Can we conclude with certainty that we are going to die?
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Original Question
We were all familiar with the classic argument argument :
P1: All human beings are mortal
P2: We/I am/are a human being(s)
C: Therefore I/we are/am going to die one day.
Of course, this is a valid argument but it seems that our professor did not regarded it as sound . He attacked the content of the first premise claiming that we are making and inductive generalization from past examples (from what we know people are going to die one day) but that things can change (e.g., some medicine and or God etc., could make possible that we will live forever). So, the first premise is only probably true. So, in this case even if we have a deductively-valid argument the content of the first premise is only probably true and therefore not a sound one.
In conclusion, it is not an argument which conclusion we must accept. Put in a different way, we can't conclude with certainty that we are going to die one day because the first premise' content advances a statement of probability. Is this fallacious reasoning?
Answers
1No, it is very good reasoning. Your professor is correct in that the premise "All human beings are mortal" is not a certain statement. The conclusion is only guaranteed if the premises are true. This is along the lines of the claim that all swans are white (until they found black swans). Expecting that we are immortal, well, that is another thing all together and not a reasonable conclusion based on what we currently know about our past, technology, and the lack of supernatural intervention making people immortal.
For an interesting perspective on immortality in our near future, see http://www.ted.com/talks/aubrey_de_grey_says_we_can_avoid_aging?language=en
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