Either Bill Clinton or George W. Bush was president when the World Trade Center towers were destroyed. But Bush was not president at that time. Therefore, Bill Clinton was president when those buildings were destroyed.
A) Inductive, invalid.
B) Deductive, valid.
C) Deductive, invalid.
D) Inductive, strong.
E) Inductive, weak.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

This argument is deductive because it presents a logical syllogism with a clear conclusion following from the premises. It is also valid because if the premises are true, the conclusion must be true. In this case, the premises are "Either Bill Clinton or George W. Bush was president when the World Trade Center towers were destroyed" and "Bush was not president at that time." The conclusion follows logically: "Therefore, Bill Clinton was president when those buildings were destroyed."