Can a good argument be made with a bad premise?

Can a good argument be made with a bad premise?

Yes. This is done all the time. Not so much in science because all the practitioners know the premises and are not easily deceived. It is a part of their training. You will find the most excellent arguments made upon bad premises* in politics, political speech, and social communication. Sometimes, bad premises are the basis of demagoguery, to incite, to pass legislation, to go to war. Sometimes, we all make great arguments to others, though with an error in the premises.

Now, let’s look for a moment at the many types of bad premises.

1.     Wishful thinking, or you just hope it is so, or you think it should be so. These are deadly to the listener and the speaker. Both parties are deceived.

2.     Expressly for deception. Lawyers make their livings this way with their interpretations of the statues or perhaps what a witness has said.

3.     Vagueness is a leading cause for bad premises, as it can lead the reader or listener to believe their own varied opinions.

4.     The use of incorrect quantifiers. Example: The teen says to mom, “All the other kids have one.” Incorrect qualifiers create another source of bad premises.

5.     Using the correct premise in the wrong way. This one is more subtle, as you have accidentally misinterpreted the premise to mean or imply something else.

6.     Sometimes by negation, by stating this or that cannot be true, as we all know. Therefore, the valid argument follows.

 There are others. Most arguments can be controlled or ended by asking everyone to state their premises. Bad premises are a feature of social life. Critical thinking can help if you are vigilant, and before being swept away by the eloquence of the argument, carefully consider what the speaker assumes. Be suspicious.

 *Premise: a previous statement or proposition from which another is inferred or follows as a conclusion. "if the premise is true, then the conclusion must be true"