Ashford 3: – Week 2 – Discussion 1

Your initial discussion thread is due on Day 3 (Thursday) and you have until Day 7 (Monday) to respond to your classmates. Your grade will reflect both the quality of your initial post and the depth of your responses. Reference the Discussion Forum Grading Rubric for guidance on how your discussion will be evaluated.
 

Construct   a Deductively Valid Argument

You must post to this discussion   on at least four separate days of the week, and your posts must total at   least 400 words as you address the questions. Your first post must be   completed by Day 3 (Thursday) and the remainder of your posts must be   completed by Day 7 (Monday). You must answer all aspects of the prompt at   some point during the week. Also, reply to your classmates and instructor.   Attempt to take the conversation further by examining their claims or   arguments in more depth or responding to the posts that they make to you.   Keep the discussion on target, and analyze things in as much detail as you   can.
 

  The total combined word count for all of your posts for this discussion,   counted together, should be at least 400 words. Answer all the questions in   the prompt, and read any resources that are required to complete the   discussion properly. In order to satisfy the posting requirements for the   week, complete your initial post by Day 3 (Thursday) and your other posts by   Day 7 (Monday). We recommend that you get into the discussion early and   spread out your posts over the course of the week. Reply to your classmates   and instructor. Attempt to take the conversation further by examining their   claims or arguments in more depth or responding to the posts that they make   to you. Keep the discussion on target, and analyze things in as much detail   as you can.
 

  The topic of this week is deductive reasoning. Accordingly, in this   discussion your task is to create a deductively valid argument for your   position (the same position that you defended in the Week One discussion). 

Prepare: To prepare to respond to this prompt, make sure to read   carefully over the required portions of Chapter 3 and Chapter 4. View the   deLaplante (2013) video What Is a Valid Argument? as well as the other required media for the week. For   more guidance about how to construct a valid argument for a controversial   position, review the Constructing a Valid   Argument video and the document How to Construct a   Valid Deductive Argument .   Based on the sources, create a deductively valid argument for the position   you defended in the Week One discussion. 

Reflect: To make your argument deductively valid, you will need to   make sure that there is no possible way that your premises could be true and   your conclusion false. Your premises must lead logically to the truth of your   conclusion. Make sure that your argument is sound, that is in addition to   being valid, make sure that the premises are true as far as you can tell. If   your argument is invalid or if it has a false premise, revise it until you   get an argument that you can stand behind.

Write: Identify the components and structure of your argument by   presenting your deductively valid argument in standard form, and explain how   your conclusion follows from your premises.

Guided Response: Read the arguments presented by your classmates, and   analyze the reasoning that they have presented. In particular, if you believe   that their argument is invalid, explain a way in which it would be possible   for the premises to be true and the conclusion false. If you believe that   their argument has a false premise, explain why a reasonable person might   take it to be false. Finally, see if you can help them to improve their   argument. How can they alter their premises so that all of them are true?   What might they change in order to make their argument valid?

Respond 

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