Definition · Plain-language
Premise
A premise is a statement put forward as a reason or piece of evidence intended to support the conclusion of an argument.
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Premises and conclusions
Every argument is built from premises and a conclusion. The premises are the supporting statements; the conclusion is the claim the arguer wants you to accept on the basis of those premises. Indicator words help locate them: "because", "since" and "for" usually introduce premises, while "therefore", "thus", "so" and "hence" usually introduce conclusions. An argument may have a single premise or many, and complex arguments often chain several sub-conclusions, where one statement serves as the conclusion of one inference and a premise of the next.
True premises and good arguments
The quality of an argument depends on two separable things: whether the premises actually support the conclusion (the logic) and whether the premises are true (the facts). A premise can be false, and an argument can still be valid in form. To establish a conclusion as true, an argument needs both — premises that genuinely support the conclusion and premises that are actually true. This distinction is the basis of the difference between a merely valid argument and a sound one.
Hidden and implicit premises
Many everyday arguments leave premises unstated, relying on the listener to supply an obvious assumption. Such arguments are called enthymemes. Identifying the hidden premise is a key critical-thinking skill, because suppressed assumptions are often where an argument is weakest or most contestable. For instance, "She is a politician, so she cannot be trusted" relies on the unstated premise "politicians cannot be trusted". Making implicit premises explicit lets you examine whether they are actually acceptable.
Key facts
At a glance
- Definition: a statement offered as a reason supporting a conclusion
- Role: the supporting evidence or reasons in an argument
- Premise indicators: because, since, for, given that
- Number: an argument has one or more premises, one main conclusion
- Hidden premise: an unstated assumption (an enthymeme)
- Note: a premise can be false yet still make an argument valid in form
Common misconceptions
What people often get wrong
Often heard: A premise must be true for it to count as a premise.
Actually: A premise is simply a statement offered in support of a conclusion, regardless of whether it is actually true. False statements can serve as premises. Whether the premises are true is a separate question that affects soundness, not whether they are premises.
Often heard: Every argument states all of its premises explicitly.
Actually: Many arguments are enthymemes that leave a premise unstated and assumed. Reconstructing the hidden premise is often where critical analysis does its real work, because the suppressed assumption is frequently the most questionable part.
Often heard: An argument can have several conclusions as easily as several premises.
Actually: An argument may rest on many premises, but it has a single main conclusion that the premises jointly support. Longer passages may contain sub-conclusions, but each individual inference still moves from premises to one conclusion.
Going deeper
