12th Edition – JOHN CHAFFEE

Constructing
Arguments
▪ Learning to construct logically valid and compelling
arguments to support your point of view
▪ Learning to evaluate the soundness of deductive and inductive
arguments and detect illogical ways of thinking (“fallacies”)
Thinking Critically – John Chaffee
Thinking Critically – John Chaffee
 Discussing issues with others encourages you
✓to be mentally active,
✓to ask questions,
✓to view issues from different perspectives, and
✓to develop reasons to support conclusions.

Thinking Critically – John Chaffee

▪ a form of reasoning in which certain statements (reasons/
premises) are offered in support of another statement (the
conclusion)
▪ A set of statements representing the premises/reasons and
conclusion.
▪ Composed of one or more premises and a conclusion (Bassham,
[Link])

Thinking Critically – John Chaffee

 ▪Socrates is a philosopher.
All philosophers like thinking.
So Socrates likes thinking.
▪ Bachelors are ▪ This cat is black.
unmarried men. ▪ That cat is black.
▪ Bill is unmarried. ▪ A third cat is black.
▪ Therefore, Bill is a ▪ Therefore all cats are
bachelor. black
1. Premises/Reasons
2. Conclusion
1. We construct arguments to DECIDE
2. We construct arguments to PREDICT
3. We construct arguments to PERSUADE

DPP
▪ statements that support, justify, or make another statement
(the conclusion) more probable; they provide evidence for the
conclusion.
▪ Are statements in an argument offered as evidence why we
should accept another statement.

Thinking Critically – John Chaffee

▪ a statement that asserts itself as true; it’s the statement in an
argument that you are trying to prove using reasons.
▪ The statement in an argument that the premises are intended
to prove or support.

Thinking Critically – John Chaffee

▪ Is a sentence that can be viewed as either true or false.
▪ Examples:
▪ Red is a color.
▪ There are nine planets in the solar system.
▪ Abortion is morally wrong.
▪ The organizers of the SEA Games are unprepared.
▪ The Filipinos should show support to the organizers of the SEA
Games.
▪ Words or phrases that provide clues that premises or
conclusions are being put forward.
▪ PREMISE INDICATORS
▪ Indicate that premises are being offered.

▪ CONCLUSION INDICATORS
▪ Indicate that conclusions are being offered.
Cue words signaling reasons (premise indicators)
• since • for
• because • as shown by
• as indicated by • given
• assuming • in view of
• first, second • in the first (second) place
• may be inferred from • may be deduced
• may be derived • for the reason
Thinking Critically – John Chaffee
▪ Having fun can be the spice of life but not its main course,
because when it is over, nothing of lasting value remains.
(Harold Kushner)
▪ Since effective reasoning requires reliable information, it is
important to be able to distinguish good source and trustworthy
experts from less useful ones. (Drew E. Hinderer).
▪ To know that God exists in a general and confused way is
implanted in us by nature, inasmuch as God is man’s beatitude.
(Saint Thomas Aquinas)
Cue words signaling conclusion (conclusion indicators)
• therefore • thus • hence
• so • (which) shows • (which) proves
• implies • points to • as a result
• consequently • it follows • thereby showing
• demonstrates • allows us to infer • suggests very strongly
• you see • leads me to believe • allows us to deduce

Thinking Critically – John Chaffee

▪ Sorrow is merely a state of mind and may not be warranted by
the circumstance. Hence, whether or not you feel sad over
something is all in the mind. (Lie Zi)
▪ Rapid economic improvements represent a life-or-death
imperative throughout the Third World. Its people will not be
denied that hope, no matter the environmental costs. As a
result, that choice must not be forced upon them. (Al Gore)
▪ Find the main issue and ask yourself what position the writer or speaker is taking on
that issue.
▪ Look at the beginning or end of the passage: the conclusion is often (but not always)
found in one of those places.
▪ Ask yourself, “what is the writer or speaker trying to prove?” That will be the
conclusion.
▪ Try putting the word therefore before one of the statements. If it fits, that
statement is probably the conclusion.
▪ Try the “because trick.” That is, try to find the most appropriate way to fill in the
blanks in the following statement:
▪ The write or speaker believes _____________________ (conclusion) because
_________________ (premise). The conclusion will naturally come before the word
because.
When you construct an argument, you are relating to the world by
means of your ability to infer.
Inferring is a thinking process you use to reason based on what you
already know (or believe to be the case) in order to form new
knowledge or beliefs.
You usually do this when you construct arguments. You work from
reasons you know or believe to be true in order to arrive at a
conclusion.

