Question at position 23 The soundness of an argument is determined by __________.none of the given choicesits having a valid argument form and true premises.its having a true conclusion its having true premises and a true conclusion

Question

BlackTom AI · Accepted Answer

Soundness requires a valid argument form and true premises.

1. Relevant knowledge points and concepts
- Validity: An argument is valid if and only if it is impossible for all its premises to be true and its conclusion false; validity is about logical form and entailment, not the actual truth of premises.
- Soundness: An argument is sound when it is both valid and all of its premises are actually true. A sound argument therefore guarantees a true conclusion.
- Truth of conclusion or premises alone does not guarantee soundness.

2. Complete reasoning process step by step
- Step 1: Recall the definition of soundness: soundness = validity + true premises.
- Step 2: If an argument is valid and its premises are true, by definition the conclusion must be true in every case where the premises are true; therefore the conclusion is guaranteed true.
- Step 3: Conversely, having a true conclusion alone does nothing to ensure the premises properly entail the conclusion (validity). Having true premises and a true conclusion still does not ensure the premises logically guarantee the conclusion (the argument might be invalid).

3. Intermediate logical examples (showing the distinction)
- True conclusion but invalid argument: Premise: "The moon is made of cheese." Conclusion: "Paris is the capital of France." The conclusion happens to be true, but the premises do not logically entail it — the argument is invalid and unsound.
- True premises and true conclusion but invalid: Premise: "Water boils at 100°C at sea level." Premise: "The Eiffel Tower is in Paris." Conclusion: "2+2=4." All three statements are true, but the premises do not support the conclusion — the argument is invalid and therefore unsound.
- Valid + true premises: Premise: "All men are mortal." Premise: "Socrates is a man." Valid form → Conclusion: "Socrates is mortal." If both premises are true, the argument is sound and the conclusion must be true.

4. Why the correct answer is correct
Because soundness, by definition, requires BOTH logical validity (the premises entail the conclusion) and the actual truth of the premises. That combination is exactly "its having a valid argument form and true premises."

5. Why the other choices are incorrect
- "none of the given choices": incorrect because a correct definition is present among the choices.
- "its having a true conclusion": incorrect because a true conclusion can occur even if premises are false or the argument is invalid.
- "its having true premises and a true conclusion": incorrect because true premises and a true conclusion do not guarantee the premises logically entail the conclusion (the argument can still be invalid).

6. Conclusion
The correct choice is "its having a valid argument form and true premises." This matches the provided answer.

Question at position 23 The soundness of an argument is determined by __________.none of the given choicesits having a valid argument form and true premises.its having a true conclusion its having true premises and a true conclusion单项选择题

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