Week 2

Prior to beginning work on this discussion,

• Read the assigned sections in Chapters 3, 5, and 6 in your course textbook.
• Complete the interactive module PHI103 Inductive and Deductive Arguments
• Watch the following videos:
  • What Is an Inductive Argument?
  • What Is a “STRONG” Argument?
  • What Is a Deductive Argument?
  • Inductive Reasoning Chris Foster

Your instructor will choose the discussion question and post it as the first post in the discussion forum. Answer all the questions in the prompt, and read any resources that are required to complete the discussion properly.

Guided Response: In addition to your original post, post a minimum of three responses for a total of at least four posts. At least two responses must be to your classmates; the third response could be to a classmate or your instructor. Be sure to post on three separate days throughout the week to promote further engagement and discussion. Each response should be a minimum of 75 words.

In the required reading this week we learned about the following argument forms: Deductive arguments, statistical syllogisms, arguments from analogy, appeals to authority, and inductive generalizations.

Choose three of the five argument forms and create an example of each. Your arguments do not have to be great arguments (you will analyze their quality below), but they should clearly be instances of the argument types you chose in question (make sure to indicate what argument type each one is).

After each argument, provide a brief analysis of its quality. If it is deductive, is it valid? Is it sound? If it is inductive, is it strong? Is it cogent? (Be sure to read the definitions from the text.)What might be done to improve the argument? What can people do to better understand and apply this type of argument in general?

Guided Response: In addition to your original post, post a minimum of three responses, at least two of which must be to your classmates. The third response could be to a classmate or your instructor.  Be sure to post on three separate days throughout the week to promote further engagement and discussion. Each response should be a minimum of 75 words.