A strong belief held despite strong evidence invalidating it.

Accepting an unsuitable practice because doing so follows an accepted way of doing things.

A.

Categorical Proposition

B.

Irrelevant Reason

C.

Worldview

D.

Traditional Wisdom

QUESTION 2

A way of saying something that literally says one thing though the intended meaning is something else, usually opposite to its literal meaning.

A.

Puffery

B.

Tokenism

C.

Analogy

D.

Irony

QUESTION 3

The positive or negative overtones of a word or expression.

A.

Composition

B.

Denial

C.

Emotive Meaning

D.

Biased Statistics

QUESTION 4

The fallacy in which a wrong is justified on the grounds that lots or most others do that sort of thing.

A.

Ad Hominem Attack

B.

Irrelevant Reason

C.

Suppressed Evidence

D.

Common Practice

QUESTION 5

A reason offered in support of an argument’s conclusion.

A.

Equivocation

B.

Premise

C.

Categorical Proposition

D.

Worldview

QUESTION 6

The predicate of the conclusion of a syllogism.

A.

Questionable Premise

B.

Major Term

C.

Tokenism

D.

Composition

QUESTION 7

To attempt to take advantage of the failure of one’s opponent to cross every t and dot every i, to spell out what should be taken for granted.

A.

Quibble

B.

Questionable Cause

C.

Provincialism

D.

Appeal to Authority

QUESTION 8

Generalized, vague, or exaggerated claims, particularly when asserted humorously

A.

Claim

B.

Concatenated Reasoning

C.

Puffery

D.

Slanting

1 points Save Answer

QUESTION 9

A questionable analogy.

A.

Mood

B.

Premise

C.

Delusion

D.

Faulty Comparison

1 points Save Answer

QUESTION 10

The tendency to keep our beliefs, and thus our actions, within the bounds of what society as a whole will accept.

A.

Biased Statistics

B.

Claim

C.

Irrelevant Reason

D.

Herd Instinct

1 points Save Answer

QUESTION 11

Valid reasoning from justified premises that include all likely relevant information.

A.

Slippery Slope Reasoning

B.

Cogent Reasoning

C.

Rationalization

D.

Higher Level Inductions

1 points Save Answer

QUESTION 12

The attitudes or feelings expressed by a passage.

A.

Questionable Cause

B.

Essay

C.

Form

D.

Tone

1 points Save Answer

QUESTION 13

Assuming as a premise some form of the very point that is at issue - the conclusion we intend to prove.

A.

Questionable Analogy

B.

Begging the Question

C.

Suppressed Evidence

D.

Biased Statistics

1 points Save Answer

QUESTION 14

A word that appears to make little or no change in a passage while in fact sucking out most of its content.

A.

Delusion

B.

Composition

C.

Suppression

D.

Weasel Word

1 points Save Answer

QUESTION 15

A strong belief held despite strong evidence invalidating it.

A.

Common Practice

B.

Delusion

C.

Dilemma

D.

Rationalization

1 points Save Answer

QUESTION 16

Believing that something is true because there is no good evidence that it is false.

A.

Either-Or Fallacy

B.

Loyalty

C.

Pseudoscientific Theories

D.

Appeal to Ignorance

1 points Save Answer

QUESTION 17

Arguing for a course of action by showing that likely alternatives are less desirable.

A.

Major Term

B.

Higher-Level Induction

C.

Comparison of Alternatives

D.

Premise

1 points Save Answer

QUESTION 18

Mistakenly reasoning from two alternatives, one claimed to be bad (to be avoided), so that we ought to choose the other alternative in particular when there is at least another viable alternative.

A.

False Charge

B.

Composition

C.

Either-Or Fallacy

D.

Questionable Premise

1 points Save Answer

QUESTION 19

A theory that is without an actual scientific foundation.

A.

Pseudoscientific

B.

Irrelevant Reason

C.

Traditional Wisdom

D.

Delusional

1 points Save Answer

QUESTION 20

Misrepresentation wherein a true statement is made to suggest something else.

A.

Irony

B.

Questionable Cause

C.

Slanting

D.

Self-deception

QUESTION 21

For each of the following questions provide a short answer (1-3 sentences).

On your way to a restaurant you notice a billboard advertising a local gym. There is a picture of a fit, young man and woman in workout clothes, laughing. To one side is the name of the gym, and on the other is the following sentence:”Who Says Working Out Can’t Be Fun?” Which of the two basic kinds of advertisements would this fall under? Why?

QUESTION 22

For each of the following questions provide a short answer (1-3 sentences).

By the time you reach the restaurant, you are no longer feeling hungry because the billboard made you realize how out of shape you have become. As you try to figure out the best light beer to buy from the list, you remember that one advertises with the slogan, “The Ultimate Light Beer Experience,” and decide to give it a try. This slogan can be termed as “puffery.” Why?

QUESTION 23

For each of the following questions provide a short answer (1-3 sentences).

After dinner, you go home and flip through the mail. You find a direct mailing from a local car dealership advertising a 3.5% interest rate and $1500 rebate on the purchase of a new car. There is also a fine print statement at the bottom of the page that says, “Offer only good through Friday for buyers with a credit rating of 850 or better interested in buying a gray, 4-Door 2011 Chevy Impala.” What would you call this final disclaimer and why?

