1. Things that arguments are not

2. Assertions A statement declaring something you believe to be true
But no proof is offered
Not an argument

3. Description
Describes something
Not an Argument

4. Questions
Asks for information
Not an argument

5. Explanations
Explanadum = the statement of what is to be explained (Conclusion)
Explanans = the statements that do the explaining (Premises)

7. Explanations
Explanation of how to do something are rarely confused with arguments
Explanations of why something is true are often confused with arguments

8. The Difference
An argument is an attempt to show that some statement is true
An explanation is an attempt to tell someone why a statement is true

9. The Difference
An explanation assumes that we all agree that the explanandum (accepted fact) is true
An argument assumes that someone doesn’t agree that the conclusion is true

10. Exercises 1.5
Break up into groups
A 1-2
B 1-10
C 1-5

11. 1.5A #1
There was a moron named “Jack” who climbed up a beanstalk and came face to face with a giant.
(2) The beanstalk in front of us might be the same one that Jack climbed Therefore,
(3) There might be a giant on top of this beanstalk Therefore,
Therefore
(4) We should not climb this beanstalk  

12. 1.5A#2 Argument One: The patient is having severe chest pain
(2) There is a history of heart attacks in his family
Therefore,
(3) the patient is having a heart attack and we must operate immediately

13. 1.5A#2
Second Argument:
The patient has a receipt from Joe’s Greasy Fried Chicken Shack for five portions of Greasy chicken wings.
The patient’s hands have a lot of grease on them
Therefore, the patient is more likely having indigestion than a heart attack
Therefore,
(4) we should not immediately perform surgery

14. 1.5B #1 1-75 is always a mess They are repaving part of 1-75 today
Therefore,
(3)we should take instead

15. 1.5B #2
Not an argument. Description

16. 1.5B #3 Your car is pulling to the right The tires look ok Therefore,
(3)one of your tie rods is bent.

17. 1.5B #4
Not an argument. Command

18. 1.5B #5
Not an argument. Question

19. 1.5B #6
Not an argument. Assertion.

20. 1.5B #7 Brown sugar is white sugar with molasses added
The molasses adds only minuscule amounts of minerals
Therefore,
(3) nutritionally, brown sugar and white sugar not much different

21. 1.5B #8 Every specific political thinker presupposes man to be evil.
Therefore,
(2) All genuine political theories think men are evil.

22. 1.5B #9
The Spaniards appeared for the first time in 1517, whereas Quetzalcoatl was supposed to have returned in a One-Reed year of the Aztec calendar in 1519.
Therefore,
(2)Montezuma may not have believed that Cortes was Quetzalcoatl.

23. 1.5B #10
Not an argument. Description.

24. 1.5C #1 Students do better when classes are smaller. Therefore
(2) We should have smaller classes in our elementary schools 

25. 1.5C #2
Explanation. Explanandum: He is getting fat Explanans: He does not Exercise, eats donuts for breakfast and hamburgers every night against

26. 1.5C #3 His parents were divorced before he was two
*[2] He did not go to school until after he was two
Therefore
(3) The divorce could not have caused the drop in grades
(4) There is some other cause for the drop in grades

27. 1.5C #4 There is an argument and two explanations. Argument:
The dinosaur’s right foot was deformed
Therefore
(2) The dinosaur could barely walk

28. 1.5C #4
Explanation One: Explanandum is that the right foot was deformed Explanans is that the foot was broken and healed badly

29. 1.5C #4
Explanation Two Explanandum is that the dinosaur died Explanans is that the dinosaur could barely walk, which relies on background knowledge that dinosaurs which could not walk would be unable to get food and would die.

30. 1.5C #5
Neither an argument nor an explanation.

31. Putting Arguments into Standard Form
1. Put all statements into declarative sentences and replace all pronouns with nouns
2. Insert any unstated premises and conclusions

32. 3. Number each statement
4. Place premises before their conclusion
Indicate conclusions with the word “therefore”

33. Example
(1) Premise #1
(2) Premise #2
Therefore
(3) Conclusion

34. Linked Arguments Sometimes called “Complex Arguments”
When the conclusion of one argument is the premise of another

35. Subarguments
Arguments that are used to support the premises of the main argument

36. Exercise 1.6
Break into groups
C 1-10

37. 1.6C #1
You were playing with your dinosaur in the kitchen less than an hour ago.
You have not been out of the house in the last hour.
Therefore,
(3) Your dinosaur is in the house.

38. 1.6C #2
No argument.

39. 1.6C #3 If he goes to work, he’ll get very sick. He won’t go to work.
Therefore,
(3) He will not get sick.

40. 1.6C #4
No argument.

41. 1.6C #5 Napoleon either lost at Waterloo or at Austerlitz.
Napoleon did not lose at Austerlitz.
Therefore,
(3) Napoleon lost at Waterloo.

42. 1.6C #6 There is some red dirt on Watson’s shoe.
There is red dirt on the ground in front of the Seymour Street Post Office that lies in such a way that it is difficult to avoid treading in it in entering.
Therefore,
(3) Watson has been to the Seymour Street Post Office.

43. 1.6C #7
God has many earthly children but he does not tenderly care for them and he inflicts wanton cruelty on them.
People condemn those who have children and do not tenderly care for them and treat them cruelly.
People do not condemn God’s failure to tenderly care for his earthly children and God’s infliction of wanton cruelty on them.
Therefore,
(4) People do not correctly use their reasoning abilities when they think about religious matters.

44. 1.6C #8
8. Not an argument. It could also be an explanation for Holle’s conviction for murder. In that case, the explanandum is that Holle was convicted of murder. The explanans are: the felony murder law, that Holle lent his car to a friend, that this friend used the car to drive to commit burglary, and that someone was murdered during the course of the burglary.

45. 1.6C #9
This is a series of descriptions of claims made by Peter Singer. It is not an argument. How-ever, someone might be confused into thinking that the passage is making an argument because the authors are describing an argument made by Singer.

46. Here’s is a standardization of Singer’s argument:
The reflective, communicative, emotional, and social abilities of severely mentally impaired humans are not any greater than that of a pig or a primate.
Therefore,
(2) There are no morally relevant differences between some non-human animals and some severely mentally impaired human beings.
(3) We should treat all these beings in similar ways.

47. 1.6C #10
No argument.

48. Diagramming Arguments
Making a picture of a standardized argument

49. Each sentence is represented by a number
A line of inference from a premise to the conclusion is represented by a line with an arrow pointing to the conclusion

50. Example

51. Exercise 1.7
Break up into groups B