This is a question I’ve been asked a lot recently. It always makes me wonder about the nature of the deductive argument. What is the “deductive argument”, and how do you apply it to more than one premise? The answers I give here are to the best of my ability, but I do think I’ve written at least one that you might find helpful.
The deductive argument is usually thought of as a hypothetical argument where we assume that every possible argument exists in the world and that there is some truth to which we are certain. This is a very narrow definition of the deductive argument, since the fact that there might be some truth to which we are certain is the basis of the argument.
To be more explicit, the deductive argument is one that assumes that there is a deductive argument and that the premises are true. In other words, we assume that we’ve made a valid argument and that there might be something that we have not yet considered. So, rather than saying that a valid deductive argument exists, I’m saying that there might be something that we haven’t considered yet that could be a valid deductive argument.
Just like with deductive arguments, we often use the premise of our argument (the premises) to be more specific. The purpose of this is to make the deduction more concrete and more specific. Often we will use the premise as a general description of a situation or type of situation that we have not yet considered.
The premise of a valid deductive argument is used to make an argument that the predicate it is being presented to be more specific.
This is a valid deductive argument because the premise we used to make it more specific. The premise we used to define the kind of situation we are presenting the predicate is, “This party-hall has a lot of guns.” It is a valid argument because we have not yet considered the guns.
The premise of a valid deductive argument is used to make an argument that the predicate it is being presented to be more specific. This is a valid deductive argument because the premise we use to make this argument is, This party-hall has a lot of guns. It is a valid argument because we have not yet considered the guns.
So, adding guns to a valid deductive argument is a valid step in that argument. It’s another step in the argument because the premises we use to make this valid argument are, This party-hall has a lot of guns. It is a valid argument because we have not yet considered the guns.
The problem with adding guns is that we can’t use the premise, This party-hall has a lot of guns. to support it. The premise we use to make this argument is a valid argument. In a valid argument, each premise is supported by the other. If we add guns to this premise we’re going to have a problem. It’s because if we add guns to a valid deductive argument we’re in trouble, because it is a valid argument.
