Posted: November 16th, 2022

PHIL 120: Critical Thinking (2022 Fall)

PHIL 120: Critical Thinking (2022 Fall)
Assignment: Extended Deductive Argument (Units 3-4)
Due date: Sunday, Nov 27, 23:59
Submission: PDF upload to Canvas
Value: 15% (Submission); 5% (Meeting)
PART 1: Standard Form
Write an extended deductive argument in standard form with the pattern below.
Main Argument (DS)
• (¬H)-OR-(¬BA)
• BA *
¬H
Sub-argument (DC)
• If H then E unless ¬BA. / If H-AND-BA then E.
• ¬E *
(¬H)-OR-(¬BA)
You are arguing against a hypothesis (H). H is
something you think is false. Remember that you
can argue that something is true by arguing that
its negation is false. H may, but need not be,
explanatory. It may answer a specific Why, How,
or What question, or it may simply be a
statement whose truth is in question.
There are two different ways you could write the
conditional premise. Choose whichever one
sounds best to you in your paragraph.
The evidence (E) functions in this argument as a
past prediction that you have already learned is
false.
To be sure that H, E, and BA make sense together, try them in the following sentences:
– H, along with BA, makes you expect E.
– Imagine H true and BA false. Now: it’s easy to imagine E false.
– E is false. Why? Maybe because H is false. Or maybe it’s because BA is false.
At least one of the statements marked with a star (*) in the patterns above must be
information that you have learned from a news article published since 2022 Aug 1.
Part 1 is marked on:
– Your Hypothesis (H), Prediction (E), and Background Assumption (BA) make sense together
in the conditional premise.
– You have correct argument patterns using your H, E, and BA. Your main argument is a DS
pattern; your sub-argument is a disconfirmation pattern.
PART 2: Paragraph
The purpose of Part 2 is to practice creating a piece of formal argumentative writing, the sort of
thing you might write in another course, a job, a letter, etc.
Re-write your argument (the same argument, in the same words) from Part 1 in a paragraph (max
250 words, not including footnote). Minor wording changes to make your writing flow are fine. It’s
fine to say “probably”, “I think”, etc. These are valid deductive arguments, but if you’re not certain
that a premise is true, you may not be certain that the conclusion is true.
In addition to the premises and conclusions, your paragraph(s) should contain a few sentences that
introduce or discuss the topic in some way. Some of these statements may support your background
assumption, however this does not need to be a deductive argument and you do not need to include
it in Part 1. Within your paragraph, write the statements of your deductive argument from
Part 1 in bold like this. See the assignment samples.
The statement that is supported by a news article should be marked with a star at the end like this.*
Below your paragraph, include a footnote that gives the news article information in this format:
Article Title, News Source, Full Date, Article URL. This is a requirement. Without this reference, your
submission is worth zero marks.
* “Event Happens”, Gotham Daily News, 2022 Sep 15, www.gdn.com/2022/09/15/major-event
Part 2 is marked on:
– Your paragraph contains the exact same argument, in the same words, as in Part 1.
– Your paragraph is well written.
o It is a paragraph, not just a list of statements.
o The extra discussion is relevant and well connected to the deductive argument.
o It includes inference indicators to help your reader see your two conclusions.
Meeting
For the meeting, be prepared to discuss:
– the topic of your paragraph
– the hypothesis will you argue against
– the news article(s) will you cite

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