Logical Connectedness, Consistency, and Truth
The conclusion of "Most contemporary physicists accept Einstein's relativity theory. Thus, Einstein's theory is very likely true, since the consensus of experts on the question counts as decisive support" is
Einstein's theory is very likely true
If I believe that I can magically walk through a firm brick wall, my belief is
False
The conclusion of "If the government introduces tough laws on the sale of alcohol to discourage addiction, health care expenses will be reduced. If health care expenses are reduced, there will be more funds for education. Thus, if the government introduces tough laws on the sale of alcohol to discourage addiction, there will be more funds for education" is
If the government introduces tough laws on the sale of alcohol to discourage addiction, there will be more funds for education
The conclusion of "No one should be surprised to learn that, in India, there is growing interest in space exploration. After all, there is growing interest in China too, and Indian and China have a lot in common!" is
No one should be surprised to learn that, in India, there is growing interest in space exploration
The conclusion of "That everything is a matter of opinion cannot possibly be correct, as shown by the fact that some scientific theories are true and others false" is
That everything is a matter of opinion cannot possibly be correct
Suppose that tomorrow, every person in the world came to believe that the planet Mars does not exist. The claim that "Mars exists" would be
True
Suppose that, by accident, no human had ever encountered a dragonfly. The claim that "dragon flies are capable of flight" would be
True
Without changing the standard English meaning of words, the set "2 + 1 = 3. All giraffes have long necks" is
consistent
Without changing the standard English meaning of words, the set "A meteorite reportedly crashed through the roof of a house. It bounced on the living room floor and landed in a chair" is
consistent
Without changing the standard English meaning of words, the set "Some garbage men are US Presidents. Every dog is an astronaut" is
consistent
Without changing the standard English meaning of words, the set "The moon is made of cheese. All lawyers are rich" is
consistent
The logical connectedness of "A new TV ad shows a football star, unshaven, touting a brand of razor blade. But obviously he doesn't use it. Thus, razor blades are not popular with tax attorneys" is
failed
The logical connectedness of "Many athletes use sports as a quick way to escape poverty. Therefore, poverty is not a social problem" is
failed
The logical connectedness of "Since the space outside earth is vast, ancient aliens must have built the pyramids" is
failed
Without changing the standard English meaning of words, the set "A deer is faster than a turtle. But a turtle is not slower than a deer" is
inconsistent
Without changing the standard English meaning of words, the set "Dogs are not cats. But some cats are dogs" is
inconsistent
Without changing the standard English meaning of words, the set "We are running into a dangerous level of potential climate change. However, the US is (at the same time) both increasing its average output of carbon dioxide and decreasing its average output of carbon dioxide" is
inconsistent
Without changing the standard English meaning of words, the set "We believe that all nations, including ours, should lay down their weapons and make peace together. At the same time, we believe that all nations ought to retain arms that could defeat their competitors and also sell them to anyone with the money to pay for them" is
inconsistent
The logical connectedness of "All large cities have severe air pollution problems. Chicago is a large city. Hence, Chicago has air pollution problems" is
strong
The logical connectedness of "All marathon runners eat pasta. Since Jennifer is a marathon runner, she eats pasta" is
strong
The logical connectedness of "Fred is a college student. All college students get good educations, so it follows that he would get an education" is
strong
The logical connectedness of "Menkin, the Subway Slasher responsible for the murders of 17 people last summer, is now in prison. All mass murderers write best-selling books after they're sent to prison. So Menkin will write a best-selling book" is
strong
The logical connectedness of "No airline has been lowering its fares over the past ten years. North American Air Link is an airline. Thus North American Air Link has not been lowering its fares over the past ten years" is
strong
The logical connectedness of "A survey of 100 television viewers selected at random from all parts of the United States revealed that 32% of them regularly watched network news programs in the evening. Your brother is a television viewer. From this we may infer that your brother regularly watches evening network news programs" is
weak
The logical connectedness of "Retaining restrictions on immigration is necessary to maintain a prosperous country. After all, some very prosperous countries maintain restrictions on immigration" is
weak