Deductive reasoning and valid arguments – UGC NET Question

Statements A, B and C describe the standard logical notions of validity and soundness in deductive reasoning, so they are all true together. In a valid deductive argument, true premises guarantee a true conclusion, and validity is a matter of form rather than factual correctness of premises. A sound argument must be both valid and have all true premises, which is exactly what C states. Statements D and E are false, because deductive conclusions do not always go beyond the information in the premises, and an argument can be valid yet unsound if its premises are false. Therefore the combination containing A, B and C only is correct.

Option A:
Option A includes A and B, which are both true, but it omits C, which correctly defines a sound argument as valid with true premises. Because C is also true and is left out, this option does not capture all the correct statements and is therefore incomplete.

Option B:
Option B selects B and C but leaves out A, so it fails to mention the fundamental guarantee that in a valid deductive argument true premises ensure a true conclusion. Since A is a correct statement about validity and is missing, this combination cannot be considered fully correct.

Option C:
Option C includes A, B and C but adds D, which is false because deductive reasoning need not extend beyond the information in the premises; often the conclusion is logically contained in them. Including D alongside the true statements makes the overall set incorrect.

Option D:
Option D is correct because it lists exactly those statements that are true: A about the truth-preserving nature of validity, B about structure, and C about soundness. It excludes D and E, which misrepresent deductive reasoning by suggesting that every valid argument is automatically sound and that conclusions must always go beyond the premises.