PHI 103 Week 5

Discussion Question 1

Write two arguments in English, one in the form of modus ponens and one in the form of modus tollens. Then, write the arguments in symbols using sentence letters and truth-functional connectives. (If your computer does not have all the symbols needed, use some other symbol you do have access to and explain what its meaning is.)

What advantages does being able to symbolize our arguments provide? Are there disadvantages to using this technique to make the structure of our arguments more explicit and clear?

Modus Ponens:

P. If John can fix his three bikes.

Q. John fixes bikes.

R. Therefore, John is a bike mechanic.

P and Q then R

If John can fix his three bikes and John fixes bikes, therefore John is a bike mechanic.

(P & Q) ?R (P ? Q) meaning...