Location
Room 3
Document Type
Paper
Keywords
conductive argument, counter-considerations, even-though relation, on-balance premise
Start Date
6-6-2020 9:00 AM
End Date
6-6-2020 10:00 AM
Abstract
The notion of on-balance premise has played a crucial role in understanding the structure of conduction. It is a widely accepted view that in any third-pattern conductive argument there is always an implicit on-balance premise which represents a judgment that the positive reasons for the conclusion have outweighed the counter-considerations against it. This paper aims to provide a critical examination of the notion, and to reveal its inadequacy as a theoretical tool. First, it argues that the notion of on-balance premise has rested upon a metaphor of outweighing that is too simplistic to characterize the weighing and balancing between reasons and counter-considerations. Second, it discusses the justification of on-balance premise in third-pattern conductive arguments, and argues that the current efforts made to validate the on-balance premise as a missing premise remain to be unsuccessful.
Reader's Reactions
Derek Allen, Commentary on Yun Xie's "The Notion of On-Balance Premise Reconsidered" (June 2020)
Included in
The Notion of On-balance Premise Reconsidered
Room 3
The notion of on-balance premise has played a crucial role in understanding the structure of conduction. It is a widely accepted view that in any third-pattern conductive argument there is always an implicit on-balance premise which represents a judgment that the positive reasons for the conclusion have outweighed the counter-considerations against it. This paper aims to provide a critical examination of the notion, and to reveal its inadequacy as a theoretical tool. First, it argues that the notion of on-balance premise has rested upon a metaphor of outweighing that is too simplistic to characterize the weighing and balancing between reasons and counter-considerations. Second, it discusses the justification of on-balance premise in third-pattern conductive arguments, and argues that the current efforts made to validate the on-balance premise as a missing premise remain to be unsuccessful.
