Truth
This is an attribute of single propositions. Any premise or conclusion in the argument must be true or false. Truth is not something that can be said of an argument as a whole; it can only be said of individual propositions.Validity
This is an attribute of whole arguments. Validity refers to the inferential relationship between the premises of an argument and the conclusion. In other words, an argument is valid iff (if and only if) the conclusion follows from the premises.Remember, validity works independently of the TRUTH of any proposition. You could have an argument where any or all propositions are false, and still be valid. You could also have an argument where all the propositions are true, and still be invalid.
Validity, to emphasize this point, deals with the RELATIONSHIP between premises and conclusion. If the conclusion follows from the premises, the argument is valid.
Soundness
This refers to the sum of every requirement for a good argument.An argument is sound iff EVERY single proposition in the argument is true, AND the argument is valid.
So, soundness requires both validity and truth across the board.
If any one proposition is false, then the argument cannot be sound, even if it is valid.
If the argument is invalid, then the argument cannot be sound, even if every proposition is true.
Let me know if you guys still have questions.
Would you like me to post some exercises for you guys to practice and get better at this?
2 comments:
Berto - Lori and I are here on the computer and we think we have figured out how to blog, BUT... we clicked on the top right of the page where it says create a blog, typed int he title we were going to use, typed in the blog address, then it asks for the visual code (squiggly letters) and the box was empty, and it wouldn't let us go any further! What do you suggest? We would like some exercises to try to figure out andd then maybe you could go over them w/ us on monday. Maureen & Lori
you don't want to create a blog... not for our class anyway; the blog has already been created. once you sign in to the blogger account, and you are looking at the blog, there should be a link on the upper right hand corner that says "new post." that's what you should click to start new entries.
hopefully we'll be able to use a computer on monday to clarify all blog-related issues.
i'll try to post some exercises either later tonight or tomorrow.
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