ASSIGNMENT
Read the assigned sections of Chapter 5 and Chapter 6 in your textbook:
5.1: Basic Concepts in Inductive Reasoning
5.2: Statistical Arguments: Statistical Syllogisms
5.3: Statistical Arguments: Inductive Generalizations
5.6: Arguments from Authority
5.7: Arguments from Analogy
Chapter 5 Summary
6.4: Reasoning About Science: The Hypothetico-Deductive Method
6.5: Inference to the Best Explanation
Watch the videos:
Inference to the Best Explanation
Write a paper that includes the following:
Introduction (approximately 100 words)
Explain your topic and state the specific question that you are addressing.
Presentation of an Argument (approximately 200 words)
Describe the scholarly source on one side of the issue.
Present what you see as the main argument from that source (present the argument in standard form, with the premises listed above the conclusion).
Evaluation of the quality of the reasoning in this source (approximately 200 words)
You may address questions such as the following:
How adequately does the article support the premises of the argument?
How strongly do the premises of the argument support the truth of the conclusion?
What (if any) missing premises would be needed to complete the argument (make it valid/strong)? Are these missing premises justified or merely assumptions?
Presentation of an Opposing Argument (approximately 200 words)
Describe the scholarly source on the other side of the issue.
Present what you see as the main argument from that source in standard form, with the premises listed above the conclusion.
Evaluation of the quality of the reasoning in this source (approximately 200 words)
You may address questions such as the following:
How adequately does the article support the premises of the argument?
How strongly do the premises of the argument support the truth of the conclusion?
What (if any) missing premises would be needed to complete the argument (make it valid/strong)? Are these missing premises justified or merely assumptions?
Evaluation of Arguments in Non-Scholarly and Scholarly Sources (approximately 100 words)
Discuss the differences in the quality of the reasoning or in the degree of support for premises in these scholarly sources contrasted with non-scholarly sources.
If you need support, review the Scholarly and Popular Resources (1)
