PHI 2101: Critical Thinking                                 Exam 1                    ________________________________________

February 6, 2003

Write legibly because illegible answers will receive no credit.

 

I. (20) Multiple Choice

 

_____ 1. Inferences are:

                a.  either true or false

                b.  concern the association of linked premises

                c.  the moves between premises and conclusions

                d.  highly probable when there are several alternative conclusions

 

_____ 2. When determining whether an inference commits a fallacy:

                a.  assume that the premise is true.

                b.  assume that the premise is false.

                c.  assume that the conclusion is false.

                d.  assume that the conclusion is true.

 

_____ 3. Irrelevant Reason and Hasty Conclusion

                a.  are problems with deductive argumentation

                b.  are to be ignored when the premises are true

                c.  are always present when the premises are false

                d.  are independent of each other

 

_____ 4. An argument

                a.  can have only one conclusion

                b.  is never affected by premise problems

                c.  is always a statement of fact

                d.  is cogent when all the premises are true

                e.  none of the above

 

_____ 5. An argument whose conclusion does not go beyond the content of the premises is:

                a.  inductive

                b.  deductive

                c.  valid

                d.  sound

 

____ 6. Basic premises are:

                a.  subject to inferential fallacies

                b.  usually false

                c.  unsupported

                d.  never questionable when supported

 

____ 7. A convergent (multiple premise) inference:

                a.  always has an intermediate conclusion

                b.  is one in which one premise supports two or more conclusions

                c.  is one in which a single statement serves both as a premise and a conclusion

                d. is one in which two or more reasons support the conclusion without a linked or dependent premise structure

 

____ 8. When an inference is valid

                a.  it is an extremely strong inductive argument

                b.  the degree of reliability is "certain"

                c.  there can be no premise problems contained in it

                d.  None of the above.

 

____ 9. A premise is questionable when:

                a.  it is an unsupported basic premise

                b.  it is irrelevant to the conclusion

                c.  it is a premise requiring support or clarification

                d.  None of the above.

 

____ 10. In general, a natural language argument may require a linked (dependent premise) structure when

                a.  you are uncertain of the relationship between premises.

                b.  the principle of charity dictates it in order to strengthen the argument

                c.  it eliminates premise problems

                d.  it eliminates falsehood

 

 

II. (30) Short answer.

 

1.        What is the difference between denying a claim and refuting a claim?

 

 

 

2.        What constitutes a necessary truth?

 

 

 

 

3.        Why does the relevance requirement take precedence over the strength requirement in the analysis of an argument?

 

 

 

 

4.        Explain why a false premise may still be relevant to a conclusion.

 

 

 

 

5.        What is a sound argument?

 

 

 

 

 

6.        What distinguishes facts from beliefs/opinions?

 

III. (20).  Consider the following argument diagram and, based on the structure exhibited, answer the questions that follow. The questions below refer to the parts of an argument, and to general information regarding structure diagrams.

 

(4)  +  (7)             (8)

6.        What sort of inference is (4) + (7)à (1)?

 

 

 

7.        How many inferences are there in this argument?

 

 

 

 

8.        What do statements 10 and 11 have in common with respect to their function in the argument?

 

 

 

 

9.        How many intermediate conclusions are there in this argument?

 

 

10. FREE.
 

1.        What is the function of statement 5?

 

 

  1. What is the relationship between statements 3 and 9?

 

 

 

3.        What is the function of statement 2?

 

 

4.        What do statements 4, 7, and 9 have in common?

 

 

 

 

5.  Which statements together constitute a convergent inference?
 
 

 

 

 

 


(1)   +  (6)

 

 

 

 


(5)

 

 

 

 


(2)            (10)

 

 

 

 


(3)            (9)

 

 

 


(11)

 

 

 

 

IV. (10)  Identifying argument forms.  State which argument form is exemplified by each of the following arguments that are valid.  If the argument is invalid, state that this is the case.  Valid argument forms are MP, MT, HS, and DS.

 

_____1.  If people believe that the quality of the product is poor, sales will drop.  If sales drop, the company will lose money.  Therefore, if people believe the quality of the product is poor, the company will lose money.

 

_____2.  You must choose to go to college or immediately enter the workforce after graduation.  You choose not to immediately enter the workforce after graduation.  Therefore, you choose to go to college.

 

_____3.  She won’t give a quiz today if she gave one on Monday.  She did not give one on Monday.  Therefore, she will give a quiz today.

 

_____4.  If there was sufficient rainfall, the crops will grow.  The crops are growing.  Therefore, there was sufficient rainfall.

 

_____5.  If you establish that the argument is invalid, then it must be unsound.  The argument is sound.  Therefore, it must be valid.

 

_____6.  The VCR will play on condition that it is set up properly.  It is set up properly.  Therefore, it will play.

 

_____7.  Candidate A or Candidate B will win the election.  Candidate A won the election.  Therefore, B did not win the election.

 

_____8.  If you are a Utilitarian, you believe that the good is prior to the right.  You are not a utilitarian.  Therefore, you do not believe that the good is prior to the right.

 

_____9.  The light will come on if you push the button.  The light came on.  So, you must have pushed the button.

 

_____10. If Disease X is caused by a virus, then an antibiotic will not cure it.  An antibiotic will cure it.  Therefore, Disease X is not caused by a virus.

 

 

V. (20) Argument Diagram and Identification of the Parts of an Argument.  For the arguments below, use the numbers indicated to construct a diagram of the argument. 

 

(1) There are serious disparities between the salaries of women and men doing the same or comparable jobs. (2)  At ABC Construction Company, a woman is paid 75% of what a man is paid for doing the same job.  (3) In white collar professions, women are paid substantially less than their male colleagues. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

(1) Every university student should be required to take at least one philosophy course.  (2) Philosophy is a foundational discipline because (3) it applies to all areas of human inquiry, and (4) it is therefore essential to a well-rounded liberal education.  (5) A well-rounded liberal education is beneficial not only to society but to the individual.  (6) The critical thinking skills that are sharpened by exposure to philosophical argumentation will benefit the individual in making more informed and careful decisions.  (7) People who have developed critical reasoning skills are more valuable to business and government than those who have not done so.