Premise and Conclusion Analysis Drill Answer Key—page 1-16 homework workbook

[salgado145]

Hi this is a drill I found in lesson 1 additional reading pg 1-16

My question is if " Davis usually teaches class on Thursday"is consider a counter premise? and if so should I pay extra attention to them Thank you



Premise and Conclusion Analysis Drill Answer Key—page 1-16

1. Professor Davis will probably not teach class on
Thursday. Although Davis usually teaches class on
Thursdays, he rarely teaches more than one class per
week, and he taught Monday’s lesson.

Conclusion: Professor Davis will probably not teach class on Thursday.
Premise #1: Davis rarely teaches more than one class per week.
Premise #2: Davis taught Monday’s lesson.

[Dana D]

Hey Salgado,

Yes, this is a counter-premise because it is a potential counter-argument that you could make against the conclusion that the author then addresses. If the conclusion is that Professor Davis will probably not teach class on Thursday, then a counter-argument to that idea would be to say that he usually does teach class on Thursday. The author addresses this potential argument by explaining Professor Davis rarely teaches more than one class per week, and he already taught on Monday.

How much attention you need to pay to a counter-argument depends on the question type. For 1 (A) of this drill, for example, you're just being asked what the conclusion is - so the counter-premise isn't critical. However for answer (C), where you have to evaluate the argument, the fact that the author implemented a counter-argument and addressed that is more important. In questions where you have to evaluate the argument or attempt to strengthen or weaken it, being able to identify and evaluate a counter-premise is important.