Thinking Critically – John Chaffee

▪ the process of
deriving logical conclusions from
premises known or assumed to be
true.
▪ The term derives from the Latin
term, which means "bring in."
▪ An inference is said to be valid if it's
based upon sound evidence and the
conclusion follows logically from the
premises
 TO CONSTRUCT EFFECTIVE YOU’LL NEED TO ASK YOURSELF 1. ASSUMING THAT THE REASONS/PREMISES 2. HOW TRUE ARE THE REASONS
ARGUMENTS, YOU MUST TWO QUESTIONS: OFFERED ARE TRUE, WOULD THEY ACTUALLY BEING OFFERED TO SUPPORT THE
DEVELOP YOUR ABILITIES TO DEMONSTRATE THAT THE CONCLUSION IS CONCLUSION?
EVALUATE BOTH THE STRUCTURE TRUE? (IN OTHER WORDS, IS THERE A DIRECT
OF AN ARGUMENT (HOW THE CONNECTION BETWEEN THE REASONS AND THE
REASONS/ PREMISES RELATE TO CONCLUSIONS?)
THE CONCLUSION), AND THE
TRUTH OF THE REASONS/
PREMISES.

Thinking Critically – John Chaffee

an argument in which if the premises
(reasons) are true, then the conclusion
would have to be true as well.

Thinking Critically – John Chaffee

an argument in which the reasons do not
support the conclusion so that the reasons
could be true but the conclusion could be false

Thinking Critically – John Chaffee

Validity:
Evaluating arguments involves investigating the relationship between
the reasons and the conclusion.
When the reasons support the conclusion so that the conclusion follows
from the reasons being offered, the argument is valid.
If, however, the reasons do not support the conclusion so that the
conclusion does not follow from the reasons being offered, the
argument is invalid.
Of note, if a deductive argument proves to be invalid, then it is
considered unsound and you don’t have to evaluate whether the
premises are true.
Thinking Critically – John Chaffee
 Truth:

To evaluate validity, we assumed that the reasons/premises were

true.
DETERMINING TRUTH OF PREMISES:
▪ Does each reason make sense?
▪ What evidence is being offered as part of each reason?
▪ Is each reason based on a source that can be trusted?
▪ Do you know each reason to be true based on your experience?
▪ You use these questions and others like them to analyze the reasons
offered and to determine whether they are true or probable.

Thinking Critically – John Chaffee

When an argument includes both a valid
structure and true reasons, it is a sound
argument. When an argument has
either an invalid structure or false
reasons, the argument is considered to
be unsound.

Thinking Critically – John Chaffee

The Soundness of Arguments

Thinking Critically – John Chaffee

The Soundness of Arguments
In terms of arguments, truth and validity are not the same
concepts.
An argument can have a valid structure with false premises or
an invalid structure with true premises.
In either case the argument is unsound.
To be sound, an argument must have both a valid structure
and true reasons.
SOUNDNESS= valid structure + true reasons

Thinking Critically – John Chaffee

▪P.I. _______
▪C.I._______
1. P.I. since 11. P.I. namely
2. P.I. for 12. None
3. P.I. because 13. P.I. so long as
4. P.I. and 14. None
5. C.I. therefore
15. P. I. because
6. C.I. for that reason
16. None
7. P.I. accordingly
17. None
8. P.I. as, in addition
18. none
9. P.I. without them/with them
10. P.I. because
 deductive argument
▪ an argument form in which the conclusion is meant to follow
necessarily from the premises
▪ an argument that is intended by the arguer to
be deductively valid, that is, to provide a guarantee of the truth
of the conclusion provided that the argument's premises are
true.

Thinking Critically – John Chaffee

▪It's sunny in Manila.
▪If it's sunny in Manila, then he won't be carrying
an umbrella.
▪So, he won't be carrying an umbrella.
 Understanding
Deductive Arguments
Deductive argument forms all share one characteristic:
▪ If you accept the supporting premises as true, then you must
necessarily accept the conclusion as true.
▪ deductive arguments aim at certainty.

Thinking Critically – John Chaffee

▪It's sunny in Manila. (true)
▪If it's sunny in Manila, then he won't be carrying
an umbrella. (true)
▪So, he won't be carrying an umbrella. (true)
1. Application of a general rule
2. Modus ponens
3. Modus tollens
4. Disjunctive syllogism
Application of a General Rule

PREMISE: All A are B.

PREMISE: S is an A.
CONCLUSION: Therefore, S is B.

Thinking Critically – John Chaffee

Application of a General Rule
This argument form is valid no matter what terms are
included. For example:

PREMISE 1: All fish are purple.

PREMISE 2: Goldfish are fish.
CONCLUSION: Therefore, goldfish are purple.

