Homework Assignment #7
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San Francisco State University *
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Course
110
Subject
Philosophy
Date
Dec 6, 2023
Type
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2
Uploaded by MateAardvarkMaster962
Homework Assignment #7: Propositional Logic
Determine whether the following arguments are valid (V) or invalid (I). If the argument is valid,
it will be an instance of one of the following valid argument forms:
Modus Ponens
(MP),
Modus
Tollens
(MT),
Disjunctive Syllogism
(DS), or
Hypothetical Syllogism
(HS). So, if the argument is
valid, state which valid argument form the argument is an example of.
(1) _V__MP____ If national elections deteriorate into TV popularity contests, then
smooth-talking morons will get elected. National elections have deteriorated into TV popularity
contests. So smooth-talking morons will get elected.
(2) _V__DS____ Either Brazil or Argentina has a huge foreign debt. Brazil has a huge foreign
debt. Therefore, Argentina does not have a huge foreign debt.
(3) _I______ If high school graduates are deficient in reading, then they will not be able to
compete in the modern world. If high school graduates are deficient in writing, then they will not
be able to compete in the modern world. It follows that if high school students are deficient in
reading, then they are deficient in writing.
(4) __V__MT___ Future presidents will be allowed to serve a third term only if the
Twenty-second Amendment is repealed. The Twenty-second Amendment will not be repealed.
Therefore, future presidents will not be allowed to serve a third term.
(5) _V__MP____ If Michelangelo painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, then he was familiar
with stories from the Old Testament. Michelangelo was familiar with stories from the Old
Testament. Therefore, Michelangelo painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.
(6) _V__HS____ We must conclude that the war on drugs will not succeed today. If Prohibition
had succeeded in the 1920s, then the war on drugs would succeed today, but, as we all know,
Prohibition did not succeed in the 1920s.
(7) __I_____ Money can’t buy everything. Consider. Either the wealthiest people are the
happiest, or it’s not the case that money can buy everything. But the wealthiest people are not the
happiest.
(8) _V__HS____ If the sun is a variable star, then its energy will drop drastically at some point
in the future. If the sun’s energy drops drastically at some point in the future, then the earth will
become a giant iceball. Therefore, if the sun is a variable star, then the earth will become a giant
iceball.
(9) _V___MT___ Life is not always better than death. After all, people commit suicide, and if
life were always better than death, then people would not commit suicide.
(10) V___DS___ Either industrial pollutants will be more stringently controlled, or acid rain will
continue to fall. Industrial pollutants will be more stringently controlled. Therefore, acid rain will
not continue to fall.
(11) _V__DS___ Either the dinosaurs were not cold-blooded or they were not ancestors of the
modern birds. The dinosaurs were ancestors of modern birds. Therefore, the dinosaurs were not
cold-blooded.
(12) _V_HS____ If a Republican Presidential candidate is voted into office in 2016, then
America will be safe. Why? You ask. Consider: If a Republican Presidential candidate is voted
into office in 2016, then ISIS terrorists won’t infiltrate US borders. If ISIS terrorists don’t
infiltrate US borders, then America is safe.
(13) _V__MP____ If the students in Clear Thinking attend class regularly, then the students in
Clear Thinking will be prepared for class exams. The students in Clear Thinking do attend class
regularly. So the students in Clear Thinking will be prepared for class exams.
(14) _V__MT____ If John F. Kennedy was shot, then John F. Kennedy is dead. John F. Kennedy
is not dead. Therefore, John F. Kennedy was not shot.
(15)
_V__MT____
Ghosts exist only if consciousness can exist apart from a functioning brain.
But consciousness cannot exist apart from a functioning brain. So ghosts do not exist.
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