A logical argument is a claim that a set of premises support a conclusion. There are two general types of arguments: inductive and deductive arguments.
Many scientific theories, such as the big bang theory, can never be proven. Instead, they are inductive arguments supported by a wide variety of evidence. Usually in science, an idea is considered a hypothesis until it has been well tested, at which point it graduates to being considered a theory. Common scientific theories, like Newton’s theory of gravity, have all stood up to years of testing and evidence, though sometimes they need to be adjusted based on new evidence, such as when Einstein proposed the theory of general relativity.
A deductive argument is more clearly valid or not, which makes it easier to evaluate.
Adapted from Math in Society by David Lippman, hosted on LibreTexts (math.libretexts.org) and licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. Changes were made. License: CC-BY-SA-3.0.
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