Exercise 2-2
In each of the following problems, you are given the premises of an argument. Choose the conclusion or conclusions that are implied by the premises. (NOTE: There’s questions are similar to those that are used on a variety of graduate and professional school admissions exams)
2. Fran is a darling and Phil is a dear.
Fran is a darling.
a. Phil is a dear.
b. Fran is a darling or Phil is a dear.
c. Phil is a dear or Phil is not a dear.
d. All of the above are implied by the premises.
e. None of the above are implied by the premises
8. All Hypocrisies are damnable fiascos.
Some damnable fiascos are real human tragedies.
a. All real human tragedies are hypocrisies.
b. Some real human tragedies are damnable fiascos.
c. Some hypocrisies are real human tragedies
d. All of the above are implied by the premises.
e. None of the above are implied by the premises
Exercise 2-4
Identify (a) the conclusion, and (b) the premise(s) of each of the following sets of statements, that you can assume are intended as arguments.
4. This Can’t Be Pinot Chardonnay, for it is red wine.
12. The flu is caused by a virus; consequently it can’t be cured with antibiotics
28. Oak is a coarse-grained wood. Walnut is a dark-colored wood. Willow is not a very strong wood. Therefore, since this chair is strong and made of light-colored, fine-grained wood, it is not made of oak, walnut or willow.
Exercise 2-5
Examine each sentence or group of sentences carefully. (a) Assuming ordinary contexts, would each sentence or group normally be used to express an argument? (b) if not, why not, (c) if so, identify the conclusion and premises
. 4. Take Your Umbrella, because it’s raining.
10. Lee Harvey Oswald must have been crazy to shoot President Kennedy.
24. Your car was losing power because one of the spark plug wires had come loose.
Exercise 2-7
In the following exercises you are given a conclusion. Use your intuitions to help you choose the set of premises from which it can be validly deduced. (These questions are similar to those on various graduate and professional school admissions tests.)
a. Pip fell in the mud.
a. All the scouts fell in the mud, and Pip is a scout
b. Everything that fell in the mud is a scout, and Pip is a scout.
c. If Pip didn’t fall in the mud, then Chet did.
d. The conclusion is deducible from each of the above statements.
e. The conclusion is deducible from none of the above statements.
Exercise 2-8
Each of the following intended arguments is invalid. Provide a counterexample for each.
8. All industrialists are rich. Henry Ford was rich. Therefore, Henry Ford was an industrialist.
12. If you studied hard, then you got an A in logic. You did not study hard. Therefore, you did not get an A in logic
Exercise 2-9
Examine each argument below, assuming that each premise is true. (a) Is the argument deductive or inductive? (b) Explain.
18. Rick must be a conservative, since most supports of Jack Kemp are conservatives and Rick is a Kemp supporter.
24. The United States, England, France, and Germany all underwent great cultural change during industrialization. Consequently, China will undergo great cultural change as it industrializes.
Exercise 2-11
Assuming ordinary contexts, examine each of the following purported arguments. (a) Identify the conclusion. (b) Identify the stated Premises. (c) Add a premise that will make the argument stronger. (d) Add a premise that will make the argument weaker, assuming that the premise for (c) has not been added.
8. Susan will not get the job. She has no experience
Exercise 2-12
Identify the conclusion in each of the following arguments and specify all explicitly Stated Premises. Add Whatever Premises you think are necessary to put the argument into its strongest form—whether inductive or deductive. Diagram the basic structure of the argument. Compare your analyses with those of other students in your class. Save these analyses! You will need to use them later.
6. I would like to see the proletariat rule for a while. . . . Through all the past in this world has been ruled by property, and if there can ever come a time when the working man can rule it, I will say he ought to have that chance to see what he can do; and yet to tell you that is to believe in the “dictatorship” of the proletariat – well, why not? (Clarence Darrow)
14. No reform, moral or intellectual, ever came from the upper class of society. Each and all came from the protest of martyr and victim. The emancipation of the working people must be achieved by the working people themselves. (Wendell Phillips)
20. It is proof of a base and low mind for one to wish to think with the masses or majority, merely because the majority is the majority. Truth does not change because it is, or is not, believed by a majority of the people. (Giordano Bruno)
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