Sandy's X10 Host Home Page | Sandy's Google Sites Home Page
Questions or comments? sandy_lafave@yahoo.com
1.
Language is the incarnation of the mentality of the
race which fashioned it. Every phrase and word embodies some habitual idea of a
set of particular communities of men and women as they ploughed their fields,
tended their homes, and built their cities. For this reason, precise
translations of words and phrases from one language to another aren’t really
possible.
2. Abraham Lincoln died because John Wilkes
Booth shot him with a pistol.
2.
Experience has shown that international cooperation
to resolve global issues is possible, but states must recognize their
responsibilities toward one another if they are to live together peacefully.
3.
Neither the chameleon nor the hypocrite can have
self-respect. Self-respect requires personal integrity: abiding convictions,
and action in agreement with convictions. Lacking firm convictions and abiding
affections, the chameleon-like person tailors his or her views to fit changing
circumstances. The hypocrite, in contrast, has lasting convictions and
emotional bonds, but betrays those convictions and bonds in his or her conduct.
4.
Since the
PART II. (30
points, 6 points each) Determine whether the following arguments are inductive
or deductive. If inductive, determine whether strong or weak. If deductive,
determine whether valid or invalid. Explain
your answers. HINT: You can often use the general type of argumentation — argument from analogy, generalization from
a sample, causal argument, argument from signs, argument from authority,
categorical syllogism, disjunctive syllogism, hypothetical syllogism, etc. — to
help determine whether the argument is inductive or deductive. See the following examples.
FIRST EXAMPLE:
Question: “Most
Why? The arguer claims that the premises, if true,
make the conclusion likely. This is the
defining characteristic of inductive arguments.
Logically correct? (I.e., if deductive, valid or invalid;
if inductive, strong or weak – choose one)?
(You write) Strong
Why/ why not? In this
argument, the conclusion really would be likely if the premises were true. The first premise (“Most Americans live in
SECOND
EXAMPLE
Question: “All
Why? The argument is a disjunctive syllogism – one
of the forms that signifies deduction.
Logically correct? (valid or invalid, strong or weak –
choose one)? (You write) valid
Why/ why not? Disjunctive
syllogism is a valid form so all its substitution instances are valid
arguments The first premise (“All
Americans currently live either in Nevada or California”) is clearly false,
however, so the argument cannot be sound.
1. This morning there were drops of oil on the
pavement, right under the hood of Tom’s car. The drops were not there last
night. Probably Tom’s car has begun to leak oil.
Inductive or deductive?
Why?
Logically correct (valid or invalid,
strong or weak)?
Why / why not?
2. All mammals are cats. All cats are animals. So all mammals are animals.
Inductive or deductive?
Why?
Logically correct?
Why / why not?
3. A porpoise is similar to a human being. It has lungs rather than gills. It is
warm-blooded rather than cold-blooded.
And porpoises nurse their young with milk. Therefore, porpoises, like
humans, are probably capable of speaking languages.
Inductive or deductive?
Why? (HINT: What type of argument is
this?)
Logically correct?
Why / why not?
4. The headline of
today’s New York Times says that
yesterday a hurricane struck
Inductive or deductive?
Why?
Logically correct?
Why / why not?
5. If beings from other planets have visited us
and there is an official government cover-up, then the government would, of
course, deny any knowledge of these alien visits. The government does deny knowledge of these alien visits.
Therefore, creatures from other planets must have visited us and there is an
official government cover-up.
Inductive or deductive?
Why?
Logically correct?
Why / why not?
PART III.
(20
points, 10 points each) Use the counterexample method to prove the following
arguments invalid.
1. All planets are round, so the earth must be a
planet, since the earth is round.
2. If
PART IV. Multiple choice. (12 points, 2
points each)
1. Which of the following is a sufficient
condition for winning a football game?
A. at the end of the game, having earned three
points more than the other team
B. avoiding injury during play
C. having a defense that is at least as good as
your offense
D. showing up to play the game
E. getting
at least one touchdown
2. Which of the following is a necessary
condition for passing a test?
A. studying the material the night before
B. showing up to take the test
C. bringing “crib notes” to the test
D. participating in a study group
E. earning a score of at least C+
3. Which of the following never occurs in an
invalid argument?
A. true premises, true conclusion
B. true premises, false conclusion
C. false premises, false conclusion
D. false premises, true conclusion
E. invalid arguments can have any of the above
combinations
4. Which of the following statements is false?
A. A sound argument may have a false premise.
B. A sound argument must be valid.
C. A sound argument cannot be an argument from
analogy.
D. A sound argument cannot be strong.
E. A sound argument cannot have a false
conclusion.
5. Which of the
following is not a premise indicator?
A. implies that
B. since
C. for the reason that
D. because
E. for
6. Which of the following sentences is a
statement?
A. No dogs are collies.
B. How many dogs do you own?
C. Get your dog off my lawn!
D. Let’s get a dog.
7. If a deductive
argument has a true conclusion, then we know the argument is
A. sound
B. valid
C. strong
D. cogent
E. none of the above
8. If a deductive
argument has a false premise, what do we know about the argument?
A. It’s invalid
B. It’s weak
C. It’s unsound
D. The conclusion is false
E. None of the above
PART V. True or
false? (28 points, 2 points each)
1. _____ If
a valid argument has only true premises, then it must have a true conclusion.
2. _____ Every
invalid argument is unsound.
3. _____
If an argument is not cogent, one or more of its premises must be false.
4. _____
The inferential (logical) claim in an inductive argument is that it is
impossible for
the premises to be true and the
conclusion false.
5. _____ Some
arguments are false.
6. _____
Every valid argument with a true conclusion is sound.
7. _____
Every valid argument with a false conclusion has at least one false premise.
8. _____
The following argument is an argument from analogy: “According to Flew’s
Dictionary of Philosophy, the British philosopher Bertrand Russell
died in 1970. So
Bertrand Russell died in 1970.”
9. _____ A
weak argument is one in which an arguer claims a conclusion is likely if some
premises are true, and the
arguer’s claim is incorrect: i.e., the conclusion
really isn’t likely if those
premises are true.
10. ____ The
following argument is cogent: “Most humans fear death. Woody Allen (a real
living human) is a human. Therefore Woody Allen fears death.”
11. ____ It
is possible for a cogent argument to have a false conclusion.
12. ____ A
statement is the kind of sentence that can have a truth value.
13. ____ The
following inductive argument is weak: “There is intelligent life on all the
following planets: Mercury,
Venus, Earth, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune..So it’s
likely there is intelligent life
on Mars.”
14. ____ A
conditional statement asserts that the consequent is necessary for the antecedent.