Lawrence Helm wrote: "A premise is an assumption. An Assumption in an argument is a premise. A premise in a syllogism is an assumption if the logic is valid. My argument only needs to follow from its assumptions to be valid." Not quite. First, a premise is not an assumption but something about which one can say that it is either true or false. To be picky, it says of one thing only one thing. An assumption is a belief held prior to, or apart from, the argument, but is not a necessary part of that argument. An assumption is not a fact, nor can it be shown to be true or false, but rather is taken, or assumed, to be the case. Since it must be assumed, that is held on grounds other than being true, an assumption cannot be a premise. This is all very abstract, so let's look at Lawrence's assumption. "I am assuming that these people would not seek their own destruction if they understood what was at stake." This is really a case of begging the question since it assumes the answer, namely, that if 'these people' understood that they were wrong, they would not hold the beliefs they do. In short, Lawrence's assumption is that his interlocutors are wrong. Given this assumption, Lawrence claims that people who wrongly understand the enemy and call for the withdrawal of troops, wrongly understand the enemy. It may be the case that all syllogisms are tautological, but what Lawrence gives is merely tautological. However, Lawrence's assumption is independent of his original argument that "From the fact that so many people want us to withdraw prematurely from Iraq it is clear that millions don?t understand the 'importance' of fighting this enemy." What Lawrence's assumption contributes is the qualification that 'these people' don't understand. But as the argument stands, there is nothing about the fact of calling for the withdrawal of troops that makes it true that they don't understand. I even provided a fleshed out argument that included a call for withdrawal as well as an understanding of the jihadists. So, the argument is a non sequitur. In order to make it even appear like a valid argument, Lawrence must assume that 'these people' don't understand. That is, Lawrence assumes his conclusion. Lawrence may be right, that withdrawing troops now would be disastrous, but arguing as he does only serves to make the issues less, rather than more, clear. And that cannot be good for a country that is sending young people to kill and be killed. Lawrence also wrote: "You deprecate 'what the Jihadists say.'? Again, not quite. What I deprecate are those occasions where people make claims that go directly against reality. This includes bin Laden claiming victory in Iraq, when the jihadists are becoming increasingly isolated and desperate, and Bush claiming victory when both Americans and Iraqis are daily being killed by the dozens. I am well aware of how prone Arabs are to conspiracy theories, but when lives are at stake, we should be more concerned about facts on the ground. Let bin Laden and co. believe what they like as long as Iraqi police and soldiers are patrolling peaceful streets. If you were paying attention to those books, you will know that no fact, no state of affairs, can ever clear up a conspiracy theory. Sincerely, Phil Enns Toronto, ON ------------------------------------------------------------------ To change your Lit-Ideas settings (subscribe/unsub, vacation on/off, digest on/off), visit www.andreas.com/faq-lit-ideas.html