BEL 313 LECTURE

WEEK 4A
• To say something is true is to say that what is claimed is
how things actually are.
• Unsupported claims:
• It’s going to rain later.
• The world is facing environmental catastrophe.
• Supported claim (adequate or otherwise):
• It’s going to rain later, I know because I heard the
weather forecast on the radio and it’s usually reliable.
• Climate scientists predict that the world is facing
environmental catastrophe, and they are the experts on
these issues.
• An argument:
• A set of propositions of which one is a conclusion and
the remainder are premises, intended as support for the
conclusion.
1. A proposition: the factual content expressed by a
declarative sentence on a particular occasion.

)
An argument may have any number of
premises:
• Johan has two sisters. (Premise)
• Therefore, Johan is not an only child.
(Conclusion
• There are two parts to an argument:
• The conclusion (the one we are trying to
get others to accept)
• The premises (the supporting claims that
are intended to give reasons for accepting
the conclusion)
• Helping someone to commit suicide is the same
as murder.
• Murder is wrong.
• Helping someone to commit suicide is wrong.

• We should use cars less.

• Car use is seriously damaging the environment.
• Reducing car journeys would reduce damage to
the environment.
• We should do what we can to protect the
environment.
• Helping someone to commit suicide is the same
as murder. (Premise 1)
• Murder is wrong. (Premise 2)
• Therefore, helping someone to commit suicide is
wrong. (Conclusion)

• P1)Car use is seriously damaging the

environment.
• P2)Reducing car journeys would reduce
damage to the environment.
• P3)We should do what we can to protect the
environment.
• We should use cars less.
• The question of whether a passage or speech
contains an argument is the question of
whether the speaker or writer is attempting, by
means of that passage or speech, to persuade
his or her audience of some conclusion by
offering premises in support of it.
• I’m anti-hunting because I believe that hunting
foxes is wrong. After all, it’s wrong to kill simply
for pleasure and fox-hunting involves the killing
of innocent animals for pleasure.
• What are the premises and what is the
conclusion?
• P1) It’s wrong to kill simply for pleasure
• P2) Fox-hunting involves the killing of
innocent animals for pleasure
• C) Hunting foxes is wrong
• Remember:
– reconstruct an argument for analysis by
paraphrasing the main point as one simple
proposition.
– Premises and conclusions should be
expressed as declarative sentences.
• i.e. Aren’t all socialist idealists? Change
to:
• All socialist are idealists. (declarative)
– A text may contain a conclusion that acts as a
premise for another argument. (extended
argument)
 – Look out for conclusion indicators:
• Therefore…
• Hence…
• It follows that…
• It can be concluded that…
• So…
• “Given the facts that A, B and C, it follows that D.
• P1) A
• P2) B
• P3) C
• D

– Conclusion indicators within a sentence:

– …implies…
– …establishes…
– …shows…
– ….proves…
• The fact that Matthew Bordillo is a politician (Premise) proves
that he has a very big ego (Conclusion).
 – Commonly, a writer or speaker will state the
conclusion of their argument before stating the
premises. Indicator words are:
• …because…
• …for…
• …follows from the fact that…
• …is established by…
• …is implied by…
• THESE INDICATORS ARE NOT
FOOLPROOF AND SHOULD NOT BE
TREATED AS A SUBSTITUTE FOR
CAREFUL IDENTIFICATION AND
INTERPRETATION
• NO CONCLUSION INDICATORS BUT IS
STILL AN ARGUMENT:
• I think that Dinnah should sue the local
council. They have admitted that they
were negligent in not mending the cracked
pavement that she tripped over when she
broke her ankle and that’s sufficient
grounds for compensation.
• P1) The local council has admitted
negligence.
• P2) An admission of negligence is
sufficient grounds for compensating an
injured party
• C) The local council should compensate
Dinnah.
• I put it to you that Ms White killed Colonel
Mustard in the ballroom with the
candlestick. The reason I make this claim
is that on the night of Col. Mustard’s
death, Lady Scarlet saw Ms. White in the
ballroom beating Col Mustard with the very
candlestick that was later found to have
Ms White’s fingerprints and Col Mustard’s
blood on it.
• P1) Lady Scarlet saw Ms. White in the
ballroom beating Col Mustard with the very
candlestick
• P2) The candlestick was later found to
have Ms White’s fingerprints and Col.
Mustard’s blood on it.
• C) Ms White killed Colonel Mustard in
the ballroom with the candlestick
• Exercise:
• Decide whether each of the following
cases contains an argument. If it does,
identify its premises and conclusion.
– It follows from the fact that all cats are pests
that this cat is a pest.
– I’ll never get to work if this traffic keeps up.
– Whenever a person drinks instant coffee they
end up with stomach ache and Jack is going to
have stomach ache since he just drank a cup of
instant coffee.
– There is going to be frost in the morning
because the temperature has fallen below zero.
– Bob is a dog and all dogs are black. So Bob is
black.
Whenever a person drinks
instant coffee they end up with
stomach ache and Jack is going
to have stomach ache since he
just drank a cup of instant
coffee.
P1) People end up with stomach
ache whenever they drink
instant coffee.
P2) Jack drank a cup of instant
coffee.
C1) Jack will have a stomach ache
 There is going to be frost in
the morning because the
temperature has fallen below
zero.
•
• P1) Frost forms when the
temperature falls below zero.
• P2) The temperature has fallen
below zero this morning.
• C1) There will be frost this
morning.
P1) All dogs are black.
P2) Bob is a dog.
C1) ?????
P1) All dogs are black.
P2) Bob is a dog.
C1) Bob is black.