According to chapter 3 in the Epstein text, "an argument is valid if there is no way the premise could be true and the conclusion false at the same time." Valid arguments do not necessarily need to be good arguments. If an argument is not valid then it is called an invalid argument. An argument is strong if it is highly unlikely that its premises are true and its conclusion is false. In the text it states that, "a strong argument with true premises is sometimes better than a valid one with the same conclusion."
A prime example of a valid argument from everyday life would be: "Every fast food restaurant has hamburgers and fries. So Taco Bell has hamburgers and fries." This argument is valid because if it is true that every fast food restaurant has hamburgers, then Taco Bell must have hamburgers because it is a fast food restaurant. This argument is not a good argument because both the conclusion and the premise are false. Therefore this argument is a valid argument but is also a bad argument.
An everyday example of a strong argument would be: "Every house that I have seen in California has at least one window. Therefore, every house in the state of California has at least one window." This argument is strong because it is very unlikely that there are any houses in California that do not have windows. In this example, it is highly unlikely that the premise is true and the conclusion is false.
I am still getting use to the difference between an argument that is good and an argument that is valid. Your Taco Bell example was a great example because it was clear in distinguishing the difference between a valid argument and a good argument because you showed the premise being the sufficient but the conclusion false at the same time. Your other example was a great example of a strong argument because it was valid, strong, and unlikely that both the premise would be true and the conclusion false at the same time. It is in fact unlikely that there are no houses in California without windows thus making this argument valid. Great post!
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