Validity Versus Truth – UGC NET Question

Validity concerns only the logical structure of an argument. A valid argument is one where, assuming the premises are true, the conclusion cannot logically be false. However, validity alone does not guarantee that the premises are actually true in reality. When a valid form is combined with true premises, the conclusion is guaranteed to be true, and this is the key relationship captured in the correct statement.

Option A:
Option A correctly links validity with truth in the conditional way used in logic: validity plus true premises forces the conclusion to be true. It neither assumes nor denies that the premises are in fact true; it specifies what would follow if they are.

Option B:
Option B incorrectly claims that validity requires true premises, but an argument can be valid even if its premises are false, as long as the conclusion follows logically.

Option C:
Option C wrongly asserts that the conclusion of a valid argument must be true regardless of the premises’ truth, which misunderstands validity as guaranteeing truth instead of preserving it.

Option D:
Option D conflates validity with soundness; soundness additionally requires that all premises are actually true.