Phl 276 Critical Thinking Quiz 7
A quiz on inductive strength, defeasible adequacy, statistical arguments, causal arguments, arguments from analogy, arguments against the person, premise acceptability, and arguments from authority.
- 1.
True or FalseIn an inductively strong argument, there is still a chance that the conclusion could turn out to be false even if all the premises are true.
- A.
True
- B.
False
Correct Answer
A. True -
- 2.
Which of the following is a property of inductive arguments?
- A.
Inductively strong arguments never have premises that are based on observations.
- B.
All inductively strong arguments are invalid.
- C.
Inductive arguments are those in which it is impossible for the conclusion to be false if all the premises are true.
- D.
Inductive arguments are made of jam.
- E.
None of the above is a property of inductive arguments
Correct Answer
B. All inductively strong arguments are invalid. -
- 3.
Suppose an article on a web-based news service (like Yahoo or Google News) posts a link to an article entitled "New Study Suggests that Exercise Is Not as Healthy as You Think". You click on the link and find that it is a story about a survey done among elderly patients in Florida. According to the study, only 20% of the participants improved their health with exercise, while 50% showed declines in health, and 30% experience no significant changes. Reading on, you find that the study was done with 100 patients over six months. Which of the following would be a valid criticism of this story?
- A.
The title is misleading, because the sample in the study is not random enough.
- B.
The title is misleading, because the sample in the study is not large enough.
- C.
The article is false because everyone knows that any type of exercise is good for you no matter what.
- D.
A and C
- E.
There is nothing wrong with this story.
Correct Answer
B. The title is misleading, because the sample in the study is not large enough. -
- 4.
Suppose 7 out of 20 people at a party become ill with food poisoning and we want to know what made them sick. If we decided to use Mill’s method of Agreement, which of the following would we do?
- A.
We would look at what each of the party-goers who got food poisoning ate, in order to see if they ate the same dish.
- B.
We would look at what each of the party goers who did not get sick ate, and compare it with what the sick party-goers ate.
- C.
We would throw another party, altering the dishes we served in order to see if it produced any changes in the pattern of food poisoning that results.
- D.
We would talk it over with our fellow investigators and come to an agreement about what the cause of the food poisoning was.
- E.
We would do nothing--it was obviously Aunt Rita's “spam, herring & guacamole surprise”.
Correct Answer
A. We would look at what each of the party-goers who got food poisoning ate, in order to see if they ate the same dish. -
- 5.
Consider the following argument from analogy: The Color Purple is a great novel of twentieth century literature about the experience of African Americans, and was written by a woman. The Invisible Man is also a great novel of twentieth century literature about the experience of African Americans, so it must have been written by a woman too. Which of the following would be a counter-analogy to this argument?
- A.
The Color Purple was written by an African American.
- B.
Native Son is great novel of twentieth century literature about the experience of African Americans, but it was written by a man.
- C.
The Invisible Man was written by a man.
- D.
I don’t know, I’m not really a “reader”.
- E.
None of the above is a disanalogy to the argument given.
Correct Answer
B. Native Son is great novel of twentieth century literature about the experience of African Americans, but it was written by a man. -
- 6.
Which of the following is true about the conditions under which an argument against the person (ad hominem) is acceptable?
- A.
An ad hominem argument is acceptable when the person really does show the character traits for which he or she is being attacked.
- B.
An ad hominem argument is acceptable when character is relevant to the discussion at hand.
- C.
Ad hominem arguments are acceptable only when they are funny.
- D.
A and B
- E.
Ad hominem arguments are never acceptable.
Correct Answer
D. A and B -
- 7.
Consider the following argument:Senator Folderol claims to be the “family values” candidate in this election, but his record shows otherwise. Folderol has had several well-publicized extra-marital affairs, been convicted of buying alcohol for minors, and has consistently voted against legislation that would make it easier for parents of young children to access health care. Thus it’s quite clear that Folderol doesn’t deserve your vote.Assuming that the allegations are accurate, which of the following statements about this argument is true?
- A.
This argument is deductively valid.
- B.
This argument is an acceptable "abusive" type ad hominem.
- C.
This argument is an unacceptable "abusive" type ad hominem.
- D.
This argument is an acceptable "circumstantial" type ad hominem.
- E.
This argument is an unacceptable "circumstantial" type ad hominem.
Correct Answer
D. This argument is an acceptable "circumstantial" type ad hominem. -
- 8.
Which of the following is not a way in which a premise can be acceptable?
- A.
A premise is acceptable if a majority of people generally agree with it.
- B.
A premise is acceptable if it is true.
- C.
A premise is acceptable if all challenges to it have been successfully met.
- D.
A premise is acceptable if it comes from a properly vetted argument from authority.
- E.
None of the above are ways in which a premise can be acceptable.
Correct Answer
A. A premise is acceptable if a majority of people generally agree with it. -
- 9.
Suppose one premise of Frank’s argument is that Napoleon Buonaparte led the French to victory in World War II. Would this premise be acceptable?
- A.
Yes, because it is obviously true that the French fought in World War II.
- B.
Yes, because if this is what Frank thinks then he has a right to his opinion and that makes what he says correct.
- C.
No, because it is literally impossible that Napoleon Buonaparte could have fought in World War II, as he was dead at the time.
- D.
Napoleon Dynamite was a stupid movie.
- E.
What?
Correct Answer
C. No, because it is literally impossible that Napoleon Buonaparte could have fought in World War II, as he was dead at the time. -
- 10.
Which of the following is a criterion for evaluating arguments from authority?
- A.
The expert must make a lot of money or be good looking or famous for something.
- B.
The expert must be an expert in at least some field .
- C.
The expert must be free of bias with respect to the issue of the discussion.
- D.
The expert cited must never have taken money for his or her work from anyone for any kind of reason.
- E.
All of the following are criteria for evaluating arguments from authority.
Correct Answer
C. The expert must be free of bias with respect to the issue of the discussion. -
- 11.
Consider the following argument:Professor DiGression, the noted experimental physicist at Cal Tech, argues in his most recent book about science and popular culture that federal funding should not be given to religious charities because they promote belief in God, and belief in God is mistaken and absurd. Therefore federal funding ought not to be given to religious charities.Assuming that Professor DiGression really is a qualified experimental physicist, which of the following statements about this argument is true?
- A.
The argument exemplifies the “non-experts” type of fallacious appeal to authority.
- B.
The argument is a disanalogy to religion.
- C.
The sample size in this argument is not random enough.
- D.
The argument exemplifies the “halo effect” type of fallacious appeal to authority
- E.
The argument exemplifies the “stank effect” type of fallacious appeal to authority
Correct Answer
D. The argument exemplifies the “halo effect” type of fallacious appeal to authority -
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Jan 16, 2013Quiz Edited by
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Jun 23, 2010Quiz Created by
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