Simple and Complex Arguments page 1 In the last lesson we said that an argument consists of one or more premises, and a conclusion. In this lesson, you will learn the difference between simple and complex arguments. An argument in which at least one premise is supported by a further premise is called a complex argument. Here is an example of a complex argument. Again we use blue for premises (or premise indicators) and green for conclusions (or conclusion indicators). I bet it will rain soon, because the sky has darkened. So you shouldn’t water the garden right now. Here we have two arguments, a main argument and a sub-argument. The sub-argument comes first, logically, because its conclusion is one of the premises of the main argument. You can see that the speaker is ultimately arguing that you shouldn’t water the garden right now. Her premise for saying this is that it will rain soon. But she has also given a reason for believing that it will rain soon – namely that the sky has darkened. So the total pattern can be depicted like this: sub-argument 1 The sky has darkened. 2 [Therefore] it will rain soon. [intermediate conclusion] main argument 2 It will rain soon. 3 So you shouldn’t water the garden right now. [main conclusion] Statement 1 is there to support statement 2, so 1 is a premise and 2 is the first conclusion. But statement 2 does double duty: the speaker now uses it as a premise to support statement 3, which is the ultimate conclusion. We will call 3 the main conclusion and 2 the intermediate conclusion. (Note the indicator term “because” at the top: it helps us see that statement 1 is a premise for statement 2.) Anytime a statement is both a conclusion and a premise it’s called an intermediate conclusion. And when you have at least one intermediate conclusion in an argument you have a complex argument. If an argument has no intermediate conclusions in it, then it’s a simple argument. That means that in a simple argument, no premise is supported by a further premise. The argument above can be simply diagrammed as follows: Any sentence that has an arrow going from it is a premise, and any sentence that has an arrow going to it is a conclusion. Thus it is clear that statement 2 is both a conclusion and a premise; statement 1 is only a premise, and statement 3 is only a conclusion. Simple and Complex Arguments page 2 Sometimes on quiz questions, an argument is simplified and just numbers or letters are given to symbolize the statements. For example, the previous argument could be presented as follows: Which is the intermediate conclusion? 1, therefore 2. And 3 because 2. The right answer would be, 2. If this seems confusing, remember that the numbers just stand for statements. So we could make up an example as follows: (1) Bruce saw Andy and Mary holding hands, therefore (2) Andy is in love with Mary. And (3) Andy will break up with Cilla because (2) Andy is in love with Mary. Using the indicator words we can see that the structure is: (1) Bruce saw Andy and Mary holding hands, therefore (2) Andy is in love with Mary. Because (2) Andy is in love with Mary. (3) Andy will break up with Cilla. You can see that statement 2 is a conclusion from 1, but is also a premise for 3. That means it is an Intermediate Conclusion. But you could have figured this out just from the original version of the question, using the indicator words. They showed that 2 was first a conclusion and then was a premise. The question could also be presented as: Which is the intermediate conclusion? A, therefore B. And since B, C. The right answer would be, B. → see next page. Simple and Complex Arguments page 3 Here is another example of a complex argument. Monty will make an excellent pet. I know this, because Beagles make excellent pets, and Monty is a beagle. Since Monty will make an excellent pet and you took a liking to him at the shelter, that shows that you should adopt him. Ask yourself, what is being used to support what? Well, the word “because” is a premise indicator, so we seem to have two premises at the start. Let’s number them 1 and 2. So we get: 1 Beagles make excellent pets 2 Monty is a beagle Now what are 1 and 2 being used to argue for – what is their conclusion? Clearly it is 3 Monty will make an excellent pet. Okay, we now see the word “since” getting attached to statement 3, so 3 has become a premise, along with the next statement. So we get: 3 Monty will make an excellent pet 4 You took a liking to him at the shelter Then we have the main conclusion, signaled by the words “shows that”: 5 You should adopt him. The whole argument looks like this: 1 Beagles make excellent pets 2 Monty is a beagle 3 Monty will make an excellent pet. INTERMEDIATE CONCLUSION 3 Monty will make an excellent pet 4 You took a liking to him at the shelter 5 You should adopt him. MAIN CONCLUSION Statement 3 is being supported by two premises, 1 and 2. Then 3 becomes a premise that is supporting statement 5, the main conclusion. So 3 is an intermediate conclusion. Premise 4 is not being supported by any premise, so it is simply a premise of 5, not an intermediate conclusion. Simple and Complex Arguments page 4 Here is another example of a complex argument. There is a bill before Congress that would make Diacetylmorphine legally available for intractable pain due to cancer. This bill should be passed, since Diacetylmorphine should be legally available for that purpose. Why should it be available? Because it is the only drug that would fully relieve the intractable pain that many cancer patients suffer.1 Read the argument carefully, and don’t worry about the order of the statements: instead, notice what is being used to support what. And try to locate the main conclusion. What is the speaker ultimately arguing for? We can see two statements that are supported by premises and thus are conclusions: one is that this bill should be passed, and the other is that Diacetylmorphine should be available. See if you can figure out what reasons are given for each of these claims, and write them down. Now, which conclusion is the final conclusion? It makes sense to say it is this bill should be passed, because part of the support for that is that Diacetylmorphine should be available. Basically the speaker is arguing that a valuable pain drug should be available, and therefore the bill that would make it available should be passed. Two statements support the main conclusion that the bill should be passed. One is that the drug should be available, as signaled by the premise indicator “since”, and the other is that the bill would make it available. A single statement supports the premise that the drug should be available. It is signaled by the premise indicator “because,” and says that the drug is the only drug to fully relieve the intractable pain of cancer patients. So we get the following breakdown: 1 - Diacetylmorphine is the only drug that would fully relieve the intractable pain that many cancer patients suffer. 2 - Diacetylmorphine should be legally available for that purpose. 2 - Diacetylmorphine should be legally available for that purpose. 3 - There is a bill before Congress that that would make Diacetylmorphine legally available for that purpose. 5 - This bill should be passed. Simple and Complex Arguments page 5 To Sum Up: The difference between a simple argument and a complex argument is that the former does not have any intermediate conclusions, while the latter has a least one intermediate conclusion. An intermediate conclusion is a statement that is a conclusion and then is used as a premise. If you identify some passage as an argument, but you’re not sure whether it’s simple or complex, you should ask yourself whether any of the premises are being supported by other premises. Often, indicator words will help you determine whether a premise is being supported. When you’re not sure, ask yourself whether there has been any reason given for a premise. If you think “no”, then probably it is not an intermediate conclusion. 1 Adapted from a syndicated article by James Kilpatrick, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, June 15, 1987, in The Elements of Reasoning 3rd Edition, p. 28, by David Conway and Ronald Munson, Wadsworth/Thomson Learning, CA, 2000. : Chelsey Akers 3:55pm In my opinion number four "Sometimes doing an immoral act is in a person's best self-interest," was one of the intermediate conclusions. This is supported by number three “Sometimes cheating on your girlfriend/boyfriend is in your own best self-interest.” As well as number five “If any act is in a person's best self-interest, then it is reasonable for that person to do that act.” Number three is the premise for number four. Then number four is the premise for number five but also serves as the intermediate conclusion. The main conclusion is, “So, sometimes doing in immoral act is reasonable.” I found number three as a flaw in the argument, “Sometimes cheating on your girlfriend/boyfriend is in your own best self-interest." I found this as a flaw because cheating on someone is not your own best self-interest. Your best self-interest would be to break up with the person. Reply
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