2/24/2023 0 Comments Nodus tollenA modus tollens argument is comprised of an antecedent (“if” statement) and consequent (“then”) statement.The very generalized structure of the argument reads as follows: if P, then Q. A modus tollens argument has two premises and a conclusion.The rule dates back to late antiquity where it was taught as part of Aristotelian logic. Modus tollens is a deductive argument form used to make conclusions of arguments and sets of arguments.Therefore, no intruder was detected by the dog. If the dog detects an intruder, the dog will bark. Other examples of modus tollens arguments This assumption is a common fallacy known as denying the antecedent and is a trap many individuals fall into. It may just be a cloudy day where the sky is obscured. For example, a sky that is not blue does not necessarily mean it is raining. While P implies Q, it cannot be assumed that a false antecedent implies a false consequent in all instances. This same implication also means that if an argument fails to reach a true consequent then the antecedent must also be false. If the consequent is false, then it stands to reason that the antecedent is also false. In the previous section, we noted that P implies Q. “ The sky is blue” is the antecedent, while “ it is not raining” is the consequent. If the sky is blue, then it is not raining. It’s important to note that P and Q can be anything – even completely made up words – so long as the construction of the argument makes logical sense. Here, the antecedent is the “if” statement. ![]() That is, the antecedent of the conditional claim P is also not the case. Here, the consequent is the “then” statement.īased on these two premises, a logical conclusion can be drawn. The second premise asserts that Q, the consequent of the conditional claim, is not the case. This is also known as an “if-then” claim. In deconstructing the argument, we can see that the first premise is a conditional claim such that P implies Q. The structure of a modus tollens argument resembles that of a syllogism, a type of logical argument using deductive reasoning to arrive at a conclusion based on two propositions that are assumed to be true.
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