True Causes
LOGIC SIDECAR · VALIDITY LANE

Does it follow?

Two starting points and a conclusion. This page answers one question — does the conclusion follow? — and shows why on the circles. Whether the starting points are true is the other half, and it comes right after.

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Write it as three sentences
Optional. The parts below fill themselves in from what you write; or skip this and name the parts directly.
Try one:

The claimthe thing you are talking about, and what you say is true of it

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The bridgethe property both starting points share, and the conclusion never mentions

The two linkssay each as strongly as you can defend, and no more — ⇄ flips its direction

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The other half: how to check whether the starting points are true
This page answers one question — does the conclusion follow. It says nothing about whether the starting points are true, and the commonest trick in an argument is impeccable logic on a premise nobody examined. That half cannot be automated, so here is the checklist. Ask it of every side equally, including your own.
1 · Find the load-bearing premise
What does the whole argument actually hang on?
  • Which claim, if it fell, would take the conclusion with it?
  • What is presented as obvious but is in fact contested?
  • What would I have to already believe for this to make sense?
  • Which step from the reasons to the conclusion went unspoken?
2 · If it is a checkable fact
Numbers, documents, events — open them.
  • What source confirms it, and can I open that source myself?
  • Does the source say exactly that, or something reworded on the way?
  • What would prove this claim false?
  • If there is no source, why is there no source?
3 · If it is a value judgement
Nobody settles a value for you; these questions only show what is hidden.
  • Whose value is it, and does everyone here accept it as given?
  • Would I apply the same judgement to the other side?
  • Is a fact dressed up as a value, or a value dressed up as a fact?
  • What would someone who disagrees — and is not a bad person — say?
4 · If it is a prediction, or a claim about intent
Neither can be checked now. Be wary when either is stated as fact.
  • How could anyone know what another person intended — where is the evidence, rather than the feeling?
  • Is something unprovable being treated as already settled?
  • What would confirm or refute this prediction, and by when?
  • Is fear standing in for evidence?
5 · Two questions for every argument, without exception
  • What would convince you that you are wrong? If nothing would, this is faith rather than argument.
  • Can I put the same question to the side I agree with?
In a dialogue this is what the panel is for: whether a starting point is true is decided by the people who know the situation, not by this page and not by a model.
Claude reads your sentences into a structure; the verdict is computed here by a fixed engine, never by the model.
dialogues