Arguments in Standard Form |
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Arguments
look and sound great when they are written out in prose form, as in a
paragraph. Yet, it often takes a great deal of insight to
understand the logical underpinning of an argument when it is written
out this way. One can often gain such insight through effort,
instead of intuition, by rewriting the argument in standard form. |
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Here is an argument
in prose
form: Our concept of God is the most perfect entity which could possibly be, and our concept does exist. What is pretty obvious is that a non-existent thing is less perfect than an existing thing. It follows that our concept of God necessarily includes the property of existence, but that just goes to show that God really does exist. |
Here is the same argument in
standard form: 1. The concept of God includes all perfections. 2. Existence is a perfection. |
Essential Features of Standard Form
Arguments 1. Each premise,
sub-conclusion, and conclusion must be numbered.
2. Every premise, sub-conclusion, and conclusion must be expressed in a complete sentence. 3. Underline the last premise before each sub-conclusion. 4. Underline any premise or sub-conclusion immediately preceding the main conclusion. 5. Each sub-conclusion and conclusion must be preceded by three dots ("therefore"). 6. The last line must encapsulate the main conclusion of the argument. That's it! If you get all
these correct, your argument is in standard form.
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Stylistic
Features of Good Standard Form Arguments
1. All premises and conclusions should fit together in a logical way. 2. No irrelevant premises will be included. 3. The premises and conclusion will be reworded so that the logical connection between them is clear. 4. Don't use flashy language; use concise literal words. 5. Don't include indicator words, or evidence/proof type statements. ("That just goes to prove..."). 6. Any implicit premises should be included. |
The
argument below is in standard
form, but it may be
difficult to see the logical connections because of the particular
wording and irrelevant phrases. 1. Our concept of God is the most perfect entity which could possibly be, and our concept does exist. 2. What is pretty obvious is that a non-existent thing is less perfect than an existing thing. |
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Even a C student should be
competent at making a standard form arguments, and recognizing when an
argument is in standard form. An A or B student will also be able
to make their standard form arguments stylistically superior. |
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