A Class Room Logic / Deductive and Inductive, with Special Application to the Science and Art of Teaching

by George Hastings McNair

CHAPTER 15.
HYPOTHETICAL ARGUMENTS, AND DISJUNCTIVE ARGUMENTS INCLUDING THE DILEMMA.

1. THREE KINDS OF ARGUMENTS.

The proposition, constituting the basic unit of the argument, would of necessity be indicative of the nature of said argument; therefore the three general kinds of propositions, categorical, hypothetical and disjunctive, suggest the three kinds of arguments which are in turn categorical, hypothetical and disjunctive. Categorical arguments are those in which all of the propositions are categorical. Since this kind has been treated, it remains for us to consider the other two.

2. HYPOTHETICAL ARGUMENTS.

We have observed that a hypothetical proposition is one in which the assertion depends on a condition; for example, in the proposition, “If it is pleasant, I will call on you to-morrow,” the calling depends on the state of the weather. “I will call on you to-morrow,” is the assertion which is limited by the condition, “If the weather is pleasant.” Definition:

The hypothetical argument or syllogism is one in which the major premise is hypothetical and the minor premise categorical.

ILLUSTRATION:

If the people are right more than half of the time, the world will progress;

And the people are right more than half of the time,

Hence the world will progress.