Philosophy final Review

Identify the subconclusion in the following passage: "Charles is unpleasant to work with since he interrupts people constantly. Therefore, I do not want to serve on a committee with Charles."

"Charles is unpleasant to work with."

Which of the following is a statement "Close the door." "I'm hungry." "Let's have lunch." "What did you say?"

"I'm hungry."

Identify the conclusion in the following passage: "Photography makes representational art obsolete because no one, not even the best artist, can be more accurate than a camera."

"Photography makes representational art obsolete."

A premise of an argument is

A statement intended to provide support for another statement

The major difference between conditional statements and arguments is what

Conditional statements are hypothetical and do not make any assertions.

A disjunctive syllogism has what form

Either A or B; Not A; So, B

Identify the conclusion of the following passage: "In spite of the fact that electrons are physical entities, they cannot be seen for electrons are too small to deflect photons (i.e., light particles). Hence, electrons are invisible."

Electrons are invisible.

Identify the premise that is NOT a subconclusion in the following passage: "In spite of the fact that electrons are physical entities, they cannot be seen for electrons are too small to deflect photons (i.e., light particles). Hence, electrons are invisible."

Electrons are too small to deflect photons.

What type of statement is this: The tiger, whose population is liberally estimated at about 6,000, may become extinct in the next decade, according to some wildlife experts. Increasingly, the beasts are being killed not for their pelts but for their bones, which are used for medicinal purposes in China and Southeast Asia. (Indian Express, New Delhi)

Explanation

T/F A counterexample is an exception that proves the rule

False

T/F A discount is when you get something for less than the normal price.

False

T/F All arguments have more than one premise

False

T/F All sentences are statements

False

T/F All strong arguments have true conclusions.

False

T/F All uncogent arguments are weak.

False

T/F All valid arguments have true premises

False

T/F All weak arguments have false conclusions.

False

T/F An argument diagram should include all statements from the passage.

False

T/F An argument is a set of statements intended to provide information about a situation, topic, or event.

False

T/F Any argument that is a substitution instance of affirming the consequent is a valid argument.

False

T/F Discounts are words or statements that indicate that the author is confident of a premise or inference.

False

T/F Informal fallacies are fallacies that involve a misuse or distortion of information.

False

T/F Merely verbal disputes involve logical conflict.

False

T/F No cogent arguments have false conclusions.

False

T/F Persuasive definitions are often untrue.

False

T/F Repetition is helpful in well-crafted arguments because it emphasizes the main premises or the conclusion.

False

T/F Some arguments are false

False

T/F The following is an argument: Joan and Carl had been living together for a year and had maintained their separate friendships with both sexes. They were in agreement that they were committed to monogamy, but did not want to sacrifice the opportunity to have close friends. This informal contract proved to be workable, until Carl began spending time with his young research assistant who was in the process of going through a divorce. In response, Joan found herself feeling jealous, threatened, and angry.

False

T/F The straw man fallacy is the error of thinking that you know more than you really do about the topic under discussion.

False

T/F The substitution instance of an argument form may be valid even if the argument form itself is invalid

False

T/F The tu quoque fallacy charges the opponent with using complex or obscure language in order to confuse the issue.

False

T/F Well-crafted arguments are written better than the way the author wrote them.

False

T/F Well-crafted arguments should retain any repetition found in an argument because it emphasizes a point or makes it more understandable.

False

T/F Words like "because" and "since" are always followed by a premise.

False

T/F You should always opt to use one of the valid argument forms even if it requires using an implicit premise that is not always true.

False

T/F an argument is any set of statements

False

Identify the form of the Fallacy of Denying the Antecedent If A, then B. Not A. So, Not B. If A, then B. B. So, A. If A, then B. A. So, B. If A, then B. Not B. So, Not A.

If A, then B. Not A. So, Not B.

