Friday, September 10, 2010

Tests for Arguments

Example: A person born on or in between September 24 through October 23 is a Libra. Katie was born on October 11th. Therefore, Katie is a Libra.

Tests for Good Arguments:
1) The premises are plausible.
     Libras are in fact born in between that time period. I personally do not know why that is, but it is accepted by those who believe in astrology. Whether you follow horoscopes or not is up to you. No other sign is associated with those dates which justifies the premises.
2) The premises are more plausible than the conclusion.
    The premises are concrete and generally accepted by people worldwide. Katie's birthday is specific to her, and her only, which also means her sign is situational to her personal life. The conclusion depends on when Katie was born. The premises cannot change. Therefore, the conclusion is not as plausible as the premises.
3) The argument is valid or strong.
     Katie's birthday is October 11th. According to the astrology, she is a Libra. No counter argument can exist that she is a different sign which defeats any purpose of a debate against the argument. Although astrology itself is debatable, Katie's sign is not.

1 comment:

  1. This is a good example of a good argument. It is true that the conclusion depends on how Katie was born, which makes a valid point. You also make a good point of how the premise is more plausible than the conclusion. The premise cannot be changed because astrologists did determine when Libra's were born. Even though the conclusion is determined by when the person was born, this argument does pass all the three tests of a good argument. I believe that this argument is a good and strong argument. As you said, Astrology is uncertain, but the fact that Katie is a Libra is justified.

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