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 the moves between premises and conclusions.

2. When determining whether an inference commits a fallacy, assume that the premise is true.

3. Irrelevant reason and hasty conclusion are independent of each other.

4. An argument: None of the options.

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

6. Basic premises are unsupported.

7. A convergent (multiple premise) inference is one in which two or more reasons support the conclusion without a linked or dependent premise structure.

8. When an inference is valid, the degree of reliability is certain.

9. A premise is questionable when it is a premise requiring support or clarification.

10. In general, a natural language argument may require a linked (dependent premise) structure when the principle of charity dictates it in order to strengthen the argument.

II.

1. To deny a claim is simply to say that it is false; to refute a claim is to show why the claim is false – i.e., it is to provide an argument.

2. A necessary truth is a statement that cannot be denied without logical contradiction – it is true by virtue of the relationship of the terms of the statement. It is trivially true in the sense that the concept of the predicate adds nothing to the concept of the subject because the predicate is already contained in the subject.

3. The relevance requirement takes precedence over the strength requirement because information must have something to do with the conclusion before one needs to consider how much information is available in the argument. For example, it makes no sense to ask for more irrelevant information to support a conclusion.

4. It is possible for false information to be relevant to a conclusion. For example, telling someone your birthdate is relevant to how old you are. So, also, is telling someone your birthdate but lying about the actual date.

5. A sound argument is a deductively valid argument having all true premises and a true conclusion.

6. Facts can be verified in experience. Beliefs/opinions are interpretations of facts, or claims made on the basis of limited or non-existent information.

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)

(1) + (6)

(5)

(2) (10)

(3) (9)

(11)

1. The function of statement 5 is: intermediate conclusion

2. Statements 3 and 9 are claims (premises) leading to (11). 3, 9 and 11 constitute a convergent structure diagram.

3. Statement 2 is an intermediate conclusion.

4. Statements 4, 7, and 9 are all basic premies.

5. Statements 3, 9 and 11 constitute a convergent inference.

6. 4 + 7à 1 is a dependent premise inference.

7. There are 8 inferences in this argument.

8. Statements 10 and 11 are both main conclusions.

9. There are 5 intermediate conclusions.

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.

_HS____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.

__DS___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.

_Inv_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.

_Inv____4. If there was sufficient rainfall, the crops will grow. The crops are growing. Therefore, there was sufficient rainfall.

__MT__5. If you establish that the argument is invalid, then it must be unsound. The argument is sound. Therefore, it must be valid.

_MP____6. The VCR will play on condition that it is set up properly. It is set up properly. Therefore, it will play.

__Inv___7. Candidate A or Candidate B will win the election. Candidate A won the election. Therefore, B did not win the election.

__Inv___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.

_Inv____9. The light will come on if you push the button. The light came on. So, you must have pushed the button.

_MT____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.

(2) + (3)

(1)

(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.

THERE ARE VARIOUS DIAGRAMS THAT ARE CONSISTENT WITH THIS ARGUMENT. THEY WERE PRESENTED IN CLASS ON THE DAY THAT TESTS WERE RETURNED.