Friday, September 10, 2010
Plausible Vs Implausible claims
In Chapter three Epstein discusses the premises of an argument. It is mentioned that from a false premise we can prove anything so it is important to make sure that the premise is true in order for the argument to be good. When a person has a good reason to trust that the point being made is true and valid, it is known as a plausible claim. An example of this would be that dogs like treats. This is plausible because usually dogs get very excited when there owner offers them a treat. It becomes seen as an award for good behavior and often used to train dogs. An example of an implausible claim would be that pigs can fly. This argument is often used as a way of stating that something is not going to happen but because we all know this argument is completely false it make it an implausible claim.
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Being a dog owner, I completely agree with dogs getting very excited when the owner offers them a treat. This describes the majority of the dogs that I have seen, so it is definitely a plausible claim. I am sure many other dog lovers could add or support this claim as well, as very few dogs have been seen to actually turn down a dog treat or cookie. With an implausible claim, your example of pigs having the capability to fly is a good one. Unless someone is living in a fantasy world, I have yet to see a pig in the air.
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