Can a weak argument have a true conclusion?
Asked by: Edison Kling Sr. | Last update: July 24, 2025Score: 4.6/5 (33 votes)
It does not mean simply that the argument is faulty. The argument is invalid = the conclusion does not follow from the premises = it might be that the premises are true without exception while yet the conclusion is false. To answer your question, then: Yes, an invalid argument might have a true conclusion.
Can bad arguments have true conclusions?
4. If an invalid argument has all true premises, then the conclusion must be false. FALSE: It is possible for an invalid argument to have all true premises and a true conclusion.
Can an argument be poor even if it has a true conclusion?
An argument can be poor even if it has a true conclusion. As long as the premises of an argument are connected to the conclusion it will be a good argument. Any argument (in English) contains at least one premise indicator word. In presenting an argument the conclusion is always given at the end.
What makes a weak argument?
Weak argument: A weak argument is the one which is illogical, impractical and irrelevant. Also, extreme statements and examples are weak arguments. These may not be directly related to the question and the reasoning factor is weak. Such arguments can be opinion based, ambiguous or superfluous.
What is an invalid argument with a true conclusion?
In other words, an invalid argument may have one or more false premises and a true conclusion (consider J and L). Since a valid argument does not guarantee the preservation of falsity (consider 1 and K), we can say that no argument guarantees that if one or more of its premises is false then so is its conclusion.
Analyzing an argument for validity
Is An argument valid if the conclusion is true?
Valid: an argument is valid if and only if it is necessary that if all of the premises are true, then the conclusion is true; if all the premises are true, then the conclusion must be true; it is impossible that all the premises are true and the conclusion is false.
What is an example of an invalid syllogism?
An example of a valid syllogism is: All M is P, All S is M, All S is P; an example of an invalid syllogism is: All M is P, Some S is M9 No S is P; an example of a neither valid nor invalid syllogism is: All P is M, All S is M, Some S is not P.
How do you identify weak arguments?
A weak argument will lack one of three things: a claim, relevant reasoning, and reliable evidence. An argument with no claim is not actually arguing anything and likely just expounding on fact.
Can an argument be valid but weak?
It is thus possible for the premise of the argument to be true, but the conclusion false. Arguments can be valid even if they are rubbish: If there is a purple elephant in the hall, then I am a giant turkey.
How can you distinguish between a strong argument and a weak argument?
STRONG: If all the premises are true, the conclusion follows with high probability. WEAK: If all the premises are true, the conclusion follows neither with certainty nor with high probability.
What is a cogent argument?
A cogent argument is by definition non-deductive, which means that the premises are intended to establish probable (but not conclusive) support for the conclusion. Furthermore, a cogent argument is strong, so the premises, if they were true, would succeed in providing probable support for the conclusion.
Is the conclusion guaranteed to be true in an argument?
Deductive arguments are and always will be valid because the truth of the premises is sufficient to guarantee the truth of the conclusion; if the premises are true, the conclusion will be also. This is to say that the truth of the conclusion cannot contain any information that is not already contained in the premises.
Can a fallacy have a true conclusion?
A fallacious argument, just as with a false antecedent, can still have a consequent that happens to be true. The fallacy is in concluding the consequent of a fallacious argument has to be false. That the argument is fallacious only means that the argument cannot succeed in proving its consequent.
Is it possible for an invalid argument to have a false conclusion even if all the premises are true?
It is possible for an invalid argument to have a false conclusion even if all the premises are true.
Can something be logical but not true?
A logical fallacy is an argument that may sound convincing or true but is actually flawed. Logical fallacies are leaps of logic that lead us to an unsupported conclusion.
What is the fallacy of false assumption?
A false assumption, also called ''false premise,'' is a kind of logic fallacy in which an underlying premise or proposition for an argument is false or invalid. When an argument uses a false assumption, the conclusion drawn from it may be false. This type of logical statement or conclusion is also known as syllogism.
Can there be an invalid argument with a true conclusion?
The premises and the conclusion of an invalid argument can all be true. A valid argument should not be defined as an argument with true premises and a true conclusion. The premises and the conclusion of a valid argument can all be false.
How to spot a bad argument?
- Ad Hominem. Attacking the author of ideas does not imply that his/her argument is flawed. ...
- Appeal to Authority. Always remember, the authorities might be wrong.
- Appeal to Ignorance. ...
- Bandwagon Appeal. ...
- Begging the Question/Circular Argument. ...
- Composition. ...
- Correlation, Not Causation. ...
- Division.
What is an example of a weak argument?
Here is an example of weak argument: “Charlie is a woman. Some women like poetry. Therefore, Charlie likes poetry.” In this case, the premise “some women like poetry” has a low or unclear probability, so the argument is weak.
What makes a poor argument?
If the argument is invalid, then it's a bad argument: it's an argument that is intended to give conclusive support for it's conclusion, but fails to do so. Game over. Think of a student sitting in a mathematics exam and making a crucial mistake in a proof. Then the student's answer is invalid and therefore, bad.
Which statement weakens the argument?
Any choice that states that the assumption is wrong will weaken the argument. II. If different evidence can strengthen the argument; different evidence can weaken the argument as well. Any new information given in an answer choice that makes the assumption less likely to be correct will weaken the argument as a whole.
Where should you put your weakest argument?
It is best to begin and end with your strongest points, then disperse the weaker arguments throughout. However, you could also structure your argument thematically or chronologically, depending on your essay topic.
Can you have a valid but untrue syllogism?
If one of the premises in a syllogism is false, the conclusion cannot be proven and is also supposed false. For example, the argument "all humans have four legs." John is a human. Therefore, "John has four legs" is a valid argument, but since humans do not have four legs, it is a false syllogism.
How to tell if an argument is valid or invalid?
An argument is valid if the premises and conclusion are related to each other in the right way so that if the premises were true, then the conclusion would have to be true as well.
What is the difference between a valid and invalid syllogism conclusion?
For a syllogism to be valid, terms must be used consistently throughout the argument. This means that a term must have the same meaning in both premises and the conclusion. If a term changes meaning, it results in a fallacy of equivocation, leading to an invalid syllogism.