LOGIC

An Introduction
THE ORIGAMI CRANE
 Challenging but FUN!
 Arranging
 Sequencing
 Structuring
 Thinking
LOGIC IS A BRANCH OF
PHILOSOPHY
LOGOS- Reason Philo- LOVE Sophia- Wisdom

Why do we need reason What is the purpose of

for anything? Why are we studying wisdom?
this course? To Gain
Wisdom
HOW? By asking
1. To Know Ourselves- Who are we? 2. To Know & Understand others questions/arguments/
I know that I Know nothing- To & Things in general, Their Thinking rationally/ asking
Know our ancestors/ feelings/biases emotions and feelings, others and ancestors to
ethos/pathos/ biases unearth biases.
 Logic may be defined as the organized body of knowledge, or science, that evaluates
arguments
 an argument is a group of statements.
 A statement is a sentence that is either true or false—
 premises are the statements that set forth the reasons or evidence,
 and the conclusion is the statement that the evidence is claimed to support

 The premises provide evidence for the conclusion.

EXAMPLES
 All humans are mortal.

Brad Pitt is human.

Therefore, Brad Pitt is mortal.

 Questions, proposals, suggestions, commands, and exclamations usually cannot, and so are not
usually classified as statements.
Fantastic! ,
What is your name?
Bring me the remote
WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING IS AN
ARGUMENT?
Vending machines stocked with soda or
candy should be removed from all public
schools.
○NOT AN ARGUMENT. It offers no
support Star Wars is the best movie ever.
○ NOT AN ARGUMENT. It offers no
support
We’d better leave now. If we don’t, we might
miss the last train and we’ll be stuck here all
night.
CONCLUSIO
NS
Conclusion: The main claim of an argument
that is supported by a premise
○ It’s the logical result of the
relationship between the premises.
Identifying
the
Conclusion is
thefirst step
in
understanding
the argument
CONCLUSION & PREMISE INDICATORS
 distinguish premises from conclusion, arguments have indicator words that provide clues in
identifying premises and conclusion.
 Some typical conclusion indicators are:
 therefore, accordingly, entails that, wherefore, we may conclude, hence, thus, it must be that, it
follows that, consequently, for this reason, implies that, we may infer, so, as a result
 Some arguments contain no indicators. With these, the reader/listener must ask such
questions as:
 What single statement is claimed (implicitly) to follow from the others?
 What is the arguer trying to prove?
 What is the main point in the passage?
 The answers to these questions should point to the conclusion.

 Example:
 The space program deserves increased expenditures in the years ahead. Not only does the national
defense depend on it, but the program will more than pay for itself in terms of technological spinoffs.
Furthermore, at current funding levels the program cannot fulfill its anticipated potential.
 The conclusion of this argument is the first statement, and all of the other statements are
premises,
When the argument is restructured according to logical principles, however, the conclusion is always
listed after the premises
 P1: The national defense is dependent on the space program.
 P2: The space program will more than pay for itself in terms of technological spinoffs.
 P3: At current funding levels the space program cannot fulfill its anticipated potential.
 C: The space program deserves increased expenditures in the years ahead

 Premise and conclusion are statements or propositions, they can be true or false.
TIPS ON FINDING CONCLUSIONS OF AN
ARGUMENT
 Find the main issue and ask yourself what position is the author taking here
 Look at the beginning or end of the passage, the conclusion is usually found there
 Ask yourself ‘what is the writer/speaker trying to prove?’
 Try putting the word ‘therefore’ before one of the statements. If it works fine, it is the
conclusion.
 Try the ‘because’ trick. That is, try to find the most appropriate way to fill in the blanks.
 Closely related to the concepts of argument and statement are those of inference and
proposition.
 An inference, in the narrow sense of the term, is the reasoning process expressed by an
argument. In the broad sense of the term, “inference” is used interchangeably with
“argument.”
 Analogously, a proposition, in the narrow sense, is the meaning or information content of a
statement.
 however, “proposition” and “statement” are used interchangeably
CLAIM: STATEMENT ABOUT THE TRUTH OR VALUE OF
SOMETHING THAT IS EITHER TRUE OR FALSE
ARGUMENT: A CONCLUSION AND A
SUPPORTING PREMISE TOGETHER

Conclusion: the main claim or point in an argument

that’s supported by premises
Premises: pieces of evidence that support the
conclusion
EXERCISE 1.1
I. Each of the following passages contains a single argument. Using the letters “P” and “C,” identify the premises
and conclusion of each argument, writing premises first and conclusion last. List the premises in the order in which
they make the most sense (usually the order in which they occur), and write both premises and conclusion in the
form of separate declarative sentences. Indicator words may be eliminated once premises and conclusion have
been appropriately labeled.
 A. Titanium combines readily with oxygen, nitrogen, and hydrogen, all of which have an adverse
effect on its mechanical properties. As a result, titanium must be processed in their absence
 B. When individuals voluntarily abandon property, they forfeit any expectation of privacy in it that
they might have had. Th erefore, a warrantless search or seizure of abandoned property is not
unreasonable under the Fourth Amendment.
 C. It really does matter if you get enough sleep. We need sleep to think clearly, react quickly, and
create memories. Studies show that people who are taught mentally challenging tasks do better aft er
a good night’s sleep. Other research suggests that sleep is needed for creative problem solving
II. The following arguments were taken from magazine and newspaper editorials and letters to
the editor. In most instances the main conclusion must be rephrased to capture the full intent of
the author. Write out what you interpret the main conclusion to be.

