Reference and Glossary
The below is a reference for you when drawing your own circuits. Some things to remember
When you don’t have the Major or Minor Premise that you believe you want, you can put in an empty box. Once everything else is in place, if you’re then convinced that that element is missing, fill it in with your articulation of the Assumption/Flaw.
Conclusions will be present in “Argument Type” stimuli. They will NOT be present in Inference and Most Strongly Supported questions, as they are the thing being inferred or supported and will thus be your correct answer. In Paradoxes, the second, seemingly paradoxical idea can be diagrammed as a “conclusion” for the purposes of diagramming. In Debates, almost always at least one of the arguers will have an explicit conclusion, sometimes both.
Backing will not be present in every argument, and will sometimes support the Major Premise, sometimes the Minor Premise.
Counterarguments & Rebuttals are not present in every argument. When they are, they are usually best diagrammed as pointing at the part of the main argument that directly contradicts them. You’ll see lots of examples in future sections of the course.
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The subject of the conclusion is the entity about which the claim is made in the conclusion of an argument. It's the main focus or topic of the conclusion.
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In a logical argument, the predicate of the conclusion is the part of the sentence that states something about the subject of the conclusion. It's what is being claimed about the subject.
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Modifiers or quantifiers in the conclusion of an argument specify the extent or degree to which the predicate applies to the subject. Examples include quantifiers like "all," "some," "most," or modifiers that could limit or expand the scope of the claim.
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A counterargument is a claim or idea that the given argument either undermines, weakens, or dismisses.
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A rebuttal is the use of specific contrastive conjunction (transitional phrases like "But," "However," "Despite this," "On the other hand," "Nevertheless," and "Yet") to refute the counterargument.
The arrow from the Rebuttal box will point to the premise that specifically address the content of the Counterargument., not necessarily the conclusion
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In syllogistic logic, the major premise is a general statement or rule that applies broadly to many situations. It serves as a foundational rule or principle for the argument.
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The minor premise in an argument provides a specific instance or fact that relates to the major premise. It applies the general rule stated in the major premise to a particular case.
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This is a minor premise that is not explicitly stated or is assumed without sufficient evidence. It's a specific fact or instance that is taken for granted but is flawed or unsupported.
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Similar to the invalid minor premise, this is a general rule or principle that the argument assumes without proper justification. It's a foundational assumption that is not valid or lacks support.
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This type of premise provides additional support or evidence for another premise, usually a minor premise. It's fact-based and helps to strengthen the argument by offering concrete evidence or examples.
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This is a premise that supports another premise (often the major premise) by providing additional rules or principles. It helps to solidify the argument's foundation by reinforcing the general rule or principle that is being applied.