offers a conclusion that is true and based on the argument’s premises. However, for an argument to be termed as sound and valid, it has to be logically identifiable. The validity of an argument lies within the premises, whereby a valid argument must not contain a false conclusion. Logically, the validity is the truthfulness of the premises where evaluated on the foundation of facts. Thus, logic is an important aspect in any argument. It enables one to make the appropriate inference and deduction to reach a conclusion of deciding whether the argument is true and valid or false and invalid. In the argument that this paper has evaluated, its conclusion is of the view that “no arguments with mood and figure OAO-2 are sound”. Accordingly, based on the aspects that have come out in the discussion of the paper, the conclusion of the argument is sound, but invalid. Works Cited Hyde, Dominic. "The sorites paradox." Vagueness: A Guide ed. by Giuseppina Ronzitti. Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands, 2011. 1-17. Print. Rubinelli, Sara. Ars Topica: The classical technique of constructing arguments from Aristotle to Cicero. Vol. 15. New York, NY: Springer Science & Business Media, 2009. Print. Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(“Evaluation of an Argument Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1”, n.d.)
Evaluation of an Argument Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1. Retrieved from https://studentshare.org/philosophy/1700672-evaluation-of-an-argument
(Evaluation of an Argument Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 Words - 1)
Evaluation of an Argument Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 Words - 1. https://studentshare.org/philosophy/1700672-evaluation-of-an-argument.
“Evaluation of an Argument Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 Words - 1”, n.d. https://studentshare.org/philosophy/1700672-evaluation-of-an-argument.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF Evaluation of an Argument

Analysis/Evaluation of an Argument

Hiding Behind the Screen "Hiding Behind the Screen" is a lecture that was delivered by Scruton Roger.... This was published in the summer 2010 issue of the New Atlantis.... Roger is an author of “The Uses of Pessimism and the Dangers of False Hope (2010).... ?? He is also a visiting professor of Philosophy at the Oxford University, and a visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute....
3 Pages (750 words) Essay

Evaluation of an argument through analysis

However, Holmes argument is not based on the amount of words spoken but on the quality of the talk.... Finally, the conclusion will establish whether the argument “women talk too much is valid”.... Is it clearly stated the essay does it reflect the purpose of the essay The main claim in the essay is the argument against the quality of talk compared between sexes and what governs the talk....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

Evaluation argument

Written by Oliver Stone, many have considered it as a blessing for the eyes of anyone who has… The movie has been often compared to the likes of The Godfather owing to their close resemblance in terms of the main storyline underlying the two movies, in which they are about the immigrant experience and a charismatic figure from the underclass trying to employ Critical evaluation of Scarface Scarface, a Brian De Palma's up a 1930s ical film originally done by Howard Hawks, is regarded as among the most provocative and classy yet serious movie of all times....
2 Pages (500 words) Essay

The Synthesis of Science Religion and Philosophy

An example of a categorical Evaluation of an Argument is A good B or A is not a good B.... an example of an ethical Evaluation of an Argument is A is right or A is wrong.... This argument works through a halo effect, which is human cognitive bias....
1 Pages (250 words) Assignment

Argument of Evaluation

“The Artist” is considered to be a silent movie considering the few sonic intrusions that are notable as well as the high silent style employed in the film with debonair heroes, jaunty, drama that is nail-biting and a love story that meets the cute.... The movie, directed by… He makes the best use of ensuing silence and its notable effects in a manner that comes out like a twilight zone making it a silent movie "The Artist” truly deserves the award it scoped as the ‘Best Picture' movie during the 2012 Oscars....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

Analysis and Evaluation of an Argument

He was brought up in England.... He is an unconventional person.... He was introduced to science of anti-ageing during his career.... This was when his boss needed someone… She needed someone to take over her position and Dr.... Grey turned out to be the best fit in that position.... This is because he tries to assume a fact that ageing is unavoidable (De Grey, 102)....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

Buying a Car scenario Steps for Evaluating an Argument

Recently I was involved in an argument whereby I wanted to buy a mobile phone HTC Z to be precise after a friend of mine who owns a similar one advised me to purchase it since it had fantastic features.... However, once I was at the store an attendant convinced me otherwise into buying a different phone from the one I Steps for Evaluating an argument: Buying a Mobile Phone Scenario Recently I was involved in an argument whereby I wanted to buy a mobile phone HTC Z to be precise after a friend of mine who owns a similar one advised me to purchase it since it had fantastic features....
1 Pages (250 words) Essay

Evaluate an Argument

The second premise is that Evaluation of an Argument “What is wrong with Wikipedia” The article under consideration is a publication of Harvard writing program whereby the contentious issue is about what is wrong with Wikipedia.... As with the conclusion of the argument, the author clamps the whole argument against the use of Wikipedia and suggests that Wikipedia is good for use for some functions.... or the validation of the argument to hold, it means that all of their premises that support the argument are all true and the conclusion must ultimately be true....
2 Pages (500 words) Essay
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us