In chapter 6 of the Epstein text, the subject explained compound claims and ‘OR’ claims. The text defines a compound claim as a claim made up of other claims that have to be analyzed as one sole claim. An example of a compound claim would be my mother returning from Iraq today and her telling me, “Pie, my plane will land at OAK or SFO today.” How she doesn’t know where her plane will land, is beyond me, but this explains a compound claim because of the phrase OR. Had she used ‘and’ instead, there would be multiple claims, thus contradicting the definition of compound claims.
In lieu of contradiction, an addition point the text mentioned was contradictory claims. A contradictory claim is a claim that has an opposing value of truth in all possible circumstances (Epstein, p. 114). Using the above example, if my mother were to use ‘and’, her claim would be, “Pie, my plane will land in OAK and SFO.”, which is physically impossible.
Your examples of compound claims were very good. It clearly shows what a compound claim is. The “or” in your example makes it difficult to understand whether your mothers plane from will land in OAK or SFO airport. It’s clear how two claims can come together and form a compound claim .Your example of a contradictory claim is a good one too. Your mother stating that her plane will arrive at two different two different airports is a contradictory claim because it can only arrive at one or the other. Only one claim can be true. Great job on your examples!
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