Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Strong vs Valid Arguments
A valid argument is an argument that’s conclusion is followed logically from the truth of the premises the argument has. A valid argument cannot have a false conclusion with premises that are true. However, just because an argument is valid doesn’t mean its conclusion will be true. The premises (doesn’t have to be all of them can just be one) can be false leading to a false conclusion. An example of a valid argument is Brandon has a degree from San Jose State University. Therefore, Brandon went to college at San Jose State University. A strong argument is an invalid argument and is an argument that is likely impossible for the premises to be true and the conclusion of the argument to be false. The same is for the opposite. A strong argument is an argument that is likely impossible for the premises to be false and the conclusion to be true. An example of a strong argument is: When I visited Brandon at work I saw a diploma from San Jose State University on his office wall. Therefore, Brandon got his degree from San Jose State University.
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I like how you organized your definitions. You first put valid arguments and strong arguments, so it was not as confusing. I knew which example was for which term. Your definitions are easy to understand and very detailed. It helped me understand the terms a little more. I also like your example because you used SJSU. I like examples that people, students to be exact, can relate to. Your examples were also very clear and to the point. The examples really help me out because I actually get to see a strong and valid argument If there were no examples it would be a lot harder to understand any concept.
ReplyDeleteThe strong versus valid post on your blog was very informative. I like how you defined a valid argument in a different way than the book did because your definition reinforced the book’s definition of the two concepts. You explain what is needed for an argument to be valid or strong and how to evaluate the premises and conclusion very clearly. The example you give about the guy getting the degree from SJSU and going to college was good and your explanation was clear. The example given about valid arguments was good because it kind of related to your example of a strong argument.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your blog. I like how you broke down the meanings of both a strong and valid argument. The way you broke them down made it much more clearer and easier to understand then how the book defined both of them. I found that your examples and definitions you gave were a lot easier for me to understand then the books definitions and examples were. Also I found your examples to be very good. It really showed that you knew what you were talking about and that you also understood the difference between a strong argument and a valid argument.
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