Argument #9: Today Im going to defend the idea that love is the highest ethical principle we have. First, I think love is the most important value there is. No value can be more important in helping us make our ethical decisions than love. Second, it feels good to act on the basis of love. And feeling good is important. Third, when we love other people, they feel good. And feeling good is important. Fourth, think of that Beatles song, All You Need is Love. I think the Beatles knew what they were talking about. So, in conclusion, love is the most important value there is.

a)Provide a rational reconstruction of the argument, reducing it to a series of numbered premises understood to necessitate a logical conclusion.

b)Assess the logical validity of the argument as rationally reconstructed. Is the conclusion logically necessitated by the premises?

c)Assess the factual truth of the arguments premises. Categorize each of the premises as one of the following: wholly uncontroversial, potentially controversial, controversial, or factually false. Identify the premise you find to be most controversial and assess its factual viability.

d)Provide a restatement of the premise in order to render it less controversial and assess how successful this restatement is in improving the argument.
Postulate a possible interpretive shortcoming of the argument. Make the strongest case you can for why this shortcoming might obtain, formulating it explicitly as a counter-argument with a series of numbered premises necessitating a logical conclusion. Then assess whether your counter-argument suffices to render the original argument false.