Testing a Good Argument

When someone makes an argument, it is important to decide whether it is valid or not. Some people will make very reasonable arguments, as long as they meet a set of rules that all good arguments adhere to. According to Epstein, a good argument must have premises that are plausible and "more plausible than the conclusion" (Epstein, 42). The argument also has to be strong in order for it to be good.

First, I think it's important to recognize what exactly the "premises" and "conclusion" represent. Keep in mid that the premises is usually one or two statements that are true, or considered true, which one then uses as their reasons for their conclusion to be valid. If the statement(s) aren't true, then they are not plausible, and the argument will be weak. The conclusion is a statement that one believes is plausible, based on the premises. The stronger the conclusion, the more likely the argument will be good.

Let's go back to the tests. The first test is that "The premises are plausible" (Epstein, 42). This means that the first statement must be possible for your argument to be legitimate. The second test is if "The premises are more plausible than the conclusion" (Epstein, 42). Any argument is based on this, since one makes an argument to show why they believe their conclusion is possible. You can't prove something is possible using something that is less possible. The third test is if "The argument is valid or strong" (Epstein, 42). An argument can be possible, yet weak, if the premises are weak and do not give enough information.

An example for an argument is: "Bobby is sick. Bobby can't go to school. So Bobby can't finish his homework."

Going through each test, we can see that the premises are true and plausible, as well as more plausible than the conclusion. Bobby would think that this is a good argument, believing that his sickness gets him out of schoolwork. Not so fast, Bobby! His argument is good, however, not the best one. It is possible for Bobby to get schoolwork done, even though he is sick. It depends on how sick he is, and what is demanded of him in his work. The premises is true, but the conclusion can be false, but still possible. This argument is therefore good, yet not valid.