Thinking Critically – John Chaffee

 Modus Ponens
A second valid deductive form that we commonly use in our thinking
goes by the name modus ponens—that is, “affirming the
antecedent”—and is illustrated in the following example:

PREMISE: If I have prepared thoroughly for the final

exam, then I will do well.
PREMISE: I prepared thoroughly for the exam.
CONCLUSION: Therefore, I will do well on the exam.

Thinking Critically – John Chaffee

Modus Ponens
When we reason like this, we are using the following argument
structure:

PREMISE: If A, then B.
PREMISE: A.
CONCLUSION: Therefore, B.

Thinking Critically – John Chaffee

 Modus Tollens
A third commonly used valid deductive form has the name modus
tollens—that is, “denying the consequent”—and is illustrated in the
following example:

PREMISE: If Michael were a really good friend, he would

lend me his car.
PREMISE: Michael refuses to lend me his car.
CONCLUSION: Therefore, Michael is not a really good
friend.
Thinking Critically – John Chaffee
Modus Tollens
When we reason in this fashion, we are using the following
argument structure:

PREMISE: If A, then B.
PREMISE: Not B.
CONCLUSION: Therefore, not A.

Thinking Critically – John Chaffee

 Disjunctive Syllogism
A fourth common form of a valid deductive argument is a disjunctive
syllogism. The term disjunctive means presenting several alternatives.
This form is illustrated in the following example:

PREMISE: Either I left my wallet on my dresser or I have

lost it.
PREMISE: The wallet is not on my dresser.
CONCLUSION: Therefore, I must have lost it.

Thinking Critically – John Chaffee

Disjunctive Syllogism
When we reason in this way, we are using the following
argument structure:

PREMISE: Either A or B.
PREMISE: Not A.
CONCLUSION: Therefore, B.

Thinking Critically – John Chaffee

Disjunctive Syllogism
or

PREMISE: Either A or B.
PREMISE: Not B.
CONCLUSION: Therefore, A.

Thinking Critically – John Chaffee

1. An argument is valid if the premises can’t all be true without the conclusion
also being true.
2. An argument is valid if the truth of all its premises forces the conclusion to be
true.
3. An argument is valid if it would be inconsistent for all its premises to be true
and its conclusion to be false.
4. An argument is valid if its conclusion follows with certainty from its premises.
5. An argument is valid if it has no counterexample, that is, a possible situation
that makes all the premises true and the conclusion false.
Thinking Activity 10.3
Evaluating Arguments
Analyze the seven arguments (from page 442 to 443) by completing these
steps:
1. Identify the premises and the conclusion.
2. Determine which, if any, of the following deductive argument forms is
used:
• application of a general rule
• modus ponens
• modus tollens
• disjunctive syllogism
3. Evaluate the truth of the premises to the best of your ability.
Thinking Critically – John Chaffee
 Constructing
Extended Arguments
Learning to discuss ideas with others in an organized fashion is crucial for thinking
critically.
It is equally important to be able to present your ideas in written form. Composing
your ideas develops your mind in distinctive, high-order ways. When you express
your ideas in writing, you tend to organize them into more complex relationships,
select your terms with more care, and revise your work after an initial draft.
As a result, your writing is often a more articulate and comprehensive expression of
your ideas than you could achieve in verbal discussions. And the process of
expressing your ideas in such a clear and coherent fashion has the simultaneous
effect of sharpening your thinking.

Thinking Critically – John Chaffee

Writing an
Extended Argument
Learning to construct extended arguments is one of the most
important writing skills that you need to develop. Because an
argument is a form of thinking in which you are presenting
reasons to support a conclusion, it is likely that much of your
writing will fall into this category. Composing thoughtfully
reasoned and clearly written arguments is very challenging. Just
as many discussions are illogical, disorganized, and overly
emotional, much argumentative writing is ineffective and poorly
reasoned.

Thinking Critically – John Chaffee

Chapter 10 Summary
• Argument is a form of thinking in which certain reasons are
offered to support a conclusion.
• Cue words for arguments help us identify reasons and
conclusions.
• Arguments are inferences that we use to help us decide,
explain, predict, and persuade.
• We evaluate arguments by asking, “How true are the
supporting reasons?” and “Do the reasons support the
conclusion?”

Thinking Critically – John Chaffee

Chapter 10 Summary
• A valid argument is one in which the reasons support the
conclusion so that the conclusion follows from the reasons
offered.
• Deductive argument is an argument form in which one
reasons from premises that are known or assumed to be true
to a conclusion that follows necessarily from these premises.
• Some common deductive argument forms include modus
ponens, modus tollens, disjunctive syllogism, and application
of a general rule.

Thinking Critically – John Chaffee

THINKING CRITICALLY
John Chaffee