The fallacy of affirming the consequent has what form

If A, then B; B; So, A

In the following dialogue determine which argument flaw is employed: Ms. X: You promised to pay for the damage you caused to my car. Mr. Y: But I am a different person now. I no longer drink; I have a job; I jog every day. I am not the man who promised to pay you. Ms. X: You are the same man: you have the same Social Security number, the same fingerprints, the same DNA, the same parents. Give me my money!

Merely Verbal Dispute

Which of the following are not principles for rewriting arguments as well-crafted ones? Identify the premises and the conclusion. Employ uniform language. State the conclusion last. Be fair and charitable. Include excess verbiage.

State the conclusion last. and Include excess verbiage.q

"Pigs can fly" is a Statement or not a statement

Statement

Inductive logic is concerned with methods of evaluating arguments for

Strength and weakness

T/F An argument that results from uniformly replacing letters in an argument form with terms or statements is a substitution instance of that form

True

T/F An argument that results from uniformly replacing letters in an argument form with terms or statements is a substitution instance of that form.

True

T/F An arguments conclusion is confirmed on the basis of its premises

True

T/F An invalid argument can have false premises and a true conclusion

True

T/F Commands are not statements

True

T/F If a passage does not have a conclusion (either stated or implied) then it is never an argument.

True

T/F If an argument form is invalid, then so is every substitution instance of that argument form.

True

T/F In "If Suzie goes to the party, Then John will go" The antecedent is "Suzie goes to the party"

True

T/F In a well-crafted version of an argument, the conclusion is stated last.

True

T/F More than one argument can have the same form

True

T/F No cogent arguments have false premises.

True

T/F Strong arguments with all true premises are cogent.

True

T/F The appeal to ignorance fallacy involves the claim that something must be true (or false) because it hasn't been proven false (or true).

True

T/F The fallacy of appeal to authority is committed when one appeals to what a person of talent or expertise says about a matter outside her or his field of expertise.

True

T/F The following is an argument: Science does not deal with the whole of life. For there are many kinds of human experiences, and science can deal with only a portion of them. Specifically, the task of science is to describe the behavior of the material (or physical) world.

True

T/F Two or more premises provide interdependent support for a conclusion when the removal of any one of the premises decreases the support provided by the others.

True

T/F a statement is either true or false

True

What fallacy is the following: I find it mildly amusing that Mr. and Mrs. Billings are advocating school reforms. But I certainly do not see any reason to take their proposal seriously. Both of them were poor students in high school.

Tu quoque

A logically relevant feature in an argument presentation is anything that affects the_______1_______or______2_______ of the argument.

1- validity 2- cogency

In the following passage, which statements are interdependent premises?... "While 1[there is much wickedness in the world,] 2[there is also much good.] For 3[if there is evil, then there must be good,] since 4[good and evil are relative, like big and small.] And no one will deny that 5[evil exists.]"

3 and 5

Which of the following is an example of a report? If Germany had invented the atomic bomb first, they would have won World War II. A mammal is a warm-blooded animal that nurses its young. So, for example, whales, cats and humans are mammals but turtles, birds, and insects are not. 73 percent of all Americans are opposed to the death penalty. Skunks get hit by cars more than other animals because they tend to stand their ground rather than flee.

73 percent of all Americans are opposed to the death penalty.

"Buttercup is a yellow parakeet" is a Statement or not a statement

A Statement

"Go to your room" is a Statement or not a statement

A Statement

Which of the following is a substitution instance of the argument form "All A are B; No B are C; So, no A are C" All fish are dogs; No dogs are mammals; So, no fish are mammals. All dogs are mammals; No fish are mammals; So, no dogs are fish.All dogs are fish; No dogs are mammals; So, no fish are mammals.All mammals are dogs; No mammals are fish; So, no fish are dogs.

All fish are dogs; No dogs are mammals; So, no fish are mammals.

Which of the following is a substitution instance of the argument form "All A are B; No B are C; So, no A are C"? All dogs are fish; No dogs are mammals; So, no fish are mammals. All dogs are mammals; No fish are mammals; So, no dogs are fish. All fish are dogs; No dogs are mammals; So, no fish are mammals. All mammals are dogs; No mammals are fish; So, no fish are dogs.

