| Introduction to Philosophy | Notes | This is not a substitute for coming to class - or for reading the material. | Richard Lee |
| Philosophy 2003 | Copyright © 2006, Richard Lee | Autumn 2006 | |
To evaluate an argument, it is important to discover the form of the argument.
One step toward doing this is to replace words, phrases, or clauses that appear in more than one statement with letters.
| If Socrates believes in the existence of divine beings, then Socrates believes in the existence of spirits or demigods. | |
| If Socrates believes in the existence of spirits or demigods, then either Socrates believes in the existence of gods or Socrates believes in the existence of sons of gods. | |
| If Socrates believes in the existence of sons of gods, then Socrates believes in the existence of gods. | |
| If Socrates believes in the existence of divine beings, then Socrates believes in the existence of gods. |
| The form of the argument: | |
| If B, then D. | |
| If D, then either G or S. | |
| If S, then G. | |
| If B, then G. |
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