Philosophy 11009
Exam #1, version 1b
Multiple Choice: Circle the best answer to each question. (2 points each, 40 points total. Recommended time: 1 minute per question, 20 minutes)
1. The following bumper sticker (seen in California when a handgun bill was before voters of that state) is an example of which fallacy: Gun registration equals mass extermination. First register guns, then register the Jews.
A irrelevant reason
B ad hominem
C slippery slope
D begging the question
E appeal to authority
2. The following is an example of which fallacy: Seeing that eye and hand and foot and every one of our members has some obvious function, must we not believe that in like manner a human being has a function over and above these particular functions?
A composition
B division
C begging the question
D appeal to function
E equivocation
3. The following is an example of which fallacy: “We must keep people working—with jobs—because when many people are out of work, unemployment results.”
A begging the question
B setting up a straw man
C appeal to authority
D false dilemma
E none of these
4. Which of the following is a false dilemma?
A any natural number is either odd or even
B on any exam, you either pass or fail
C any uncogent argument that either contains a questionable premise or suppressed evidence
D you can either vote for me or else commit this nation to slavery at the hands of the communists
E none of these
5. Gilovich claims that
A humans are extremely good at generating ideas, theories and explanations that have a ring of plausibility
B individuals examine information that contradicts their beliefs more closely than information that confirms their beliefs
C self-fulfilling prophecies exaggerate differences that already exist
D all of these
E none of these
6. Gilovich discusses what he calls two-sided events. An example of a two-sided event is
A the outcome of a sporting event
B the phone ringing while you’re in the shower
C the result of flipping a coin
D the outcome of taking an exam after getting seriously drunk the night before class
E none of these
7. Clusters of random events often invite explanations because
A these events do not seem random when considered “locally”
B of preconceptions that individuals use when evaluating events
C of an individual’s inability to recognize chance events
D all of these
E none of these
8. One way in which a false dilemma can be attacked is
A grasping the horns of the dilemma
B by concluding that there are no alternatives
C by arguing from one of the premises to another conclusion that is false
D attempting to deny the antecedent
E none of these
9. The following is an example of which fallacy: “We’re perfectly entitled to believe there is a God. After all, every effort by atheists to prove otherwise has failed.”
A false dilemma
B composition
C ad hominem
D questionable cause
E none of these
10. If the premises offered in an argument have absolutely no connection to the conclusion, the fallacy being committed is
A Equivocation
B Non sequitor
C Slippery slope
D Tu quoque
E none of these
11. When asked why he praised Hitler’s employment policies, Jorg Haider, Nazi sympathizer and Austrian Parliament member responded: “I think it was only one sentence out of a big debate. My opponents took out one sentence and made a campaign against me, and it was not possible for me to explain myself.” This is an example of which fallacy?
A ad hominem
B two wrongs make a right
C begging the question
D equivocation
E appeal to ignorance
12. Which of the following statements is not true about arguments that beg the question?
A such arguments are always invalid
B the conclusion, or something very much like it, is also one of the premises
C there is no such fallacy, since arguments consist of statements, not questions
D these arguments attempt to prove something by appealing to something that is equally questionable
E none of these
13. According to Gilovich, when an event is focused, it is also more likely to be
A a one-sided event
B forgotten
C a two-sided event
D an erroneous belief
E remembered
14. According to Gilovich, when an event is unfocused, it is also more likely to be
A a one-sided event
B forgotten
C a two-sided event
D an erroneous belief
E remembered
15. An argument that contains a questionable analogy
A presents evidence that is relevant to its conclusion but is not sufficient to justify that conclusion
B states that there is just one possible solution to some problem when in fact there are two or more
C states that something that is usually true while implying something else that is false
D uses a term or expression in one sense in one place and another sense in another
E tries to prove something with evidence that is or comes close to being irrelevant
16. The following is an example of which fallacy: Aristotle said that, among animals, only men are rational. And, certainly, no women are men. So he must have believed that no women are rational.
A false dilemma
B ad hominem
C equivocation
D begging the question
E questionable analogy
17. According to Gilovich, “judgement by representativeness” is a kind of
A false dilemma
B over-generalization
C ad hoc explanation
D all of the above
E none of these
18. Tautologies, contradictions and contingencies vary in terms of:
A validity
B truth
C invalidity
D consistency
E all of these
19. One is guilty of the fallacy of appeal to authority if one claims they know that gravity exists because:
A "my science teacher told me so"
B "I read about it in a physics book"
C "it just seems that everything that goes up comes down!"
