can a valid argument have a false conclusion?

Question

can a valid argument have a false conclusion?

Answer 1

Absolutley not.



EDIT: a valid argument FORM can have a false conclusion... if any of the premises are false.



Now we have to dissect the definition of "valid" And the definition of Valid we are referring to is



1.b : logically correct



This is just to clear a little confusion i might have created.



so my answer still remains NO. If it is a Valid argument.. then it is Logical. <> you cannot fail.



Modus ponnens, Modus Tollens, Dysjunctive Syllogism, and Denying the Antecedent.. (Not 100% sure about the 4th one.. i think it is Denying the Antecedent)



The point of using a valid argument form is for the fact that you CANNOT *****logically***** derive a false conclusion, that logically follows from the premises... as long as all premises are true. ANY philosophy/logic 101 course will tell you this.



here is Modus Ponnens



P1 If A, then B

P2 A is true

C Therefore B is true



you can use this form over and over again.. doing your absolute best to make an illogical conclusion that logically follows the premises, as long as the 2 premises are true.



here is Modus Tollens



P1 If A, then B

P2 B is false

C therefore A is false



I can spell out the other 2.. but i think your answer has been sufficiently answered.



<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>



OF COURSE if you put in illogical, false premises you are going to get a false/illogical conclusion.



but your question is... can a VALID argument have a false conclusion, and the answer is no... Can you get an illogical/false conclusion from correctly using a valid argument form? the answer is NO.. every time.



these are tried, and true VALID argument forms, and will produce logical results EVERY TIME if used correctly.







EDIT2: lol



Antiochtennis.. here is why you are incorrect in your assessment.



1. Your argument contains opinion, along with logic. The two cannot be mixed. "We should end world hunger" is not objective. It is opinion (albeit held by a large number of people) And opinions are not made objective by the number of people that agree with them.



2. You did not use a valid argument form.



3. Your conclusion does not logically follow from the premises. The conclusion SHOULD be. (even though the argument is filled with opinion, and not objectivity)

"We should increse our capacity to feed the hungry" (or something closely resembling that)



(sorry for the exhorbant spam) I just like to argue.

Answer 2

Yes, and here is a clear example to illustrate the point.

1. World Hunger causes suffering

2. Humanity should end World Hunger.

3. Therefore we should continually feed everyone that experiences hunger till no person is left hungry.

**This conclusion likely would lead to the creation of more hungry people resulting in a larger scale famine once the food runs out, thus creating even more suffering.

Valid Argument with a false conclusion that doesn't solve the underlying problem.

Answer 3

YES - the validity of an argument is derived solely from its logical form. As others have pointed out, a valid argument cannot derive a false conclusion from true premises, but it perfectly well derive a false conclusion from false premises.



P1 - All trombones are hairy.

P2 - All hairy things are hatched from pods.

C - All trombones are hatched from pods.



The

of this argument perfectly valid, even though the conclusion is clearly false.



'Validity' in this context is not something that changes from person to person like a point of view.

Answer 4

The answer is relative.



Read below:

1) Experiments have to be conducted on animals before the drugs can be put to use for humans. Valid argument (We do not want humans to suffer). Is this a right or wrong conclusion.



2) Hilter would have been assassinated if he would have lived in these times to save millions of lives. But you are depriving of a life. Right or wrong conclusion.



3) A rape victim wants her pregnancy terminated. may be good for her but i the orthodox may not like it. A right or wrong conclusion.



The issue is this. Values differ from person to person. So, arguments are directed to support those ideas. The conclusion is always correct to the person presenting the arguement but not necessarily to others.

Answer 5

As we human beings are changeable from moment to moment, so once an argument which seems Valid at one time can change its validity so is with the conclusions, at one time it could be valid and at others it might become false. That only depends on human mind and its perceptions, but with time and space the change is inevitable.

Answer 6

Being the valid argument it will have strong base and reasons ; so it cannot have false or wrong conclusions.

Answer 7

It couldn't be false conclusions if it was valid in first place could it? Valid means it's proven.

Answer 8

Yes.



There is the possiblity that both the ideas/thoughts/beliefs can be false even though they seemed to make sense, and thus the conclution will be false.

There is also the possibilty that because one party of the arguement had more developed skills in argueing and convincing that led to a false conclution.

Answer 9

Yes, but only if one or more premises are false.

Answer 10

Depend what you mean by valid.I belive it can.