HW on counter-arguments and counter-claims (1)

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Oct 30, 2023

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Homework on Refuting Arguments Some problems are from Epstein’s Critical Thinking 4 edition online workbook. http://www.advancedreasoningforum.org/sites/default/files/publication_files/ 10.%20Formatted%20Exercises.pdf Part I: Identifying methods of refutation – be mindful in some cases there isn’t an actual method of refutation. The person might be committing a fallacy or doing something that seems like a refutation. If you come across any such cases identify them and write down what you think is happening such as identifying the fallacy. Identify if the method is one of the following: o direct – demonstrating that a specific premise is false o Reduction to the absurd o Refutation via analogy Evaluate the attempts to refute arguments by answering the italicized questions. (Keep your eyes open for any possible fallacies!) 1. Lee: I’m going to vote for that initiative to eliminate discrimination against homosexuals in hiring and getting places to live. They should be treated like everyone else. They deserve a chance to get jobs and homes. Tom: Are you kidding? I’m voting against it. You should, too. They don’t deserve any preference over the rest of us. What is the method of refutation? Is the refutation a good argument? (Explain) 2. Zoe: You should eat less red meat. Red meat has lots of cholesterol which blocks up the arteries and leads to an increased risk of heart disease. Dick: Mankind has been eating red meat since the dawn of time, and we have still survived as a species. If we stopped eating everything that was bad for us, we would be left with nothing to consume but small white tasteless pills, which would later be discovered to cause a new type of deadly cancer. What is the method of refutation? Is the refutation a good argument? (Explain) 1

3. Look, I agree with you. We have too much violence in the streets, too many drug pushers, too little respect for the law. But our prisons are overflowing, and that’s costing us a fortune. So we’ve got to reduce our prison population. Yet you say we should be even tougher on crime. The answer is simple: Institute a lottery among all convicted felons in jail and execute one of them every month—no appeals. That’ll instill a real fear of being arrested. And it’d be fair, too. What is the method of refutation? Is the refutation a good argument? (Explain) 4. Mary Ellen: Yes, yes, Dr. E. Raw food is best for you. I eat only raw food. Cooking destroys all the goodness in the food. Dr. E: There goes 2,000,000 years of evolution. What is the method of refutation? Is the refutation a good argument? (Explain) 5. Zoe: I can’t believe you’re eating all those spicy almonds. I thought you were trying to lose weight. They’re really fattening. Dick: Not if you don’t chew them. What is the method of refutation? Is the refutation a good argument? (Explain) 6. (Complete letter to the editor from Vern Raburn, CEO, Eclipse Aviation, in Crosswinds Weekly, July 11, 2002, in response to an article “Eclipse Aviation’s Money Troubles”.) Should you decide you are interested in supplying your readers with something other than lies and bullshit, I suggest you spend more time fact checking for yourself. This will help prevent you from the embarrassment of propagating others’ inaccuracies. What is the method of refutation? Is the refutation a good argument? (Explain) 7. Columnist George Will wrote in Newsweek last year that a dime placed on the edge of a 4-foot by 6-foot dinner table would represent the relative portion of the refuge that would be opened for drilling. I could use Will’s analogy to compare the size of a bullet through your heart with the size of your body and draw the mistaken conclusion 2

that very little damage would result. Unfortunately for the refuge, the area proposed for drilling has been described (by the Republican Reagan administration, no less) as its “biological heart.” America’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge by N. K. Whiton Albuquerque Tribune, 5/7/2003 What is the method of refutation? Is the refutation a good argument? (Explain) 8. Tom: I’m going to the animal shelter to adopt a big dog, like a German shepherd. Suzy: But your place is too small. Tom: I don’t like small dogs. You can get more exercise with a big dog. Suzy: Why don’t you get a pony then? I’m sure you’d get into great shape with that. What is the method of refutation? Is the refutation a good argument? (Explain) 9. Harry: There’s no reason to think the Nazca lines were made by aliens. The art is similar to Nazca pottery. Wooden posts have been found next to the lines, showing they used ground-based techniques to draw them. Wanda: Since no one knows for sure whether aliens exist, it’s really up to the individual whether they do or not. What is the method of refutation? Is the refutation a good argument? (Explain) Part II: Practice in counterarguments Identify one way that each of the following arguments can be directly refuted. In other words, use the c ounterexample method: Find an alternate explanation for the premises of these arguments: 3

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