D "my mother told me so"
E none of these
20. A fallacious appeal to authority occurs whenever
A an expert opinion is invoked in an argument
B we move from premises that contradict each other
C for example, a reputable quantum physicist tells us that the top quark has just been discovered
D for example, the greatest living basketball player Michael Jordan tells us that his skin-care products are the best available
E none of these
True/False: Clearly identify the following as either (T)rue or (F)alse. (1 point each, 20 points total. Recommended time: 30 seconds per question, 10 minutes)
____T_____ 1. The fallacy of the hasty conclusion occurs when one accepts an argument on the basis of relevant but insufficient information.
____T_____ 2. According to Gilovich, many questionable and erroneous beliefs have purely cognitive origins.
____T_____ 3. Most arguments based on statistical reasoning are inductive.
____T_____ 4. Gilovich writes that it seems to be part of human nature to detect order, even where there isn’t any.
____T_____ 5. A mathematical proof is an example of a deductive argument.
____T_____ 6. The purpose of the premise or premises is to set forth the reasons or evidence given in support of the conclusion.
____F_____ 7. Gilovich argues that “a little superstition” is a luxury we can afford.
____F_____ 8. An appeal to a legitimate authority means you will always receive accurate information.
____T_____ 9. According to Gilovich, people are more likely to be influenced by positive (confirmatory) information than negative information.
____T_____ 10. The “hot hand” phenomenon in basketball is really a clustering illusion, according to the data discussed by Gilovich.
____F_____ 11. Statistics are always precise and authoritative.
____T_____ 12. If the conclusion of an argument follows merely from the definition of a word used in a premise, the argument is deductive.
____F_____ 13. An argument that predicts what will happen in the future, based upon what has happened in the past, is a deductive argument.
____F_____ 14. Any argument with a true conclusion must contain good reasoning.
____F_____ 15. Arguments that call an individual’s character into question are always fallacious.
____T_____ 16. According to the authors, some sorts of statistics are simply unknowable.
____F_____ 17. If an argument has true premises and a true conclusion, we know that it is a perfectly good argument.
____T_____ 18. According to Gilovich, our beliefs should influence our assessments of new information in direct proportion to how plausible and well-substantiated they are in the first place.
____T_____ 19. There are a fixed number of deductively valid syllogisms.
____F_____ 20. Gilovich states that most people have a good understanding of the true nature of random events.
Short Answer: Succinctly answer each question. (40 points total. Recommended time: 2.5 minutes per question, 20 minutes total)
1. List Kahane and Cavender’s conditions for cogent reasoning (6 points):
Partial credit was given on this question (i.e., if you had some of the conditions correct, or partially correct, I gave you some portion of the 6 points possible).
See the Kahane & Cavender text for these. Note that some answers were very brief, yet I still gave credit for them. If I ask this question again, you should be able to write a sentence or two about the requirements. I will not accept one or two word answers if I ask this question again
2. Define the following terms: tautology, contradiction, contingent statement (2 points each)
Partial credit was given on this question.
See the Kahane & Cavender text for these definitions.
3. What is the form of modus ponens? Provide an example of an argument using this form.(6 points)
See the text for the form of modus ponens. For the full 6 points on this question, you needed to provide both the form and an example argument that correctly uses the form.
4. What is the form of denying the antecedent? (4 points)
This was an all-or-nothing question. See the text for the argument form.
5. Suppose that you are told by a world-renowned psychic that you will meet with success in the coming week. Explain how this prediction suffers from the problem of multiple endpoints. (4 points)
Partial credit was given on this question.
See pages 58-61 in the Gilovich text. I was pretty lenient on answers for this question, but you had to have the general idea correct to get full credit
6. Explain the regression fallacy as discussed by Gilovich. Give an example of an erroneous belief produced by the regression fallacy. (4 points)
Many answers for this question explained how regression works, but did not explain the regression fallacy. See Gilovich, pages 26-28. He writes: “The regression fallacy refers to the tendency to fail to recognize statistical regression when it occurs, and instead to ‘explain’ the observed phenomena with superfluous and often complicated causal theories (emphasis added)”. Most people left out the last part (the part that I italicized in the quote above).
7. Evaluate the following argument. Is the argument inductive or deductive? If the argument is inductive, is it strong or weak? If the argument is deductive, is it valid or invalid? (6 points)
No foreigners can be trusted.
Some newborn babies are foreigners.
Therefore, some newborn babies cannot be trusted.
Partial credit was given on this question.
This argument is deductively valid. See Kahane and Cavender, page 33, the last example. For this question, it was not necessary to know whether the form was valid or not, because you can reason based solely on the definition of “deductively valid” whether or not this argument works.
8. Statistics and polling are used everyday to report news, in advertising, and in scientific studies. List at least three fallacies associated with statistics and explain them. (6 points)
Partial credit was given on this question.
The following are acceptable answers for this question: small sample, unrepresentative sample, questionable statistics, questionable uses of good statistics and, if you described how the wording of questions is important in polls, I gave credit for that as well.