CRITICAL THINKING

LECTURE #2

“The unexamined life is not worth living” (Plato, Apology 38a)

1. Human choice was motivated by the desire for happiness.

2. Ultimate wisdom comes from knowing oneself.
3. The more a person knows, the greater his or her ability to reason and make choices that will
bring true happiness.

What is Inference?

In logic, an inference is a process of deriving logical conclusions from premises known or assumed to be
true.
An inference is said to be valid if it's based upon sound evidence and the conclusion follows logically
from the premises.
Inference is also making connections between the known and unknown.

Inference indicators-words that connect the premises to the reasons or conclusions.

because therefore
since . . . thus . . .
for . . . consequently . . .
given . . . so . . .
as . . . hence . . .

When determining whether a passage contains an argument, you can classify any passages with fewer
than two claims as non-arguments.
But it doesn’t follow that every passage containing a set of claims is an argument.
The definition of argument has a further requirement.
An argument, remember, is a set of claims that offers reasons as evidence for the truth of one of its
claims.
The auto parts store was burglarized because the employees forgot to lock the back door.
The burglar is armed, so he’s dangerous.
A 9mm casing was found at the scene of the crime, and 9mm bullets are used only in pistols. Therefore, a
pistol was the weapon used by the gunman.
DETERMINING THE PURPOSE OF REASONS
Like arguments, explanations have at least two claims.
However, despite these similarities, the purpose of the reasons is different for arguments and
explanations.
The reasons in an argument prove that some contested claim is true. The fact that
a claim is contested means that arguments are attempts to resolve an issue; therefore,
the reasons given must provide evidence to support one side of that issue.
The reasons in an explanation, on the other hand, do not attempt to prove anything; they explain how
or why some accepted claim is true. Since the speaker assumes that the claim is already accepted as
true, there is no issue up for debate. As you can see, the only way to be sure that a passage is an
argument is to determine the purpose of the reasons GIVEN.
1. If the reasons offer evidence for the truth of another claim, then the passage is an argument.
2. If the reasons do not offer such evidence, then the passage is an explanation, not an argument.
Frank was late to class because his car wouldn’t start.
What is the purpose of this reason? Does it provide evidence to prove something?
Frank’s car trouble can’t be a battery problem because he just replaced the battery last month.
Hint!
Sometimes the reasons given by an arguer do not actually provide evidence to
prove a claim because they are not good reasons. In these cases, the passage is
still an argument because the arguer intends to use the reasons as evidence.