In this video for GMAT aspirants, I explain a very commonly used yet uncommonly understood argument structure. I hope this video makes your life a little more interesting!
Thanks for the deep, nuanced reasoning! I have a few follow-up questions - How is a conditional statement (if-then statement) related to, or unrelated to, a causal statement? What is the overlap area between the two? Can we have a conditional argument in which the conclusion is the 'If statement' and the premise is the 'Then statement', similar to what we can see in a causal statement? Thank you for clarifying!
"If then" pertains to a sufficient condition or a necessary condition, not a causal statement. There is no overlap. However, an author can make a logical jump from one to the other (of course, that would be a gap in the argument). "If then" is a complete one statement - one can NEVER break it down to say that "if" part is premise or conclusion.
Hi CJ - if you review most CR books (Manhattan Prep, Powerscore) -- they all talk about premise vs conclusion. This cause-effect seems to take the conclusion as the "Cause" whereas the effect as the "premise" Do you thus suggest NOT thinking in terms of "premise" vs "conclusion" but instead "cause" vs "Effect" in CR ? --------------------- example - Ram is crying. He must have failed in the exam. Premise - Ram is crying Conclusion - he must have failed .... Cause : He must have failed Effect : Ram is crying
What I say doesn't replace Premise Vs Conclusion structure. The argument structure I presented is a specific type of logical structure of an argument. Every argument is of the type Premise and Conclusion.