Counter Premise Indicators

[lexigibbs]

Hello,

I am in Chapter 2 of the Logical Reasoning Bible, reading on Counter-Premise Indicators. I am a little fuzzy in understanding what there reason is and if we are to consider them actual premises when figuring out the conclusion in arguments.

If you could help say a better understanding that would be awesome!

Thank you

Lexi

[Kristina Moen]

Hi Lexi,

Yes, you should consider them to be premises. It's not a premise that supports the conclusion, but it's still a fact that you are given in the stimulus. It's common for people making an argument to acknowledge a weakness and then address it. Here's an example: "Basset Hounds are the best dog breed! Admittedly, they drool a lot, but they look so cute when they run!" Here, "they drool a lot" does not support my conclusion that "Basset Hounds are the best dog breed!" However, if I were asked a question about the argument, I would want to remember that "They drool a lot" is a fact that the author gave me. So something that would weaken that argument would be "Amount of drool is the only important factor in determining which breed is best."

Hope this helps.