education

What if our self-defense argument contained no moral premise? Why must we have at least one premise that is a moral statement? Without a moral premise, the argument would not get off the ground. We can- not infer a moral statement (conclusion) from a nonmoral statement (premise). That is, we cannot reason that a moral […]

Why must we have at least one premise that is a moral statement? Why must we have at least one premise that is a moral statement? Without a moral premise, the argument would not get off the ground. We can- not infer a moral statement (conclusion) from a nonmoral statement (premise). That is, we cannot

Nonmoral statements are very different. They do not affirm that an action is right or wrong or that a person is good or bad. They assert that a state of affairs is actual (true or false) but do not assign a moral value to it. Most of the statements that we encounter every day are

MORAL STATEMENTS AND ARGUMENTS When we deliberate about the rightness of our actions, make careful moral judgments about the character or behavior of others, or strive to resolve complex ethical issues, we are usually making or critiquing moral arguments—or trying to. And rightly so. To a remarkable degree, moral arguments are the vehicles that move

But how are these statements related? To find out, we draw a diagram. Using the numbers to rep- resent the premises and conclusion, we write down the number for the conclusion and place the num- bers for the premises above it. Then to show how the premises support the conclusion, we draw arrows from the

Was the United States morally justified in going to war against Iraq? I think just war theory gives us an answer. The theory says a preemptive attack against a state is justified only if that state presents a substantial danger that is “immediate and imminent.” That is, to meet this criterion, an attack by an

DECONSTRUCTING ARGUMENTS In the real world, arguments do not come neatly labeled, their parts identified and their relation- ships laid bare. So you have to do the labeling and connecting yourself, and that can be hard work. Where are the premises and the conclusion? Are there implied premises? What statements are irrel- evant to the

Here is a typical argument with an unstated premise: The use of condoms is completely unnatural. They have been manufactured for the explicit purpose of interfering with the natural process of procreation. Therefore, the use of condoms should be banned. In this argument, the first two sentences con- stitute a single premise, the gist of

EVALUATING MORAL ARGUMENTS ’ QUICK REVIEW statement—An assertion that something is or is not the case. argument—A group of statements, one of which is supposed to be supported by the rest. premise—A supporting statement in an argument. conclusion—The statement supported in an argument. indicator words—Terms that often appear in argu- ments to signal the presence

Do you see the problem with these two? Do you see the problem with these two? In the first one (denying the antecedent), even a false antecedent (if Maria will not walk to work) doesn’t mean that she will not be late. Maybe she will sit at home and be late, or be late for