Monthly Archives: November 2016

In Defense of the Winter Soldier

As I teach for the first time through Fitting Words: Classical Rhetoric for the Christian Student, I am pleased with what my students are producing.

We have been learning about forensic (or judicial) oratory, including the definition of wrongdoing, the elements of proving wrong, the state of mind of wrongdoers, non-technical modes of persuasion, and more. The most recent assignment was this:

forensic-speech-assignment

Here is the forensic speech of one of my students, Daniel Seifert, defending Bucky Barnes (from “Captain America: The Winter Soldier”) of the alleged murder of Tony Stark’s parents and others.

Help With Establishing Conclusions

One of the most practical lessons in Introductory Logic is Lesson 32, “Establishing Conclusions.” Here you are no longer analyzing someone else’s arguments; you are now writing your own. The hardest part of this lesson is developing an argument for a conclusion while being allowed to use any valid form. In the video for this lesson, I encourage you to find a middle term that connects to the major and minor terms in the conclusion. Let me suggest another way to continue this process.

If you understood hypothetical syllogisms well in the lesson prior, you may use them to help you develop a valid argument. For example, in Exercise 35, question 2, you are asked to establish this conclusion (straight out of Calvin and Hobbes):

bats-arent-bugs1

Ask yourself why bats aren’t bugs. You might say, “Because mammals are not bugs.” Turn that into a hypothetical statement, and complete the modus ponens: Continue reading Help With Establishing Conclusions

Exercise 30, problem 4: Is my answer correct?

Mr. Nance,

As I am reviewing Exercise 30, I am confused  if my answer works , since its different from the original answer. I put:

No logic is a tangible study
No chemistry is logic
∴ All chemistry is a tangible study

As opposed to the answer key:

All non-logic sciences are tangible studies
All chemistry is a non-logic science
∴  All chemistry is a tangible study

Which one is right? Continue reading Exercise 30, problem 4: Is my answer correct?

Gospel Enthymemes

Arguments in which one statement is left assumed are called enthymemes. Most logical arguments encountered in daily life are enthymemes. We can use the tools of logic to determine the assumption being made in an enthymeme.

Let’s examine three enthymemes in the Bible, all on the topic of Gospel salvation. Continue reading Gospel Enthymemes

Exclusive help

Unit 4: Arguments in Normal English in my Introductory Logic text is a difficult section, primarily because of the ambiguities within English. But if we want to be able to apply the tools for analyzing syllogisms to everyday arguments, it is essential that we understand it.

One of the more difficult parts of this difficult section ideals with translating exclusive statements into categorical form. Exclusives are statements that exclude all or part of the predicate of the subject, statements that use words like only, unless, except. Let me give some suggestions that may help. Continue reading Exclusive help