According to Epstein, an argument is valid if there is no possible way for its premises to be true and its conclusion false (at the same time). And an argument is strong if there is some way, some possiblity, for thits premises to be true and its conclusion false (at the same time).
For example:
All fishes swim.
Therefore, salmons swim.
This is a valid argument because the true premise leads to a true conclusion. We all believe that all fishes have a true nature skill to swim and since salmon is a kind of fish, then salmons swim. Even though, some fishes like mud-fish stay in the mud at times, they still swim.
Another example:
All Honda cars, after 1996 have VTEC engines.
Therefore, the next Honda car model will have a VTEC engine.
This is a strong argument because the premise is true because all Honda cars that are made after 1996 have VTEC engines. But, the conclusion could be possibly true or false because we do not know if Honda will be putting a VTEC engine or a new type of engine on the next Honda car model.
Haha nice examples. Many of my friends own a Honda and I never really knew what "VTEC" actually meant.. It's basically just a faster engine right? or something for a manual car and when you hit the red bar or something? Hahah I agree that it's possible for it to be true or false because who knows what's going to be the next Honda vehicle? As for the first example, it sounds kind of funny that salmon can swim.. I have never actually seen a live salmon..but raw salmon is pretty good. =)
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