Logic test #2

What does a disjunction look like? Chicken ______ beef

or

Good inductive arguments are arguments in which the truth of the premises makes the conclusion _______.

probable

Stealing nail polish from Walmart should be punished severely, for it's just as bad as stealing someone's car from the parking lot. After all, theft is a crime against the word of God laid down in the 10 Commandments. What is the fallacy here? That is, what is the problem with this argument? Hint - I slid from petty theft right down to grand theft auto in a hurry....

slippery slope fallacy

1. Almost no chickens can fly further than 50 feet of horizontal distance. Therefore, my pet chicken cannot fly further than 50 feet of horizontal distance. Is this a strong or weak inductive argument?

storng

1. 75% of all high school baseball players can catch a baseball while jumping on the run. 2. Dr. Sweet can catch a baseball while jumping on the run. Therefore, Dr. Sweet is a high school baseball player. What's wrong with this argument?

the conclusion is not supported at all by the premises - the argument has the wrong structure and so is a fallacy

A restatement of the conclusion is a proposition that is ____________ in meaning to the conclusion itself. Restatements should NEVER serve as premises in an argument, because they make the argument trivially____________ .

the same, valid

Most people are honest, respectful, and caring. I know this because almost everyone in my family, almost every one of my coworkers, and certainly all of my close friends are honest, respectful, and caring. What is wrong with this argument?

this is a grab sample - the arguer is only looking at people who she knows personally

Inductive arguments involve reasoning from things known to things ______________.

unknown

I like "pickles", but I hate pickles. Most people hate "moist" and "bulbous" but love moist, bulbous cookies. How is all this possible? What distinction explains why these love/hate claims are compatible?

use/mention distinction

1, Your options are either chicken or salmon. 2. If you have chicken, then you're eating a farm-raised bird from Georgia. 3. If you have salmon, then you're eating a wild-caught fish from the Atlantic. /∴ So, your options are either a farm-raised bird from Georgia or a wild-caught fish from the Atlantic. Is this argument valid or invalid?

valid

1. If P, then Q. 2. P. /∴ Q. Is this a valid or invalid argument form?

valid

1. If you didn't do the argument reconstruction on Friday before Fall Break, then you did it on Wednesday after Fall Break. 2. I noticed you didn't show up on Wednesday for the reconstruction. /∴ So, you did the argument reconstruction the Friday before Fall Break. Valid or invalid argument form?

valid

"No one actually WANTS to do drugs, though many get sucked into addiction." How many counterexamples do you need to offer to prove this claim is false?

1

__________________ is the consequent of the following conditional: If roses are red, then violets are blue. Be sure to REMOVE the word that precedes the consequent!

violets are blue

1. 51% of all Americans eat fast food every week. Therefore, American actor Matthew McConaughey eats fast food every week. Assume premise 1 above is true. Is this a strong argument?

weak

Either it's raining or it's sunny. When is this disjunction true?

when it's raining when it's sunny when the devil is beating his wife with a frying pan (aka a sun-shower)

______________ is the antecedent of the following conditional: If you are angry, then you should talk to the person you're mad at. Be sure to REMOVE the word that precedes the antecedent!

you are angry

"All fish are blue." Restate this universal claim as a conditional.

if something is a fish, then it is blue

"One morning I shot an elephant in my pajamas. How he got into my pajamas I'll never know." What prepositional phrase is syntactically ambiguous? That is, what phrase makes this a fallacy of amphiboly? Hint - the phrase is THREE words.

in my pajamas

1. Either you will pass the class or else you'll retake it. 2. Congrats, you don't have to retake the course! /∴ Therefore, you unfortunately didn't pass the class. Is this argument valid or invalid?

invalid

1. If I go to the store, then I'll go get dinner at Cheba Hut afterwards. 2. I'm going to the store now! /∴ So, I'm not going to go to Cheba Hut at all tonight. Valid or invalid argument?

invalid

Sociologist: Climate and geology determine where human industry can be established. Drastic shifts in climate always result in migrations, and migrations bring about the intermingling of ideas necessary for rapid advances in civilization. The sociologist's statements, if true, most strongly support which one of the following?

A population remains settled only where the climate is fairly stable.

