According to the book, “Critical Thinking” by Richard Epstein, “a strong argument with true premises is sometimes better than a valid one with the same conclusion.” A strong argument is one that gives “good reason to believe the conclusion is true.” If the claim is not believable, or the claim leads us to believe that it is no more possible than the conclusion then it is safe to say that the argument is a bad one. An example of a strong argument is: Malcolm has made over half of the teams game-winning baskets. Therefore, Malcolm is good basketball player. This is a strong argument but it may not be valid because Malcolm could have missed every shot in those games but made the last ones by luck.
Valid arguments cannot be strong. A valid argument is one in which its premises are true and they are more reasonable than the conclusion. An example of a valid argument is: Malcolm made 15 shots in a row during his basketball game. Therefore, Malcolm is a good basketball player.
I really liked the examples you gave especially the one where you pointed out that although Malcom made game winning baskets it does not necessarily mean he is a good basketball player. However when I first read the example it seemed very likely to me that if Malcom was making game winning baskets all the time then he must be a good player. I think that if you are going to argue that this statement is not valid then your next example would not be valid as well. Just because Malcom made fifteen baskets in game does not necessarily make him a good player he could have just had a lucky night.
ReplyDeleteI liked your post. I liked the way you used the example of Malcom and the fact that he may have made half of the points but he could have missed a lot of shots or maybe he allowed a lot of baskets so it is not a strong argument. A strong argument would be maybe Malcom is a good player he made all his shots and played good all around. I also like your valid argument was good as well by using the same example and showing that valid argument don’t have to be strong they only have to have a reasonable conclusion and true premise.
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