 1. University administrators know well the benefits that follow notable success in college sports:
increased applications for admissions, increased income from licensed logo merchandise, more
lucrative television deals, post-season game revenue and more successful alumni fund drives. The idea
that there is something ideal and pure about the amateur athlete is self-serving bunk.
RECOGNIZING ARGUMENTS
 In general, a passage contains an argument if it purports to prove something; if it does not do
so, it does not contain an argument.
 Factual claims
 Inferential Claims
 Explicit Inferential claim
 Implicit Inferential Claim
 Example: The genetic modification of food is risky business. Genetic engineering can introduce unintended
changes into the DNA of the food-producing organism, and these changes can be toxic to the consumer
NON-ARGUMENTS
 Simple Non-inferential Passages: Such passages contain statements that could be premises
or conclusions (or both), but what is missing is a claim that any potential premise supports a
conclusion or that any potential conclusion is supported by premises
 Passages of this sort include warnings, pieces of advice, statements of belief or opinion,
loosely associated statements, and reports.
EXPOSITORY PASSAGES
-begins with a topic sentence followed by one or more sentences that develop the topic
sentence.

Example:

There are three familiar states of matter: solid, liquid, and gas. Solid objects
ordinarily maintain their shape and volume regardless of their location. A liquid
occupies a definite volume, but assumes the shape of the occupied portion of its
container. A gas maintains neither shape nor volume. It expands to fi ll completely
whatever container it is in.
ILLUSTRATIONS
 Illustrations: provide examples of a claim but do not prove or support it.

 For example:
 Many wildflowers are edible. like, daisies and day lilies are delicious in salads.
 Chemical elements, as well as compounds, can be represented by molecular formulas.
Thus, oxygen is represented by “O2,” water by “H2O,” and sodium chloride by “NaCl.

 Borderline Cases it helps to note whether the claim being illustrated is

one that practically everyone accepts or agrees with. If it is, the passage is
probably not an argument
EXPLANATION
 An explanation is an expression that purports to shed light on some event or phenomenon
 The Titanic sank because it hit an iceberg.

CONDITIONAL STATEMENTS
 If, then- if” is called the antecedent, and the one following the “then” is called the
consequent
 If professional football games incite violence in the home, then the widespread approval
given to this sport should be reconsidered
 The relation between conditional statements and arguments may now be summarized as
follows:
 1. A single conditional statement is not an argument.
 2. A conditional statement may serve as either the premise or the conclusion (or both) of an
argument.
 3. The inferential content of a conditional statement may be re-expressed to form an argument
 E.g
 If Iran is developing nuclear weapons, then Iran is a threat to world peace.
Iran is developing nuclear weapons. Therefore, Iran is a threat to world peace.
INDUCTIVE
AND
DEDUCTIVE
REASONING
DEDUCTIVE
REASONING

A process of reasoning in which

we start with a general rule or conclusion
and look to see whether specific evidence
supports, or fits, that previously held belief
DEDUCTIVE
REASONING
1.What is the conclusion?
2. What evidence supports it?
3. Is that evidence logical?

If you can answer yes to question 3, then

the conclusion should be logical and the
argument valid and sound.
Many deductive arguments are valid
All entertainers are extroverts.
David Letterman is an entertainer.
DEDUCTIVE
Therefore, David Letterman is an extrovert.

The vast majority of entertainers are extroverts.

David Letterman is an entertainer.
INDUCTIVE
Therefore, David Letterman is an extrovert.

In the first example, the conclusion follows with strict necessity from the premises
INDUCTIVE
REASONING

A process of reasoning in which we use small,

specific examples or observation to reach a
BIG, general rule, conclusion or theory
INDUCTIVE
REASONING
When detectives arrive at the scene of a crime, the
first thing they do is look for clues that can help
them piece together what happened.

1.What have you observed? What evidence

is available?
2. What can you conclude from that
evidence?
3. Is that conclusion logical?
Many Inductive arguments are strong but
invalid
INDUCTIVE OR
DEDUCTIVE
Inductive: Evidence Conclusion
(IEC)

Deductive: Evidence (DCE)

Conclusion
INDUCTIVE OR
DEDUCTIVE
If the truth of the premises does not definitely
establishes the truth of the conclusion, but
provides a strong reason to believe the conclusion
true, then you have an inductive argument

If the truth of the premises definitely

establishes the truth of the conclusion then you
have a valid deductive argument
INDUCTIVE OR
DEDUCTIVE
1.The Giants have lost their last seven games. Thus, they
will probably lose their next game.
2.If you brush and floss your teeth daily then you will
have fewer cavities. Marie brushes and flosses her teeth
daily. Thus, she will have fewer cavities.
3.Jones will play tennis today if Smith plays. Jones will
not play tennis today. Therefore, Smith will not play.
4.4 out of 5 times I beat Corey at pool and I'm going to
play him tomorrow. So, I'll very likely win.
5.No man has ever gotten pregnant. Therefore, no man
ever will get pregnant.
INDUCTIVE OR
DEDUCTIVE
1. The Giants have lost …Inductive argument – uses 7
specific examples to reach a bigger conclusion
2. If you brush and floss your teeth …Deductive argument –
states the broadly accepted research and reaches a specific
conclusion
3. Jones will play tennis today if …Deductive argument –
gives an overarching rule that governs the behavior to predict
a specific outcome
4. 4 out of 5 times I beat Corey…Inductive argument –
uses specific examples to predict the conclusion
5. No man has ever gotten pregnant…Inductive argument – the
conclusion is a BIG, overarching rule based on numerous
specific examples to date.