C. conclusion
For instance, we know, A, that dogs have four legs, and we know, B, that Fido is a dog. Therefore, since A and B are true, we can conclude with certainty that, C, Fido has four legs.
From this example, you may see that a deductive argument is sound when the premises are true, and the conclusion logically follows from the premises.
Qualities of a Deductive Argument
■ It has two premises that provide a guarantee of the truth of the conclusion by providing sup-port for it that is so strong that, if the premises are true, it would be impossible for the conclu-sion to be false.
■ It is described by the terms valid and invalid;
when the premises are correct, and the conclu-sion that follows is correct, the argument is said to be valid. If either or both premises are incor-rect, the argument is invalid.
■ It is based on rules, laws, principles, or general-izations, as opposed to inductive arguments (see Lesson 14), whose major premises are based on observations or experiences.
Practice
Which is an example of a deductive argument?
a. There are 25 CDs on the top shelf of my book-case and 14 on the lower shelf. There are no other CDs in my bookcase. Therefore, there are 39 CDs in my bookcase.
b. Topeka is either in Kansas or Honduras. If Topeka is in Kansas, then Topeka is in North America. If Topeka is in Honduras, then Topeka is in Central America. Therefore, Topeka is in Kansas.
c. No one got an A on yesterday’s test. Jimmy wasn’t in school yesterday. Jimmy will make up the test today, and get an A.
d. All human beings are in favor of world peace.
Terrorists don’t care about world peace. Terrorists bring about destruction.
Answer
The answer is a, because it has two premises which are stated as generalizations or facts and a conclusion that follows logically from them. Choice b has three prem-ises and the conclusion does not follow from them.
Choices c and d have conclusions that do not follow the premises.
It is not difficult to figure out a deductive argu-ment when it is presented as straightforwardly as the examples above. But that is not how you will see them much of the time. In order for you to be able to detect a deductive argument, and then determine whether or not it is valid, you must be able to figure out what the premises and the conclusion are. Let’s look more closely at both of these parts that make up a deductive argument.
P r e m i s e s
The key to the credibility of a deductive conclusion lies in the premises. Since the conclusion must result from the premises, it is considered invalid if one or both of the premises is proven false. Therefore, the premises must be truthful facts, rules, principles, or generaliza-tions. Just one word can change the premise from fact to fiction, such as the words “all” and “every.”
Consider the following example:
All dogs have brown fur.
Spot is a dog.
Spot has brown fur.
The truth is that some dogs have brown fur. The first premise is untrue, which makes the conclusion invalid.
Major Premise
The major premise is a statement of general truth deal-ing with categories rather than individual examples. It relates two terms:
All women were once girls.
Athletes are in good shape.
Professors hold advanced degrees.
The subject of the major premise (women, ath-letes, professors) is called the antecedent; the verb phrase (were once girls, are in good shape, hold advanced degrees) is known as the consequent.
Minor Premise
The minor premise is a statement that deals with a spe-cific instance of the major premise:
The minor premise either affirms the major premise, or denies it. When it affirms, part of the minor premise equates with the subject, or antecedent, of the major premise. When it denies, part of the minor prem-ise does not equate with the consequent. For example:
Children like top 40 music.
Charles is a child.
In this case, the minor premise (Charles is a child) affirms the major premise by stating that it is something equal to the major premise (child).
Children like top 40 music.
Charles does not like top 40 music.
In this case, the minor premise denies the major premise by asserting that something is not the same as the consequent (“does not like” as opposed to “like”).
Practice
Which of the following would make the best major premise for a deductive argument? Remember that the two important factors for the major premise are:
1. it relates two terms.
2. it is stated as a generalization, rule, or principle.
a. No one knows if an asteroid will collide with the Earth.
b. There are no asteroids.
c. Those who believe asteroids will hit the earth have overactive imaginations.
d. Scientists have proven asteroids will not hit the earth.
Answer
The best choice is c, because it relates two terms
C o n c l u s i o n s
Deductive arguments are those in which the truth of the conclusion is thought to be completely guaranteed and not just made probable by the truth of the prem-ises. So if the argument is valid, the truth of the con-clusion is contained within the truth of the premises.
But, the conclusion must follow logically from and not go beyond or make assumptions about the premises.
Here is an example of a conclusion that follows the premises:
Banks make money by charging interest.
My bank charges me interest.
My bank makes money.
Note that the conclusion follows logically from both premises. It includes no additional information, and does not make assumptions or inferences about the premises. It is a valid conclusion.
Here is an example of a conclusion that goes beyond the truth of the premises:
Ernest Hemingway wrote some great books.
Ernest Hemingway wrote For Whom the Bell Tolls.
For Whom the Bell Tolls is a great book.
Why is this conclusion invalid? Because the major premise states that some of Hemingway’s books are great. The conclusion assumes that For Whom the Bell Tolls falls into that group, when there is no evidence in the premises that this is true.
Practice
Change the following invalid conclusion to make the deductive argument valid.
The price of every daily newspaper is going up next week. The New York Times is a daily newspaper. Therefore, The New York Times’s price will double next week.
Answer
The conclusion should be: Therefore, the price of The New York Times will go up next week. The deductive argument does not say the price will be double.
