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B. Argument by Elimination

English How to identify arguments by elimination

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33 views14 pages

B. Argument by Elimination

English How to identify arguments by elimination

Uploaded by

chidoluejuliet
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Module 4 Lecture

Part B: Argument by Elimnination


Argument Pattern
Consider the following argument:
Ken is either an Admiral or a General. He’s not an
Admiral, so he must be a General.

P1: Ken is either an Admiral or a General.


P2: Ken is not an Admiral.
-----------------------------------------------------------
C: Ken is a General.
Argument Pattern
Consider the following argument:
Ken is either an Admiral or a General. He’s not an
Admiral, so he must be a General.

P1: Either Ken is anP Admiral or Ken is a Q General.


P2: Ken is not notanPAdmiral.
Each of these are
-----------------------------------------------------------
individual statements.
C: Ken is aQGeneral. The first premise has two
statements joined by a
disjunction (‘OR’).
Argument Pattern
Consider the following argument:
Ken is either an Admiral or a General. He’s not an
Admiral, so he must be a General.

P1: Either Ken is anP Admiral or Ken is a Q General.


P2: Ken is not notanPAdmiral.
Replace each statement
-----------------------------------------------------------
with a letter.
C: Ken is aQGeneral. P = Ken is an Admiral.
Q = Ken is a General.
Pattern: Argument by
Elimination
EXAMPLE 2:
Either Jon stayed home today, or
he went to work. Clearly, he
went to work because he didn’t
stay home.
P1: Jon stayed home OR
Jon went to work today.
P2: Jon didn’t stay home.
--------------------------------------------
C: Jon went to work.
Pattern: Argument by
Elimination
EXAMPLE 2: P1: P or Q
Either Jon stayed home today, or P2: Not P.
he went to work. Clearly, he -------------------------------
went to work because he didn’t C: Q
stay home.
P1: Jon stayed
P home OR P = Jon stayed home.
Jon went to work today. Q Q = Jon went to work.
P2: Jon didn’tNot
stayP home.
--------------------------------------------
C: Jon went toQwork.
Pattern: Argument by
Elimination
EXAMPLE 2: P1: P or Q
Either Jon stayed home today, or P2: Not P.
he went to work. Clearly, he -------------------------------
went to work because he didn’t C: Q
stay home.
P1: Jon
P orstayed
Q. home or P = Jon stayed home.
Jon went to work. Q = Jon went to work.
P2: Jon
Not did
P. not stay home. You should be able to
-------------------------------------------- substitute these into the
argument pattern to get
Jon went to work.
C: Q.
the original argument
Pattern: Argument by
Elimination
EXAMPLE 3:
You are either a leader or a
follower. Since you don’t follow
well, you are obviously a leader.

P1: Either you are a leader or


you are a follower.
P2: You are not a follower.
--------------------------------------------
C: You are a leader.
Pattern: Argument by
Elimination
EXAMPLE 3: P1: P or Q
You are either a leader or a P2: Not Q
follower. Since you don’t follow -------------------------------
well, you are obviously a leader. C: P

P1: Either you Pare a leader or P = You are a leader.


you are a follower. Q Q = You are a follower.
P2: You are not
Nota Qfollower.
--------------------------------------------
P
C: You are a leader.
Pattern: Argument by
Elimination
EXAMPLE 3: P1: P or Q
You are either a leader or a P2: Not Q

Warning!
follower. Since you don’t follow -------------------------------
C: P
well, you are obviously a leader.
E l i m i n a ti on , t he
by
For Argument e s n ’t m a tte r.
r of P a n d Q do
d
P1: Either youoPraree a leader or P = You are a leader.
you are a follower. Q ry mQuc=hYou in are a follower.
e rs v e
B ut it matt nts!
P2: You are not
Nota Qfollower. o n a l a r gu m e
conditi
--------------------------------------------
P
C: You are a leader.
Pattern: Argument by
Elimination
EXAMPLE 4: P = You are holding a spade.

The playing card you are holding is either a Q = You are holding a heart.
spade, heart, diamond, or club. I have all R = You are holding a
the red cards (hearts and diamonds) so diamond.
you don’t have one of those. And Eric has S = You are holding a club.
all the clubs, so you must have a spade.

P1: You are holding a spade OR you are holding a heart OR you are holding a
diamond OR you are holding a club. P1: P or Q or R or S
P2: You are not holding a heart. P2: not Q
P3: You are not holding a diamond. P3: not R
P4: You are not holding a club. P4: not S
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
C: You are holding a spade. C: P
Argument by Elimination
• AKA: Disjunctive Syllogism
• Syllogism: two premises and a conclusion
• Disjunctive: the first premise is a disjunction (i.e., either-
or statement)
• Combines two simple statements using the disjunct ‘or’
• P or Q
Argument Patterns
• Use variables (i.e., letters P, Q, R, S, etc.) to stand
for content
• Statements / propositions (propositional logic)
• Statement parts (categorical syllogisms)
• Reflect the form / pattern of common arguments
• Helps evaluate validity
• Test your identification of a pattern by substituting
in the content (e.g., statements) for the variables
(i.e., letters).
Question:

Do you think
Argument by Elimination
(Disjunctive Syllogism)
is a valid argument pattern?

Use the method of counterexamples


to answer this question.

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