LOGIC SIDECAR · VALIDITY LANE

Does it follow?

Write the argument as three plain sentences — two starting points and a conclusion. This page answers one question only: does the conclusion follow? Whether the starting points are true is a different question, and it always goes to a panel.

a chain a denial a broken bridge a shifted premise

1. If the canopy was not reconstructed, we are not responsible
2. The canopy in the construction sense was not reconstructed
∴ We are not responsible

It follows if-then

The second line states exactly the condition the first line set, so its promised result holds.

The premise shifted

The condition and the second line are not quite the same claim — one adds construction sense. Same words, different promise: a qualifier that appears only when convenient makes the argument look valid while it no longer is. Ask which version was meant when it was first said.

Reading with the built-in pattern reader; the verdict is computed here by a fixed engine either way.
step-by-step builder · dialogues