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4. Peter was supposed to be here on Friday, if he could get a reservation on the morning flight. And he never arrived.
5. There would be peace on earth today, if people would just try to communicate with each other. But they don't.
6. If Sophia had any ambition, she would have stayed in school. So she dropped out.
4. Peter was supposed to be here on Friday, if he could get a reservation on the morning flight. And he never arrived. You answered:
Remember that the antecedent follows the conditional "if." The first premise, re-ordered, is the conditional, "If he could get a reservation on the morning flight (p), then Peter was supposed to be here on Friday (q)." And the second claim is, "And he never arrived (not q)." So the paradigm is:
5. There would be peace on earth today, if people would just try to communicate with each other. But they don't. You answered:
This is another example of negating the antecedent, which is invalid. The first premise, re-ordered, is the conditional, "If people would just try to communicate with each other (p), then there would be peace on earth today (q)." And the second claim is, "But they don't [try to communicate] (not p)." Sometimes, we mistakenly understand a conditional to be bi-directional. In this case, for example, we might misunderstand the first premise to mean "if communication, then peace," and "if peace, then communication." But it is dangerous to jump to such a conclusion, unless there is specific wording to support such a reading. Here there is none, and the argument is invalid, regardless of its conclusion.
6. If Sophia had any ambition, she would have stayed in school. So she dropped out. You answered:
The first premise, as always, is the conditional: "If Sophia had any ambition (p), then she would have stayed in school (q)." The two possible valid arguments for that conditional are:
4. Peter was supposed to be here on Friday, if he could get a reservation on the morning flight. And he never arrived. You answered:
Remember that the antecedent follows the conditional "if." In this case, a valid conclusion can be drawn. The first premise, re-ordered, is the conditional "If he could get a reservation on the morning flight (p), then Peter was supposed to be here on Friday (q)." And the second claim is: "And he never arrived (not q)." So the paradigm is:
4. Peter was supposed to be here on Friday, if he could get a reservation on the morning flight. And he never arrived. You answered:
Remember that the antecedent follows the conditional "if." The first premise, re-ordered, is the conditional "If he could get a reservation on the morning flight (p), then Peter was supposed to be here on Friday (q)." And the second claim is: "And he never arrived (not q)." So the paradigm is:
4. Peter was supposed to be here on Friday, if he could get a reservation on the morning flight. And he never arrived. You answered:
Remember that the antecedent follows the conditional "if." In this case, a valid conclusion can be drawn. The first premise, re-ordered, is the conditional "If he could get a reservation on the morning flight (p), then Peter was supposed to be here on Friday (q)." And the second claim is: "And he never arrived (not q)." So the paradigm is:
5. There would be peace on earth today, if people would just try to communicate with each other. But they don't. You answered:
This is another example of negating the antecedent, which is invalid. The first premise, re-ordered, is the conditional, "If people would just try to communicate with each other (p), then there would be peace on earth today (q)." And the second claim is, "But they don't [try to communicate] (not p)." Sometimes, we mistakenly understand a conditional to be bi-directional. In this case, for example, we might misunderstand the first premise to mean "if communication, then peace," and "if peace, then communication." But it is dangerous to jump to such a conclusion, unless there is specific wording to support such a reading. Here there is none, and the argument is invalid, regardless of its conclusion.
5. There would be peace on earth today, if people would just try to communicate with each other. But they don't. You answered:
This is another example of negating the antecedent, which is invalid. The first premise, re-ordered, is the conditional, "If people would just try to communicate with each other (p), then there would be peace on earth today (q)." And the second claim is, "But they don't [try to communicate] (not p)." Sometimes, we mistakenly understand a conditional to be bi-directional. In this case, for example, we might misunderstand the first premise to mean "if communication, then peace," and "if peace, then communication." But it is dangerous to jump to such a conclusion, unless there is specific wording to support such a reading. Here there is none, and the argument is invalid, regardless of its conclusion.
5. There would be peace on earth today, if people would just try to communicate with each other. But they don't. You answered:
This is another example of negating the antecedent, which is invalid. The first premise, re-ordered, is the conditional, "If people would just try to communicate with each other (p), then there would be peace on earth today (q)." And the second claim is, "But they don't [try to communicate] (not p)." Sometimes, we mistakenly understand a conditional to be bi-directional. In this case, for example, we might misunderstand the first premise to mean "if communication, then peace," and "if peace, then communication." But it is dangerous to jump to such a conclusion, unless there is specific wording to support such a reading. Here there is none, and the argument is invalid, regardless of its conclusion.
6. If Sophia had any ambition, she would have stayed in school. So she dropped out. You answered:
The first premise, as always, is the conditional: "If Sophia had any ambition (p), then she would have stayed in school (q)." The two possible valid arguments for that conditional are:
6. If Sophia had any ambition, she would have stayed in school. So she dropped out. You answered:
The first premise, as always, is the conditional: "If Sophia had any ambition (p), then she would have stayed in school (q)." The two possible valid arguments for that conditional are:
6. If Sophia had any ambition, she would have stayed in school. So she dropped out. You answered:
The first premise, as always, is the conditional: "If Sophia had any ambition (p), then she would have stayed in school (q)." The two possible valid arguments for that conditional are:
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