Relationships and Arguments Logical Reasoning

University:
University of Pittsburgh
Course:
LSAT | Prep Course
Academic year:

2023
Views:

448

Pages:

2
Author:

mns81

LSAT PREP Sage Training – Week 1 Logical Reasoning Section – Relationships & Arguments Relationships & Arguments Relationships:  "mother of" - relationship between you and your mom  "friendship" - relationship between friends  "greater than" - relationship between 10 and 7    Relationship is abstract that exists between two or more things o "mother of" - two things you and your mother Things, people, ideas, events, categories, groups Can not exists without two things Arguments:  The single most important relationship is the one you find in an argument o Premise and conclusion  Persuasion is the aim of the argument  Premise plus conclusion is the definition of an argument  Support is the internal source of the argument  Argument is a claim that supports another claim o Claim that gives support is the premise o Claim that receives support is the conclusion *** WHAT IS AN ARGUMENT? PREMISE + CONCLUSION **** Premise + Conclusion:  Premises should support the conclusion o Premise - statement which supports another statement AKA the conclusion o Conclusion - statement which is supported by another statement / claim AKA the premise  Premises = give support  Conclusions - receives support  The order of presentation does not matter  Premise can be first or last same with conclusion Support:  Increases likelihood of truth o If one claim supports another claim that means that given that the first claim is true the second claim is more likely to be true.  Example: o Evidence - fingerprint on murder weapon matches that of the defendant than prosecutions conclusion that defendant is guilty is more likely to be true  Support is the central idea on the LSAT  Think of support as reasons to believe something is true o Example: The fact that tigers are dangerous is a reason to believe that some mammals are not suitable as pets. Example of Premise, Conclusion and Support Together Premise is the pitcher and the conclusion is the catcher and the ball is the support The premise is throwing support to the conclusion