QUESTION 24

There are few publications as ideologically different as The Nation and The National Review. After reading the appropriate article sections, answer the following questions: Article 1: (2010). The Week. National Review, 62(11), 4-14. Retrieved from Academic Search Complete database.

The latest flare-up of violence off the Gaza coast has been months in the planning. Hamas, the Islamist movement that seized power in Gaza, does everything it can to bring in weapons and gunmen. Naturally there is an Israeli blockade. This time, Hamas got open Turkish backing to prepare and launch a flotilla of ships to enter Gaza. Hundreds of activists from all over the world, united only in hatred of Israel, were recruited to sail and provide civilian cover. Either the ships would dock, in which case the blockade would prove useless, or, more likely, there would be a confrontation, and Israel would be made to look bad. Either way, Hamas was sure to generate immense publicity, and that would be victory enough. As expected, Israeli commandos stormed the lead ship. Activists resisted, and nine or maybe ten people were killed.

Article 2: NICHOLS, J. (2010) SPEAKING OUT ON ISRAEL. Nation, 290(24), 5. Retrieved from Academic Search Complete database.

Link to article

Having read both reports on the same event, what is the bias of each news source?

QUESTION 25

There are few publications as ideologically different as The Nation and The National Review. After reading the appropriate article sections, answer the following questions: Article 1: (2010). The Week. National Review, 62(11), 4-14. Retrieved from Academic Search Complete database.

The latest flare-up of violence off the Gaza coast has been months in the planning. Hamas, the Islamist movement that seized power in Gaza, does everything it can to bring in weapons and gunmen. Naturally there is an Israeli blockade. This time, Hamas got open Turkish backing to prepare and launch a flotilla of ships to enter Gaza. Hundreds of activists from all over the world, united only in hatred of Israel, were recruited to sail and provide civilian cover. Either the ships would dock, in which case the blockade would prove useless, or, more likely, there would be a confrontation, and Israel would be made to look bad. Either way, Hamas was sure to generate immense publicity, and that would be victory enough. As expected, Israeli commandos stormed the lead ship. Activists resisted, and nine or maybe ten people were killed.

Article 2: NICHOLS, J. (2010) SPEAKING OUT ON ISRAEL. Nation, 290(24), 5. Retrieved from Academic Search Complete database.

Link to article- http://eds.b.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail/detail?sid=c96bec08-161f-4cba-acff-b15b54945d08%40sessionmgr120&vid=0&hid=112&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d

Focusing on the second article, what indicates to you that there is bias in this article?

QUESTION 26

There are few publications as ideologically different as The Nation and The National Review. After reading the appropriate article sections, answer the following questions: Article 1: (2010). The Week. National Review, 62(11), 4-14. Retrieved from Academic Search Complete database.

The latest flare-up of violence off the Gaza coast has been months in the planning. Hamas, the Islamist movement that seized power in Gaza, does everything it can to bring in weapons and gunmen. Naturally there is an Israeli blockade. This time, Hamas got open Turkish backing to prepare and launch a flotilla of ships to enter Gaza. Hundreds of activists from all over the world, united only in hatred of Israel, were recruited to sail and provide civilian cover. Either the ships would dock, in which case the blockade would prove useless, or, more likely, there would be a confrontation, and Israel would be made to look bad. Either way, Hamas was sure to generate immense publicity, and that would be victory enough. As expected, Israeli commandos stormed the lead ship. Activists resisted, and nine or maybe ten people were killed.

Article 2: NICHOLS, J. (2010) SPEAKING OUT ON ISRAEL. Nation, 290(24), 5. Retrieved from Academic Search Complete database.

Link to article- http://eds.a.ebscohost.com/ehost/detail/detail?sid=4b76d12a-1306-468a-9352-c2f1fd016ce2%40sessionmgr4010&vid=0&hid=4208&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZQ%3d%3d

Focusing on the first article, what indicates to you that there is bias in this article?

QUESTION 27

For each of the following arguments, determine whether each is valid or invalid. If valid, determine whether it is deductive or inductive. If invalid, explain why.

My younger sister went to Mom and told that I pushed her into the door that cut her cheek. But it didn’t happen. I never pushed her. She must’ve just walked into the door on her own.

QUESTION 28

For each of the following arguments, determine whether each is valid or invalid. If valid, determine whether it is deductive or inductive. If invalid, explain why.

It is still my belief that it is safest to buy bottled water rather than drink from the tap. I’ve heard about the most recent studies, the ones that say that bottled water is no purer than regular tap water. Yes, I have read that chemicals in the plastic bottles can be leeched into the water if they sit too long. But really, how can something coming from the tap be as good? It just can’t be.

QUESTION 29

For each of the following arguments, determine whether each is valid or invalid. If valid, determine whether it is deductive or inductive. If invalid, explain why.

Whenever it rains at night, I can’t sleep. If I don’t sleep, my work suffers. If it rains at night, my work suffers.