1. Founding an Argument

Recall the earlier reference to the elemental move of reasoning, the inferential move, whereby we go from one idea that is known to be true to a second idea that is recognized as true on the force of the first idea. This move constitutes the heart of argumentation. Arguments, as we saw, are composed of statements, and it is the statements within an argument that convey the ideas with which the inferential move is concerned.

Arguments can get complicated, chiefly by reason of the number of statements they may contain, but every argument, no matter how complicated, is extremely simple in its essential character. Every argument is composed of two basic elements, two different types of statements: a “premise” statement and a “conclusion” statement. A premise is a supporting statement. It is the starting point of an argument, containing the known truth from which the inferential move begins. A conclusion is a supported statement, the statement that is accepted as true on the basis of the premise. Complicated arguments usually result from the large number of premises they contain, as mentioned, and from how those premises relate to one another. You can have a set of premises in which one builds on another, so they have to be arranged in the proper sequence. For example: “Because the nail came out of the horseshoe, because the horseshoe came off, because the horse grew lame, because the horse fell down and threw the general, because the general was captured, the battle was lost.” It is rare to have multiple conclusions to an argument. And, in fact, they are to be avoided. A single conclusion is always best. This is just another way of saying that the most effective arguments are those that are trying to make a single point.

The simplest argument is one composed of two statements, a supporting statement or premise and a supported statement or conclusion. Usually, the context of the argument will allow you to tell which is which, but we attach what are called “logical indicators” to statements in order to mark them clearly as either premises or conclusions. Common logical indicators for premises are “because,” “since,” “on account of.” Common logical indicators for conclusions are “therefore,” “thus,” “so.” More elaborate expressions can be used to announce premises (“in view of the fact that,” etc.) and conclusions (“it necessarily follows that,” etc.). Consider this simple explanatory argument:

 

Because he was constantly disputing with his boss,

Dave was transferred to the Houston office.

 

COMMENT: The argument isn’t trying to establish a matter of fact, Dave’s transfer, but to explain it, to give the reason why it occurred. The first statement, the premise, is offered as supporting information in that, if we accept it as true, we now understand why the transfer took place.

The premise is the foundation of an argument. The soundness of this foundation depends entirely on the truth of the premise. The first order of business, then, in building a sound argument is to ensure the truth of the premise. In the argument above, if it is not true that Dave was constantly disputing with his boss, then we remain without an explanation for his transfer. Besides the imperative requirement that it be true, a premise, in order to provide a sound foundation for argument, must be sufficiently wide in scope to contain the conclusion. This is a point I will discuss in sections 14 and 15.