Unwarranted assumption in critical thinking

SECTION 1: MULTIPLE CHOICE AND TRUE/FALSE.

1. Accepting a claim solely because it furthers your interests…

a. Is reasonable

b. Is contrary to principles of critical thinking

c. Is consistent with principles of critical thinking

d. Is a shortcut to reliable conclusions

2. Reasonable doubt is unacceptable in critical thinking.

a. True

b. False

3. Truth-preserving arguments are…

a. Deductive

b. Inductive

c. Invalid

d. Persuasive

4. This argument—“If Einstein invented the steam engine, then he’s a great scientist. Einstein did not invent the steam engine. Therefore, he is not a great scientist”—is an example of…

a. Affirming the consequent

b. Affirming the antecedent

c. Denying the antecedent

d. Denying the consequent

5. A necessary condition for the occurrence of an event is one without which the event…

a. Could occur given enough time

b. Could possibly occur

c. Cannot occur

d. Is possible

6. Good inductive arguments are sound.

a. True

b. False

7. Inference is...

a. The essential ingredient in persuasion

b. A critical formulation

c. The process of reasoning from premises to a conclusion

d. The process of inferring from conclusion to premises

8. Critical thinking is the enemy of…

a. Unwarranted assumptions

b. Subjective beliefs

c. Persuasion

d. Creative thinking

9. A statement given in support of another statement is called…

a. An indicator

b. A premise

c. A conclusion

d. A non sequitur

10. Truth-preserving arguments are…

a. Deductive

b. Inductive

c. Invalid

d. Persuasive

11. This argument—“If Einstein invented the steam engine, then he’s a great scientist. Einstein did not invent the steam engine. Therefore, he is not a great scientist”—is an example of…

a. Affirming the consequent

b. Affirming the antecedent

c. Denying the antecedent

d. Denying the consequent

12. A necessary condition for the occurrence of an event is one without which the event…

a. Could occur given enough time

b. Could possibly occur

c. Cannot occur

d. Is possible

13. Good inductive arguments are sound.

a. True

b. False

14. The classic argument—“The Bible says that God exists. The Bible is true because God wrote it. Therefore, God exists”—is an example of…

a. Appeal to emotion

b. Appeal to the person

c. Appeal to tradition

d. Begging the question

15. This argument—“Either you support the war or you are a traitor to your country. You don’t support the war. So you’re a traitor”—is an example of…

a. False dilemma

b. Begging the question

c. Equivocation

d. Innuendo

16. The drawing of a conclusion about a target group based on an inadequate sample size is known as…

a. Equivocation

b. Hasty generalization

c. Begging the question

d. Argument from ignorance

17. The symbolic form of “It is not the case that philosophy is dead, and it is not true that science has replaced it” is…

a. p vq

b. ~p&~q

c. ~p&q

18. The following truth table is for which symbolized argument:

a b a & b a

¾¾¾¾¾¾¾¾¾¾¾¾¾¾¾-¾¾¾¾¾¾¾

T T T T

T F F T

F T F F

F F F F

A.

a& b

\a

B.

a& b

~a

\b

C.

a& b

b& a

\a

D.

~a& b

\a

19. The following is the truth table for…

p q p ® q p q

¾¾¾¾¾¾¾¾¾¾¾¾¾¾¾¾¾¾¾

T T T T T

T F F T F

F T T F T

F F T F F

a. Affirming the consequent

b. Modus ponens

c. Denying the antecedent

d. Modus tollens

20. The following is the truth table for…

x y z x ® y y ® z x ® z

¾¾¾¾¾¾¾¾¾¾¾¾¾¾¾-¾¾¾¾¾¾¾¾¾¾¾¾-¾¾¾¾¾¾-¾¾

T T T T T T

T T F T F F

T F T F T T

T F F F T F

F T T T T T

F T F T F T

F F T T T T

F F F T T T

a. Affirming the consequent

b. Modus ponens

c. Hypothetical syllogism

d. Modus tollens

21 The statement “Something is a breakfast only if it’s a meal” is equivalent to…

a. An O-statement

b. An I-statement

c. An E-statement

d. An A-statement

22. The form of the statement “There are engineers who are painters” is…

a. A

b. E

c. I

d. O

23. The proper translation of “Chevrolets are not birds” is…

a. No Chevrolets are birds

b. No birds are Chevrolets

c. Some Chevrolets are birds

d. Some Chevrolets are not birds

24. The form of the statement “Only if something has a back beat is it real rock and roll” is…

a. A

b. E

c. I

d. O

25. The form of the statement “There is no excellence without difficulty” is…

a. A

b. E

c. I

d. O

26. For any statement, replacing the predicate term with the term’s complement and switching the statement from affirmative to negative, or negative to affirmative, derives the statement’s …

a. Opposite

b. Contrapositive

c. Converse

d. Obverse

27. The following Venn diagram represents...

S P

a. All S are P

b. No S are P

c. Some S are P

d. Some S are not P

28. The following Venn diagram represents…

S P

a. All S are P

b. No S are P

c. Some S are P

d. Some S are not P

29. The correct Venn diagram for testing the validity of “Some roses are yellow flowers. All roses are plants. Therefore, some plants are yellow flowers” is…

a.

M

S P

b.

M

S P

c.

M

S P

d.

M

S P

30. In enumerative induction, the observed members of the target group are called…

a. Sample

b. Target group

c. Relevant property

d. Control group

31. “Thing A has properties P1, P2, P3, plus the property P4. Thing B has properties P1, P2, and P3. Therefore, thing B probably has property P4” is a pattern of reasoning known as…

a. Analogical induction

b. Inference to the best explanation

c. Hasty generalization

d. Enumerative induction

32. A factor in opinion polls that prevents the selection of a random sample is…

a. Double-blind testing

b. Self-selecting sampling

c. Control group testing

d. Random sampling

33. The following is a statement:

a. Don’t delete this file

b. How are you?

c. I want to persuade you

d. Hello from the best university in America.

34. The argument “if James Ford invented cell phones, then he’s a great scientist. Ford did not invent cell phones. Therefore, he is not a great scientist” is an example of:

a. Affirming the consequent

b. Affirming the antecedent

c. Denying the consequent

d. Denying the antecedent

35. “It is not the case that the car is red ad the truck is blue” can be symbolized by:

a. ~p& q

b. ~ (p v q)

c. ~ (p& q)

d. p& ~q

36. “Either man was created just as the bible tells us, or has evolved from inanimate chemicals and random chance” is an example of:

a. Division

b. False dichotomy

c. Straw man

d. Slippery slope

37. “Should we not assume that just as the eye, the hand, the foot, and in general each part of the body clearly has its own proper formation, so man too has some function over and above the function of its parts” is an example of:

a. composition

b. division

c. begging the question

38. In this dialogue “Dorothy: Are you doing that on purpose, or can’t you make up your mind?

Scarecrow: That’s the trouble. I can’t make up my mind. I haven’t got a brain- just straw.

Dorothy: How can you talk if you haven’t got a brain?

Scarecrow: I don’t know. But some people without brains do an awful lot of talking, don’t they?

Dorothy: I guess you are right” we have an example of:

a. Appeal to emotion

b. Equivocation

c. None of the above.

SECTION 2:

1. Construct a truth table for the following argument and indicate whether it is valid or invalid:

d®e

e v f

e

\d& f

2. Diagram this argument: “An international agreement proscribes the use of gas and so germ warfare must be developed.”

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