Tw o F o r m s o f D e d u c t i v e A r g u m e n t
There are two common ways in which deductive argu-ments are expressed: syllogisms and conditionals.
The Difference Between Fact and Opinion
A fact is an objective statement whose truth can be verified. For example, “Saturn is one of the nine planets in the solar system.” You can do some research to determine that Saturn is, indeed, one of the nine planets in the solar system. Ask yourself, is the statement always true? If the answer is yes, then it is a fact.
An opinion is a subjective statement that is based on personal beliefs. For example, “Saturn is the most beautiful planet in the solar system.” We know this is based on a personal belief because of the word “beautiful,” which is a subjective and therefore open to debate. Ask your-self, is the statement true for everyone? If the answer is no, it is an opinion.
Syllogisms
Syllogisms are made up of two premises and a conclu-sion. The first, or major, premise describes all of one class or group, A, in terms of some other class or group, B (All vegetarians do not eat meat). The second, or minor, premise places a third class or group, C, either within A or not within B (Gorden is a vegetarian). The conclusion states that C is B (Gorden does not eat meat).
When a negative is used in a syllogism, it follows the same form. For instance, All vegetarians do not eat meat. Gorden is not a vegetarian. Gorden eats meat.
The word “not” in the second premise signals the negative.
Here are a few examples of positive and negative syllogisms:
Smart people do not believe in UFOs. (All A are not B)
Lee does not believe in UFOs. (C is not B) Lee is smart. (C is A)
The greatest jazz artists were all improvisers.
Miles Davis was an improviser.
Miles Davis was a great jazz artist.
Conditionals
The other common form of a deductive argument, a conditional, expresses the same reasoning in a differ-ent way. The major premise is, if something is true of A, then something is true of B (If you spill the lemon-ade, then the table will get sticky). In the minor prem-ise, the “if ” (A) either happens or it does not (You spilled the lemonade, or You did not spill the lemon-ade). The conclusion then states that, as a result, B hap-pens or it does not (The table did get sticky, or The table
If you attend Camp HiLow, you will lose weight. (If A, then B)
You attend Camp HiLow. (A) You lose weight. (B)
If Jason stays after class to speak with his pro-fessor, he will miss the bus. (If A then B) Jason did not stay after class to speak with his
professor. (not A)
Jason did not miss the bus. (not B)
If we do not negotiate with the other side, they will defeat us. (If not A, then B)
We negotiated. (A)
They did not defeat us. (not B)
Practice
Consider this example, and state it as a syllogism and as a conditional deductive argument:
Samsa says that all his test scores are good, so the grades for his courses should be good, too.
Answer
Syllogism: All good test scores mean good course grades. Samsa’s test scores are all good. Samsa gets good course grades.
Conditional: If you get good test scores, then you get good course grades. Samsa gets good test scores. There-fore, he gets good course grades.
H o w D e d u c t i o n C a n B e M i s u s e d
In the next lesson, you will learn about specific ways in which deductive arguments are used incorrectly, whether negligently or deliberately. The better you become at spotting these “logical fallacies,” the less likely you will be to accept one as truth.
Simply, a deductive argument is invalid for one of two possible reasons: either or both of the premises are invalid, or the wrong conclusion was reached even though the premises are valid. This example contains a premise that is not true:
All Americans wear sneakers. (Major premise) Harold is an American. (Minor premise) Therefore, Harold wears sneakers. (Conclusion)
Since all Americans do not wear sneakers, the major premise is not true. That makes the conclusion, and therefore the deductive argument itself, invalid.
In this case, the wrong conclusion is reached:
Many Americans wear sneakers.
Harold is an American.
Therefore, Harold wears sneakers.
Note that by restating the invalid premise to make it valid, you have not made the conclusion true. Harold may or may not be in the group of “many” who wear sneakers. The conclusion makes an assumption that goes beyond the information contained in the premises.
I n S h o r t
Deductive reasoning takes two premises, which may be rules, laws, principles, or generalizations, and forms a conclusion based upon them. In order to be valid, a deductive argument must have premises that are true and a conclusion that logically follows from those premises, without trying to go beyond them. When you understand how these arguments work, you will know how to construct your own strong arguments. You will also avoid being influenced or persuaded by faulty deductive reasoning when you recognize it and see its flaws.
■ Find a deductive argument in print. Put it in the form of a diagram, listing the major premise, minor premise, and conclusion. Is it valid? If not, why?
■ The next time you need to persuade someone to do something, such as eat at your favorite restau-rant instead of theirs or see the movie you prefer, argue for your choice using deductive reasoning.
Skill Building Until Next Time
L
E S S O N 1 2 E X P L O R E D the characteristics of a valid deductive argument. You know that you need two premises which are true, and a conclusion that logically follows from them without assuming or inferring any information not contained in the premises. An invalid argument con-tains one or more errors. It might have a factual error, such as a premise that is not true, or a conclusion that is not supported by the premises. Or, it may contain an error in logic. This type of error is known as a fallacy.There are a number of logical fallacies that can occur in deductive arguments. There are four major logical fallacies:
1. Slippery Slope 2. False Dilemma