Henry:  Some scientists explain the dance of honeybees as the means by which honeybees communicate the location of wh...

Mehran August 7, 2016

@LuxyLuck70 there is no requirement that each person will have their own premise and conclusion on Argument Exchange questions.

For example, on a Misinterpretation question, you could have one speaker set forth a general principle that is then misapplied by the other speaker.

Hope this helps! Please let us know if you have any other questions.

tperone11 September 23, 2017

Is there a place in the thread (haven't come across it yet) where we can see the difference in definition of the various roles? This is what I have so far:
Conclusion: Main Point or assertion supported by one or more premises
Premise: A statement that supports the conclusion
Subsidiary Conclusion: Serves both as a premise and a conclusion
Principle: Unclear what this is and how it differs from a fact??
Fact: Unclear how this is different than principle
General Claim: Unclear on strict definition of this and how this differs from premise, principle, and fact.

Thanks!

Tony

gracemass November 1, 2017

I am with Tony with his post. Is there anywhere in the books/videos that set out simple/clear definitions of each of these. How a generalization/claim/principle/SC play into an argument have me confused.
Thank you!
Grace

tylerindia53 December 19, 2017

Yes I agree

Kathy3755 January 14, 2018

not sure why no one has responded to this but im in the same boat as Tony. Please provide an explanation for all of these terms.

Thanks!

Mehran January 15, 2018

Hi Tony, @gracemass, @Kathy3755, thanks for your posts. There are a large number of terms that our students learn throughout our course; providing an exhaustive list here is not the purpose of the message boards. That said, we are happy to clarify the meaning of terms about which students have specific questions.

So: a principle can be thought of as a general rule; often, principles are statements that include a sufficient and a necessary condition.

A subsidiary conclusion is a statement that is supported by at least one premise, and which, in turn, itself supports the final conclusion / main point.

A fact is different from a principle. A factual statement is "the sky is blue." A principle is something like "all good teachers understand their students."

A general claim refers to a level of generalization - perhaps a rule that has wide applicability.

You may find it helpful to review the Intro to Logical Reasoning lecture, as well as the video lectures for Main Point, Must be True, Sufficient & Necessary conditions, and Principle questions.

Best of luck!

jennycepeda May 10, 2018

Thank you for clarifying above. I have to say that this has been more difficult than I thought. I'm donde with all the books I received and Just moved to the app to complete as a second review and I wish there was more background like the above before we even dive into the questions. I've been learning as I go, but could had been made easier with an intro video that explained key words / signs etc.

Dalaal February 21, 2020

Hi @Mehran
Is a general rule or generalization the same as a principle? Are factual statements always premises in an argument?