Since we now know what an argument is, the next question is what constitutes a good argument. Since the purpose of an argument is to demonstrate that the conclusion is (likely to be) true, a good argument is one that does so well. An argument, then, is good if it makes its conclusion likely to be true. There are several components to an argument's success in this mission; here are the most important two of them:
1. The premises should be true.
2. The truth of the conclusion should follow from the premises. This means that if the premises are true, then the conclusion will (likely) be true as well.
As we will discuss further in the next post, whether an argument is deductive or inductive depends upon whether we include the parenthetical 'likely' or not. In an deductive argument, the premises are supposed to guarantee the truth of the conclusion by making it impossible that the conclusion could be false if the premises are (such arguments are called 'valid'). In an inductive argument, on the other hand, the premises are just supposed to make it very likely that the conclusion is true (such arguments are called 'strong').
There are actually other criteria that are important for an argument to be good. Here's an important third one:
3. The premises should be acceptable to people to people who don't already agree with the conclusion.
This third criterion is essential if our argument is to be considered persuasive or convincing. Arguments that violate it are said to beg the question. Frequently, it is this third criterion that is the hardest to get right (and on very controversial topics it can be nearly impossible).
We'll talk more about each of these in future posts. Stay tuned!
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