Number 2.
I’m on my way to school. (1) I left five minutes late (2). Traffic is heavy (3). Therefore, I’ll be late for class (4). So I might as well stop and get breakfast. (5)
Argument: Yes.
Conclusion: I will be late for class, even if I stop for breakfast.
Additional premises needed? Before sentence 5, I would add a statement that would explain why being late class after eating breakfast is no different from going straight to class already late. By doing so it would, add another justification to having breakfast.
Identify any sub-arguments: Sentences 1, 2, and 3 are independent sub-arguments.
Good Argument?
This argument was good because it was pretty straight forward. The premise was clear and it validated the conclusion. It may have been an illogical due to the fact that it justifies it with a weak premise.
This exercise was useful because you break down the argument. By breaking it down, you identify the key components every argument should have. And then analyze the validity and effectiveness of the argument.
Hello,
ReplyDeleteI also did the same exercise. I definitely agree that the statement would be more effective if there is a premise between 4 and 5 to support the conclusion and have a more credible argument. Without the additional premise that you put, the conclusion would not be as effective as it is when not provided with the premise. This exercise also helped me because at first it was pretty confusing, but again I agree with you, by breaking down the statement sentence by sentence the slight errors of the exercise becomes more obvious and much easier to identify and fix. You did a great job by explaining the exercise straightforwardly. Keep up the good work! :)
Catalina, I also used this example and also felt that a premise was needed in between 4 and 5 in order to explain why it is okay to stop for breakfast and be even more late to class instead of going straight to class late. I like the way you explained in what ways the exercise was useful. I found the exercise confusing at first and was not sure how to do it but by breaking down the argument and as you stated, identifying the components, it got a lot easier. Basically I agree with your post and wrote something similar in mine, so good job (:
ReplyDeleteCatlina, Thank you very much for using this example, at first I did not understand how to break down the premises and conclusion, so you got me from being stuck to being able to understand it! Also, I was confused on specifying which of the sentences are premises and conclusion, but now I totally get it. By breaking it down, it was able to reveal premises and conclusions, and the way you answered each of the following questions sure did help me as well. You answered every part with good answers, which I am able to get a better idea on how to approach arguments.
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