Module 4

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Arizona State University *

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304

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Philosophy

Date

Dec 6, 2023

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docx

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Uploaded by GeneralIce12305

Consider this argument: "Racists typically like to hang out with racists. Birds of a feather, if you know what I mean. And yesterday I saw John hanging out with those racist White National Pride jerks. So you know what that makes John, don't you. Right. A racist." That argument is an example of __________. the fallacy of false classification the fallacy of division the fallacy of false reference a valid argument Consider this passage: "'Either we'll finish the yard work in time to go to the movie, or we'll enjoy a quiet evening at home,' said John. 'I don't see us finishing in time for the movie,' said Malaya. 'It's a quiet evening at home then,' said John." We can reasonably characterize this passage as __________. a valid inference with the conclusion that the couple will be spending a quiet evening at home a conversation that does not include any inferences at all a fallacy of false dilemma a fallacy of division an invalid argument created by two individuals One important distinguishing feature of valid arguments is that __________. if the premises are true then the conclusion must be false if the conclusion is false, then one or more of the premises must also have been false they are shorter than invalid arguments they reveal new and important information about natural phenomena If we find an argument such that it is not possible for all of its premises to be true and its conclusion to be false, we call that argument __________. sound fallacious valid warranted Consider the reasoning expressed by the speaker in this passage: "We were having a severe midwinter cold spell. The city was running out of heating oil for private home use. So the city ordered everyone to set their home thermostats down to 65 degrees Fahrenheit during the day and 62 at night. But I set my thermostat at 67 during the day and 64 at night. I reasoned this way. It is in my best interest to cheat just a little by keeping our house a bit warmer. In fact, it is in the best interest of each person who lives in the city to do the same thing. So it follows that it is in the city's best interest if everyone were to cheat just a little." We can reasonably evaluate the speaker's inference as __________. valid because of affirming the antecedent valid because of disjunctive syllogism a fallacy of false classification a fallacy of false reference a fallacy of composition Consider this argument: "If we drive on the Pacific Coast Highway near San Francisco we can see islands off the Pacific Coast. Look! We can see islands off the Pacific Coast. So we are driving on the Pacific Coast Highway near San Francisco." That argument is an example of __________. the fallacy of denying the antecedent the fallacy of affirming the consequent a valid argument by affirming the antecedent a valid argument by denying the consequent If we can come up with a scenario in which all the premises are true but the conclusion is false, then we know that __________. the premises are in fact false the conclusion is in fact false the premises do not imply the conclusion
the conclusion does not imply its premises Which of the following is the mark of an educated mind? For the same reason as was suggested by Aristotle, namely being educated is not the same as being able __________. to remember vast amounts of information to deceive others with clever rhetoric to force others to comply with one's orders to entertain a thought without accepting it "Copernicus demonstrated that the earth was not the center of the solar system. We now know that our solar system is not the center of our galaxy, and that our galaxy is not the center of the universe. So let me suggest that in all probability none of us should take ourselves so seriously that we think we are the center of everything." The previous passage is best described as __________. a way of reminding people not to take themselves too seriously a valid inference a fallacious argument masquerading as valid a blatant misinterpretation of Copernicus Consider this argument: "If Richard graduated with honors, then Richard maintained a GPA of 3.2 or higher. It is not the case that Richard maintained a GPA of 3.2 or higher. Therefore, Richard did not graduate with honors." That argument is an example of __________. the fallacy of denying the antecedent the fallacy of affirming the consequent a valid argument by affirming the antecedent a valid argument by denying the consequent If we find an argument such that it is not possible for all of its premises to be true unless the truth of the conclusion is also highly probable, we call that argument ________. sound fallacious valid warranted circular Consider this argument: "Stock today closed slightly lower on moderate trading. This was after an announcement last night that Middle Eastern oil producers were planning to increase the price of a barrel of oil by 1.5% over the next 18 months. The slide in the market was probably reacting to that announcement. Don't you agree?" That argument is an example of ________. the False Dilemma fallacy the fallacy of Playing with Words a False Cause fallacy a warranted argument a valid argument Consider this argument: "The kidnappers have taken eight people hostage and are holding them at a farmhouse just outside town. If the SWAT team assaults the farmhouse, the hostages could be killed. But if we give into the kidnappers' demands for ransom and safe passage out of the country, we'll only be encouraging more kidnappings of innocent people. What can we do?" That argument is an example of ________. the False Dilemma fallacy the fallacy of Playing with Words a fallacy of Erroneous Generalization a warranted argument a valid argument Consider this argument: "The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that there were 30,800 motor vehicle fatalities in 2012. Of those 4,957 were motorcyclist fatalities. This means that driving or riding
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