Practical Guide To Clear Thought Ep.11

How is an argument vertically enlarged?

An argument is vertically enlarged when we either seek proof if its premisses, or use its conclusion in further arguments. In the first case, the premisses then become the conclusions of further arguments, for which new premisses must be provided. In the second case, the conclusions then become the premisses of further arguments. And so on -- to form a mega-argument. One caveat: The backward enlargement cannot go on indefinitely. Arguments cannot be allowed to regress forever. It must stop at some assumptions.

Why can't we allow infinite regress?

We cannot allow infinite regress because that would mean we can never return to the present argument and conclusion. We will never be able to prove anything. So at some point premisses must be assumed to be true.

Does this mean all arguments ultimately rest on quicksand?

No, because these ultimate assumptions are made only when we reach the limit of our scepticism, so we can be confident it does not rest on quicksand.

But everything can be questioned!

Of course, we can persevere and demand ever further proof, but it would not serve any useful purpose. The point of asking a question is to answer it, and not to raise interminably more questions.

Next: How is an argument horizontally developed into a case?

Readers are invited to pose questions (use comment feature to do this) to move this course along -- and to check out my website for details of the course (NOUS: A Practical Guide to Clear Thought) that I conduct on this subject.