Argument Structure Questions - - Question 24

Seemingly inconsequential changes in sea temperature due to global warming eventually result in declines in fish and ...

ginahj January 11, 2022

use of "since" in a sentence

if there is a "since" in a sentence, is it always going to act as a conclusion and a premise?

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Naryan-Shukle January 11, 2022

Hey @ginahj,

This answer is a bit tricky. Typically, though, yes—since will very often indicate a premise which then introduces a conclusion.

Ex: Since I want to go to law school, I should study hard for the LSATs.

However, at a higher level it's possible to encounter statements where since does not factor into the premise-conclusion structure. This is why we always are careful to say that "since" is one of many HINTS, not rules.

Ex: Since antiquity the Earth has orbited the sun. This is because our star's immense gravity pulls the earth around it.

In the above example, sentence 1 is the Main Conclusion, and "since" has no bearing on that