All fish are dogs; No dogs are mammals; So, no fish are mammals.

Which of the following is an example of a discount? It is a positive fact that... It is reasonable to assume that... You can get 50% off if... Although not all politicians agree on the subject...

Although not all politicians agree on the subject...

what is an enthymeme

An argument with an implicit premise or conclusion

What fallacy is the following: The fallacy of appeal to authority is committed when one appeals to what a person of talent or expertise says about a matter outside her or his field of expertise.

Appeal to ignorance

Identify the following passage: "Not all mob bosses avoid prison because John Gotti was a mob boss and Gotti was sent to prison." Argument or non argument

Argument

What type of statement is this: One should always eat grapes downward—that is, always eat the best grape first; in this way there will be none better left on the bunch, and each grape will seem good down to the last. If you eat the other way, you will not have a good grape in the lot. Besides, you will be tempting providence to kill you before you come to the best. (Samuel Butler)

Argument

In the following dialogue determine which argument flaw is employed: Mr. X: I know that I am reincarnated. Ms. Y: Nobody can know that. Mr. X: I disagree. "To know" means to believe with all your heart. And I believe with all my heart that I am reincarnated. Therefore, I know that I am reincarnated.

Persuasive Definition

Classify the following passage: Since first appearing in 1981, some 1.5 million personal ads have been printed in Chinese newspapers and magazines; more than 370,000 couples have been married as a direct result. ("It Adds Up," World Press Review, Feb. 1993) Correct! report

Report

For what reason are discounts not regarded as premises in argument?

They appear to give evidence against the argument.

T/F A counterexample proves that an argument form is invalid.

True

T/F A fallacy is a common mistake in reasoning that tends to be psychologically persuasive.

True

T/F A subconclusion is a statement that serves both as a conclusion and as a premise.

True

T/F All cogent arguments are strong.

True

T/F All weak arguments are uncogent.

True

T/F An ad hominem fallacy is directed at a person rather than the argument the person gives.

True

When "or" is taken in the exclusive sense, the statement "We'll go swimming or hiking" says what?

We'll go swimming or hiking, but not both

Equivocation occurs when

a phrase is used with more than one meaning in an argument.

As understood by logicians, an argument is What

a set of statements, one of which is supported by the others.

A term is

a word or phrase that stands for a class of things

Which of the following is a type of fallacy involving irrelevant premises? equivocation false cause argument from ignorance ad hominem

ad hominem

What should we leave out when we produce a well crafted argument

anything that is not logically relevant.

Arguments that derive their persuasiveness from a threat to an individual's well-being commit the fallacy of

appeal to force

Which of the following is not a fallacy involving ambiguity? begging the question equivocation composition amphiboly

begging the question

The statement "Pat is a mother only if Pat is a woman" is a stylistic variant of which type of statement?

conditional

The argument "The Republican Party is wealthy, so Jesse Helms is wealthy" commits the fallacy of

division.

The primary difference between formal and informal fallacies is what

formal fallacies involve explicit use of an invalid argument form while informal fallacies involve problems with the argument's content.

What is always true about a cogent argument

is strong and has all true premises.

What is always true if an argument is strong

it is improbable (but possible) that the conclusion is false on the assumption that the premises are true.

Identify the following passage: "A person is dead if his or her brain has stoopped functioning." Argument or non argument

non argument

A good counterexample shows that the argument form is not valid by showing what

the form does not preserve truth in every instance

The sentence "Senator Samson denied having sex with her intern in front of a full Congress yesterday" is ambiguous because it is

the sentence structure is faulty.

In the following passage, which statement is a discount?... "While there is much wickedness in the world, there is also much good. For if there is evil, then there must be good, since good and evil are relative, like big and small. And no one will deny that evil exists."

there is much wickedness in the world

The fallacy of equivocation is committed by arguments whose persuasiveness depends on

two (or more) meanings of a word or phrase being used in the argument when the argument's validity requires a single meaning of that word or phrase.