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All You Need to Know Logic (Part 3 - Rules of Inference)
By philobean | June 28, 2007
From where we left off, we can now symbolize arguments, assess the truth value of statements, and convert statements into their more easily manageable logical equivalents via the rules of replacement. Here, we find ourselves at the end of the process, where from various statements (either true or false), we look to assess the validity and soundness of arguments (which is a series of statements that aim to establish a logical conclusion from established premises).
And this is done quite simply. The rules of inference is a listing of the most fundamental modes of logical deduction, that is, these are simple arguments that lead to valid conclusions. All forms of valid argumentation (even those of a thousand pages long) can be reduced to discrete steps founded upon one or more of these rules of inference. Thus, any argument that cannot be proven via the rules of inference (with the help of the rules of replacement as a method of rephrasing or resymbolizing statements into more familiar forms) are invalid.
The rules of inference can be found here.
Topics: Academic |