Wednesday, September 14, 2011

The Strongest Logical Argument In the World


In my Logic class last evening I made a logical argument that went like this:

1. David Hasselhoff made a video singing "Hooked On a Feeling."
2. Therefore, David Hasselhoff is not a singer.

From P1 (Premise 1) there is a strong claim of inference that leads one to C2 (Conclusion). My argument is an a posteriori argument, therefore an inductive argument, that is very strong.

I wrote this argument on the board for my students to see. Then one of them said, "David Hasselhoff was in "The SpongeBob Square Pants Movie." When they describe the Hasselhoff scene, I thought: "We now have an additional supporting premise for my argument!" Another student sent me the clip, and I here present an even stronger argument:

1. David Hasselhoff made a video singing "Hooked On a Feeling."
2. Hasselhoff was in the "Spongebob Movie."
3. Thereore.Hasselhoff is not a singer.

With this argument we have a rare thing that has never, to this point, been seen. We have here an argument that is both a posteriori and a priori. That is, we have an argument that is both a strong inductive argument and a sound deductive argument. This happens as the inductive, probableistic claim actually achieves a logical necessity. I defy anyone to find another argument that accomplishes this. Thus, I present to you what may be the strongest, soundest logical argument in the world.