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Truth and Validity in Logical Arguments

Truth and validity are two distinct evaluative properties of arguments in formal/informal logic: truth (and falsity) is a property of individual statements (premises and conclusions) that agree or disagree with fact, while validity (and invalidity) is a property of an argument's logical structure, holding when the truth of the premises guarantees the truth of the conclusion. These properties are independent and combine in four possible ways, and their conjunction (true premises plus valid reasoning) defines a "sound" argument, whose conclusion must be true.