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| A _____________ is something that can be either true or false. A _____________ purports to represent some fact about the world, and either it does (in which case it is true) or it does not (in which case it is false). _____________(s) are expressed by declarative sentences. |
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| An ___________ is a series of propositions where one, the conclusion, is supported by the others, the premises. The premises give reasons for the conclusion. They tell you why you should believe the conclusion. Whenever we present an ___________, we'll put the conclusion at the end and the premises above it. We will assign a number to each premise, and to indicate what the conclusion is, we will use the word “So.” Regarding the arrangement of the components of an argument in everyday conversation, there are no rules. In an ___________ative passage, the premise can be the first sentence, the last sentence, or anywhere in-between. The conclusion, in fact, might be a smaller part of some larger sentence. Words such as "therefore," "consequently," "thus," "so," and so forth are typically used to indicate that the proposition that follows is the conclusion of some ___________. Words such as "since," "because," "given that," "seeing as," and so forth are typically used to indicate that the proposition following the word(s) is a premise of some argument, though a set of propositions can lack these key words yet still be an ___________. |
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| An ______________ is one in which the premises are not purported to provide conclusive grounds for the conclusion, but only to provide reason for thinking the conclusion is probably true. For example, suppose I argue that the Ole Miss football team will not win the SEC next year, but they do. Does that mean I was illogical, that my reasoning was bad? No. I can give a great ______________ for Ole Miss’s not winning the SEC next year, yet they nonetheless win, because ______________s do not claim to guarantee the truth of their conclusions. Note that ______________s are not properly described as "valid" or "invalid," but as "strong" or "weak." |
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| In a _________________, the premises are intended to provide conclusive grounds for the conclusion. The person who makes a _________________ is saying the following: "If you agree that my premises are true, then you must accept the conclusion." Consider this example: "Either Sam has taken out federal loans or his parents are paying his tuition. Sam hasn't taken out federal loans. Therefore, his parents are paying for his tuition." Assuming the first two statements are true, my argument says that the conclusion must be true. |
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