3.2 What Is An Inductive Argument?

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1. A strong argument is one with the following property: if all the premises are true, the conclusion is very likely true.  

Explanation

True, again, by definition.

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2. An argument can be both inductive and weak.   

Explanation

True. This is the analog of the case where an argument is both deductive and invalid.

In this case, it's inductive if it's INTENDED to be strong. But that doesn't mean the argument actually IS strong. Lot's of people mistake weak arguments for strong ones.

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3. An inductive argument is an argument that is intended to be strong.  

Explanation

An inductive argument is an argument that is intended to provide strong evidence or support for its conclusion. Unlike deductive arguments, which aim to provide conclusive proof, inductive arguments rely on reasoning from specific observations or examples to make a general conclusion. Therefore, it is correct to say that an inductive argument is intended to be strong, as it aims to provide a high degree of probability or likelihood for its conclusion based on the evidence presented.

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4. An invalid argument is one with the following property: if the premises are all true, the conclusion can still be false.   

Explanation

True, by definition.

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5. "Look, almost all spiders are poisonous, right?  You got bit by a spider, so you've very likely been poisoned!"    

Explanation

This has the form of a strong argument (if the premises are true, the conclusion is very likely true), and it's clearly intended to be strong, so it's inductive as well.

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6. "Look, some spiders are poisonous, right? You got bit by a spider, so you've very likely been poisoned!"  

Explanation

This is a weak inductive argument. "Some spiders" doesn't make it likely that the conclusion is true. In logic, "some" just means "at least one".

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7. An argument can be both strong and weak.  

Explanation

False. This is contradictory. If it's weak then it's not strong, and vice versa.

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A strong argument is one with the following property:...
An argument can be both inductive and weak.   
An inductive argument is an argument that is intended to be strong. ...
An invalid argument is one with the following property:...
"Look, almost all spiders are poisonous, right?  You got bit by a...
"Look, some spiders are poisonous, right? You got bit by a spider, so...
An argument can be both strong and weak.  
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