1. If P, then Q. 2. Q. 3. Therefore P. Valid or invalid argument form?

invalid

1. 99% of all Americans eat fast food every week. Therefore, American actor Jennifer Aniston eats fast food every week. Assume premise 1 is true. What information could be given to me that might still undermine the argument? That is, how is it possible that this could be a weak argument, even when premise 1 is true? A. information specific to Jennifer Aniston's diet B. information about the obesity caused by eating fast food C. information about the weekly changes in most Americans' diets D. i

A. information specific to Jennifer Aniston's diet

I don't believe a word he says about medicine or public health. He's been married multiple times and cheated on every wife he's ever had! What's the fallacy here?

Ad Hominem

A government ought to protect and encourage free speech, because free speech is an activity that is conducive to a healthy nation and thus is in the best interest of its people. The main conclusion above follows logically if which one of the following is assumed?

An activity that is in the best interest of the people ought to be protected and encouraged by a nation's government.

Interior decorator: All coffeehouses and restaurants are public places. Most well-designed public places feature artwork. But if a public place is uncomfortable it is not well designed, and all comfortable public places have spacious interiors. If all of the interior decorator's statements are true, then which one of the following must be true?

Any well-designed coffeehouse or restaurant has a spacious interior.

"More than 99.9% of studies agree: Humans caused climate change". Therefore, humans caused climate change. What's the fallacy here?

Appeals to Authority

Inductive arguments are those in which the conclusion is guaranteed by the premises. Deductive arguments, by contrast, never offer a guarantee for the truth of the conclusion.

False

Standing and sitting are vague concepts.

False

I don't accept belief in God. It's obvious that the prophets who wrote scripture were not philosophers, so they could not possibly formulate logical arguments for the existence of God. What's the fallacy here?

Genetic Fallacy

A conditional looks like this: _____ you want to get some ice cream, ______ let's go tonight at 6 pm.

If , then

Example: I procrastinate studying for exams whenever I am busy with other things. That is, being busy with other tasks is sufficient for me to procrastinate studying. Rewrite this as a logical conditional in standard form (if P, then Q).

If I am busy with other things, then I procrastinate studying for exams

I will go to the gym only if group classes are offered there. Rewrite this as a logical conditional in standard form (If P, then Q).

If I go to the gym, then group classes are offered there.

In an inductive argument, the arguer reasons from things known to things unknown or uncertain. This implies that inductive arguments can never give us certainty about the conclusion. Another way of saying this is that all inductive arguments are, by design, __________.

invalid

"It is currently raining in St. Augustine." Check all the claims below that are equivalent in meaning to the claim above - that is, check those claims that are restatements of the claim "it is currently raining in St. Augustine."

It is the case that it is currently raining in St. Augustine. in St. Augustine, currently it is not not raining. It's raining in St. Augustine right now.

The following is a valid argument form: 1. If P, then Q. 2. ____. /∴ 3. Therefore, Q.

P

Syndicated political columnists often use their newspaper columns to try to persuade readers to vote a certain way. However, their efforts to persuade voters rarely succeed, for by the time such a column appears, nearly all who will vote in the election will have already made a decision about which candidate to vote for. Which one of the following is an assumption required by the argument?

People rarely can be persuaded to change their minds about which candidate to vote for once they have made a decision.

The following is a valid argument form, where each letter corresponds to a type of thing or characteristic. 1. All P are Q. 2. All S are P. /∴ 3. Therefore, All S are ______.

Q

The following is a valid argument form: 1. Either P or Q. 2. If P, then R. 3. If Q, then S. /∴ 4. Therefore, Either ______ or ______

R or S

"It's raining" is the same as "It's not the case that it's not raining."

True

An argument is invalid if and only if it is possible for an argument with such a form to have true premises and a false conclusion.

True

1. Either you'll drop the class next week and retake it later or else you'll stay in the class this semester. 2. If you drop the class next week and retake it later, then you'll have to pass it the next time in order to graduate. 3. If you stay in the class this semester, then you'll have to pass it this semester in order to graduate. /∴ Therefore, you'll have to pass this class at some point in order to graduate. Is this argument valid or invalid?

Valid

What is a counterexample to an argument?

a hypothetical or real case that shows the conclusion can be false even when all the premises are true

What is a complex proposition/claim?

a proposition/claim that contains other propositions within it

What does a conjunction look like? Chicken __________ waffles

and

A _______________ is a common failure of reasoning, an intellectual mistake that is easy to make but fails to result in a good argument.

fallacy

"If Fall Break has already passed, then we must already be into the month of November." Is this conditional true or false?

false