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Evaluation of Arguments

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Timilehin Ogundare
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81 views3 pages

Evaluation of Arguments

Uploaded by

Timilehin Ogundare
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Evaluation of Arguments: Truth, Validity and Soundness

The logical assessment or evaluation of a deductive argument has to do with validity, invalidity
and soundness. To say that an argument is valid, in this regard, is to submit that its conclusion
logically follows from its premises. Example:
1. All carnivorous animals are dangerous
All lions are carnivorous animal
Therefore, All lions are dangerous.
2. All birds can fly
All eagles are bird
Therefore, All eagles can fly.
3. All musicians can dance
Sola is a musician
Therefore, Sola can dance.
4. All footballers are rich
Victor is a footballer
Therefore, Victor is rich.
5. All ladies are responsible
Elena is a lady
Therefore, Elena is responsible.
A valid deductive argument is one supporting the conclusion. This argument is not only valid, it
is sound. A sound argument is one that has all the premises true and the conclusion is true.
A valid argument form guarantees that if the premises are true, the conclusion is true as well.
Any argument form which does not guarantee the truth of the conclusion even if the premises are
true, is an invalid argument form.
A deductive argument would be valid if and only if it would necessarily be impossible for the
conclusion to be false if the premises are true. A deductive argument which is valid on account
of its truth-functional form is called a truth-functionally valid argument. If valid on account of its
quantificational form, it is said to be quantificationally valid. Given these logical conditions, if
an argument is not invalid, it follows that it is valid. In connection with the soundness of
arguments, it should be noted that the validity of an argument or of a deductive inference does
not in any way guarantee the truth of the argument. However, sound arguments are valid
deductive arguments with premises that are all true. In this sense, a sound deductive argument
normally provides a conclusive evidence for the truth of its conclusion.
We can submit that for an argument to be sound, two things are required. They are:
a. All the premises which imply the truth of the conclusion must be true.
b. The argument itself must be patiently valid.
An unsound deductive argument will be an argument which fails to establish the truth of its
conclusion. An argument will be unsound if one of the following conditions is present. They are:
a. the argument form is valid but one or more of the premises are false.
b. the premises are true but the form is invalid.
c. One or more of the premises are false and the form is invalid.
While an invalid argument is necessarily an unsound argument, a valid argument may be sound
but not in all cases. Similarly, we would say that an argument is sound if in the first instance, it is
valid. Secondly, all the premises and the conclusion of such an argument must be factually or
empirically true. However, truth and validity are two composite necessary conditions for a sound
argument. Examples:
1. All musicians are politicians
Titi is a musician
Therefore, Titi is a politician.

2. All men are lover boy


Ade is a man
Therefore, Ade is a lover boy.

3. All dogs bark


Bingo is a dog
Therefore, Bingo barks.

4. All students are brilliant


Bisi is a student
Therefore, Bisi is brilliant.

5. All mammals give birth


All dogs are mammal
All dogs give birth.
The above examples are sound deductive arguments. The conclusion is contained in the
premises. A sound deductive argument is one that has all the premises true and the conclusion
true.
Valid but unsound argument
1. All dogs are animal
All cats are dog
Therefore, All cats are animal

2. All goats are mammal


All pigs are goat
Therefore, All pigs are mammals.

3. All doves are birds


All hens are dove
Therefore, All hens are birds.

4. All crocodiles lay eggs


All snakes are crocodile
Therefore, All snakes lay eggs.

5. All plants are living thing


All bacteria are plant
All bacteria are living things.
Invalid and unsound argument
1. All Nigerians are democrats
All Zambians are democrats
Therefore, All Zambians are Nigerians.

2. All lecturers are teachers


All military officers are teacher
Therefore, All military officers are teachers
.
3. All goats give birth
All snakes give birth
Therefore, All snakes are goats.

4. All Vice-Chancellors are lecturer


All tailors are lecturer
Therefore, All tailors are Vice-Chancellor.

5. All welders are carpenter


All tailors are carpenter
Therefore, All tailors are welders.

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