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Section 1.D Analyzing Arguments With Euler Diagrams

1) A logical argument consists of premises and a conclusion derived from the premises. A valid argument is one where the conclusion is true if the premises are true, while an invalid argument (fallacy) has a false conclusion even if the premises are true. 2) Euler diagrams use circles to represent sets of objects that satisfy premises. An argument is valid if its conclusion can be placed in the diagram without violating premises. 3) Example 1 of a dog having two eyes is valid, while Example 2 concluding "Spot is a dog" is a fallacy, as shown using Euler diagrams.

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101 views8 pages

Section 1.D Analyzing Arguments With Euler Diagrams

1) A logical argument consists of premises and a conclusion derived from the premises. A valid argument is one where the conclusion is true if the premises are true, while an invalid argument (fallacy) has a false conclusion even if the premises are true. 2) Euler diagrams use circles to represent sets of objects that satisfy premises. An argument is valid if its conclusion can be placed in the diagram without violating premises. 3) Example 1 of a dog having two eyes is valid, while Example 2 concluding "Spot is a dog" is a fallacy, as shown using Euler diagrams.

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meow yoongi
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§1.

D Analyzing Arguments with


Euler Diagrams
Logical Arguments
A logical argument is made up of premises (assumptions, laws,
rules, observations, and widely held ideas) and a conclusion(s)
(which is derived by deductive reasoning from the premises). The
premises lead to a conclusion. The argument are the premises and
the conclusion(s) derived from them.
A valid argument is one in which when all the premises are given as
true, then the conclusion(s) is also true. An invalid argument is one
where when all the premises are given as true, the conclusion(s) is
false. An invalid argument is called a fallacy. It is very important to
understand that a valid argument may not be true. One of the
following examples will show this.
Logical Arguments (Continued)
Example 1: Example of a valid argument
Given the following premises:
 All mammals have two eyes
 All dogs are mammals
 A poodle is a dog

Conclusion: A poodle has two eyes.


Note: Here, we deduce the conclusion from the assumed
truthfulness of the premises.
Logical Arguments (Continued)
Example 2: Example of a fallacy
Given the following premises:
 All dogs have two eyes
 All monkeys have two eyes
 Spot has two eyes
Conclusion: Spot is a dog.
Note: Here, we consider that both dogs and monkeys are subsets
of two eyed animals. But in fact, they are disjoint subsets of this
larger universal set. So the premises lead to a false conclusion.
Logical Arguments (Continued)
Example 3: Example of a valid argument that is not true!
Given the following premises:
 All flat two dimensional objects of finite extent have an edge
 The earth is a flat two dimensional object of finite extent (of
course this is false, but it was the widely held belief in the
fifteenth century)
Conclusion: The earth has an edge.
Note: The fact that one of the two premises was in reality false has
nothing to do with the argument. We accept the premises as true.
The conclusion follows by deduction from the premises. So the
argument is valid.
Euler Diagrams
An Euler diagram (invented by the great mathematician Leonhard
Euler) is a tool that helps us decide whether an argument is valid
or not. It is similar to a Venn diagram using circles to represent set
of objects that satisfy the given premises. An ‘x’ is used to indicate
where on the diagram the conclusion falls. If it can be placed so as
not to violate the premises, then the argument is valid. Otherwise
the argument is a fallacy.
The Euler diagram for Example 1 is:
Animals with two eyes
All Animals
Mammals Dogs
x

Spot
Euler Diagrams (Continued)
The Euler diagram for Example 2 is:
Two-Eyed Animals
x?

All Animals
Dogs x?
x? Monkeys
x?

Here the ‘x’ represents Spot. Clearly we cannot pin the ‘x’ down to
the ‘Dogs’ circle. In fact, Spot may not be an animal!
Euler Diagrams (Continued)
The Euler diagram for Example 3 is:
Flat 2D objects
that have an edge
2D objects
Flat 2D objects
of finite extent

Here the ‘x’ represents the earth. Thus the conclusion is valid.

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