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3.5 Strange Bedfellows

The biggest challenge in correctly mapping multi-reason arguments is telling whether you have one reason or two.  If you have two claims, are they both parts of one reason, or parts of two entirely distinct reasons?  

One common mistake is treating separate reasons as co-premises within one reason.  These premises don't belong together; they are "strange bedfellows."

 
Discussion

Example:

These premises don't belong in one reason.  They are two separate pieces of evidence for the contention.

Here, the two premises have been put in different reasons.  Co-premises have been added so that the reasons satisfy Rabbit and Holding Hands.

 
New Concepts

Strange bedfellows: Two premises are strange bedfellows if they are diagrammed as co-premises in one reason when in fact they belong to completely different reasons.

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 Last updated 28-Nov-2006