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CRITICAL THINKING

Lecture 3 : What are principle of critical thinking

Session 1
3.1 Structure of argument
2.2 Evaluation of argument
Session 2
3.3 Type of argument
2.4 Practice

Lecturer: SNA( Syed Noman Ali)

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Argument
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Objectives
Session 1
1. How we can understand argument?
2. What are the Principe of correct reasoning
3. What is argument?

Session 2
1. What are the types of argument?
2. What is syllogism?
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Some Definitions:
Statement:
A statement is a declarative sentence; a sentence which attempts to
state a fact—as opposed to a question, command, exclamation, etc.
Argument:
an argument is a (finite) set of statements, some of which—the
premises—are supposed to support, or give reasons for, the
remaining statement—the conclusion
Logic:
Logic is the study of
(i) criteria for distinguishing successful from unsuccessful argument,
(ii) methods for applying those criteria, and
(iii) related properties of statements such as implication, equivalence, logical truth,
consistency, etc.

Truth Value:
The truth value of a statement is just its truth or falsehood; we
assume that every statement has either the truth value true, or the
truth value false, but not both
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STRUCTURE OF
ARGUMENT
Reason or Premises
Conclusion
• ARGUMENT PREMISES
INFERENCE
CONCLUSION

SYLLOGISM

Key Terms
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Cue words for reason

• Since
• Given that
• For
• In view of
• Assuming that
• Furthermore
• Because
• May be derived from
• As indicated by
• Secondly
• As shown by
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Cue words for conclusions

• Then
• Therefore
• Thus
• As a result
• Implies that
• Thereby
• Agree that
• It follows that
• Suggest
• Hence
• Infer that
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EVALUATING ARGUMENT
Truth of reasons
Validity of structure
Soundness of argument
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Evaluating argument
• Truth : How true are the supporting reason ?
• Validity : Do the reasons support the conclusion ?
• Soundness
Does the argument pass the test of both truth and validity
• Valid argument where reason support conclusions
• Sound argument has both true reason and valid structure
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Activity
• On the average, a person with a college degree will earn
more than 50,000 per month than just diploma holder.
 All premises True At least one premise False
1A 1B
Conclusion True

All whales are mammals All whales are fish

All mammals are air-breathers All fish are air-breathers
All whales are air-breathers All whales are air-breathers

1C 1D
Conclusion False

All whales are reptiles

?????? All reptiles are birds
All whales are birds

F1 G2
 All premises True At least one premise False
2A 2B
Conclusion True

Some animals are frogs Some fish are frogs

Some animals are tree-climbers Some fish are tree-climbers
Some frogs are tree-climbers Some frogs are tree-climbers

Invalid Invalid
2C 2D
Conclusion False

Some animals are frogs Some fish are frogs

Some animals are birds Some fish are birds
Some frogs are birds Some frogs are birds

Invalid Invalid
(Counterexample to Form 2)

F2 G1
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TYPE OF ARGUMENT
Deductive : Conclusion follows reasons
Inductive : Conclusion follows probability
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1.) Deductive argument
- An argument that has premises which gives conclusive
grounds for the truth of the conclusion, or if the
premises claim to support the conclusion with
necessity.
- The process is exact.
e.g. All priests are humans.
All Popes are priests.
:: All Popes are humans.

Kinds of Argument
2.) Inductive Argument
- Makes the wilder claim that its premises support
but do not guarantee the necessity of its
conclusion.
- The conclusion is only given a high probability
of correctness and “not” exactly valid or invalid.
Ex. Of all the 50 million swans I saw,
nothing is black.
:: No swan is black.

Kind of argument
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Argument
DEDUCTIVE INDUCTIVE
• Exact • Probable
• Valid or invalid • Strong or weak
• Not a matter of • A matter of degree
degree (More or Less)
(All or Nothing)
Evaluating Deductive Arguments
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Argument
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Syllogism
• An argument form the consist two premises and a
conclusion.

Categorical (All,No,Some)

All men are mortal

A is a man
Therfore , A is mortal
• A-type: universal and affirmative
“All men are mortal”
• I-type: Particular and Affirmative
“Some men are philosophers”
• E-type: Universal and Negative
“Not all philosophers are rich.”
• O-type: Particular and Negative
“Some men are not rich.”

Four-categorical proposition
Summary …

All SD are P
No SD are PD
Some S are P
Some S are not PD

Proposition Letter Quantity Quality Distribution

All S are P A Universal Affirmative Subject only
No S are P E Universal Negative Sub & Pred
Some S are P I Particular Affirmative Neither
Some S are not P O Particular Negative Predicate only

Quantity, Quality and Distribution

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Hypothetical -Affirming the antecedent

• If I have prepared well, then I will do well.
• I have prepared well now
• Therefore , I will do well
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Negative-Denying the consequences

• If A is really good friend then he ‘ll remember my birthday
• A did not remember
• Therefore, A doesn’t care about me.
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Disjunctive-Presenting alternatives
• Either I have lost my wallet or I left on drawer.
• The wallet is not on my drawer
• Therefore, I have lost it
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PRACTICE
Indentify reason,conclusion,argument,syllogism
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Practice
• Forbear to judge, for we are sinner all.
• To him belong all that is in the heavens and all that is on
earth .verily Allah is worth of all praise.
• Some actors are celebrities
• All philosophers are logician
• Some stones are not crystal gym
• No chemical harm the patient.
• The sun has always risen
• It will be rain because whether is cloudy
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Exercise
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Identify conclusion
• Forbear to judge ,for we are sinners all.

• T.V serials should be censored as adolescent experiment

with vulgarity as the media project it as cool.

• To him belong all that is in the heavens and all that is on

earth. And verily , Allah is rich ,worthy of all praise.

• You can't separate peace from freedom because no one

can be at peace unless he has freedom.

• Love is blind. It looks with eyes of heart else from mind.

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Identify Valid or Invalid argument

• Who controls the past control the future. Who controls the
present controls the past.
• It must rained lately because road are not dry.
• All leopards with lungs are carnivores. Therefore, all
leopards are carnivores.
• Since some fruits are green, and some fruits are apples, it
follows that some fruits are green apples.
• Coca-Cola is an extremely popular soft drink. Therefore,
probably someone, somewhere, is drinking a Coke right
this minute.
• Since x + y = 10, and x = 7, it follows that y = 4.
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Deductive or inductive
• The rainfall in Seattle has been more than 15 inches
every year for the past thirty years. Therefore, the rainfall
next year will probably be more than 15 inches.
• Cholesterol is endogenous with humans. Therefore, it is
manufactured inside the human body.
• Eternity is simultaneously whole. But time has a before
and an after. Therefore time and eternity are not the same
thing.
• 90% chances are to win this game so we will win.
• Every time I've walked by that dog, it hasn't tried to bite
me. So, the next time I walk by that dog it won't try to bite
me.
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Exercise
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Logic ?
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Reading text
• The philosopher way by John chaffe
Chapter 1 : 1.4 ; pg 19-24