Final Exam Critical Thinking

Question 1

The three criteria for evaluating an argument are

Answer 1

• acceptability, relevance, sufficiency

Question 2

Which answer best describes “critical thinking”?

Answer 2

• the careful application of reason in the determination of whether a claim is true

Question 3

What is a “premise”?

Answer 3

A claim offered as a reason for believing another claim

Question 4

What is an “opinion”?

Answer 4

A view or judgment formed about something, not necessarily based on fact or knowledge

Question 5

A premise to an argument is relevant to that arguments conclusion if:

Answer 5

The truth of the premise counts in favor of the arguments conclusion

Question 6

The premises of argument are sufficient if

Answer 6

The premises, taken together, give a strong enough reason to accept the conclusion

Question 7

An argument in which the conclusion cannot be false, if the premises are true

Answer 7

A deductive argument

Question 8

An argument in which the conclusion is held to be improbable, if the premises are true

Answer 8

An inductive argument

Question 9

A defect in an argument that consists in something other than merely false premises

Answer 9

A fallacy

Question 10

An argument is cogent if

Answer 10

The acceptable, relevant premises are sufficient to support the conclusion

Question 11

An argument is valid if

Answer 11

It is impossible for the premises to be true while the conclusion is the false

Question 12

What is the main difference between an “argument” and an “explanation”?

Answer 12

Explanations merely seek to inform, whereas argument seek to persuade

Question 13

What is the basis for determining the relative weakness or strength of an argument?

Answer 13

The amount of support the premises provide for the conclusion

Question 14

Judgments concerning “matters of taste” or ethical determinations are frequently said to be what?

Answer 14

Value judgements

Question 15

Words which carry strong emotive value or associative power

Answer 15

Dysphemisms (loaded terms)

Question 16

The discipline or practice frequently referred to as “the art of persuasion”

Answer 16

Rhetoric

Question 17

The fallacy of sliding from one meaning of a term to another in the middle of an argument. In other words, using an ambiguous term in more than one sense, thus making an argument misdleading

Answer 17

Equivocation

Question 18

A person who stands to gain soemthing from our belief in a claim is known as

Answer 18

An interested party

Question 19

A person who does not stands to gain something from our belief in a claim is known as

Answer 19

A disinterested party

Question 20

When a new or old term is designated to mean something distinct within a specific context, it is said to have

Answer 20

Stipulative definition

Question 21

When an arguer attacks the person with whom they are arguing rather than that person argument

Answer 21

Argumentum ad hominem (argument against the person)

Question 22

A form of ad hominem fallacy that occurs when it is assumed that an argument is wrong if the source making he claim has itself spoken or acted in a way inconsistent with it. The fallacy focuses on the perceived hypocrisy of the opponent rather than the merits of their argument

Answer 22

Ur quoque (you also)

Question 23

The fallacy of arguing that a claim must be true merely because a substantial number of people believe it

Answer 23

Appeal to popularity

Question 24

The fallacy of distorting, weakening, or oversimplifying someone’s position so that it can be more easily attacked or refuted

Answer 24

The straw man fallacy

Question 25

The fallacy of arguing that a claim is true just because it has not been shown to be false

Answer 25

Appeal to ignorance

Question 26

The fallacy of deliberately raising an irrelevant issue during an argument as a diversion or distraction from the main topic

Answer 26

The red herring fallacy

Question 27

The error of thinking that previous events can effect the probabilities in the random event under consideration

Answer 27

The gamblers fallacy

Question 28

The fallacy of drawing a conclusion about a target group based upon an inadequate sample size

Answer 28

Hasty generalization

Question 29

The fallacy of pre-providing information which will create a bias against the speaker before they have a chance to offer their argument

Answer 29

Poisoning the well

Question 30

The fallacy of citing a source whose credibility is in question

Answer 30

Appeal to unqualified authority

Question 31

The fallacy of claiming that a moderate or sensible action will inevitably lead to an extreme action, therefor the moderate action should not be taken

Answer 31

The fallacy of slippery of slope

Question 32

A fallacy involving circular reading in wherein the conclusion to the argument is assumed or stated in one or more of the premises

Answer 32

Begging the question

Question 33

The fallacy of presenting two scenarios- one desirable one undesirable- as if they are the only alternatives available

Answer 33

False dichotomy or false dilemma

Question 34

The term describes the weight of evidence or argument required by one side in a debate or disagreement

Answer 34

Burden of proof

Question 35

The whole collection of individuals under a study

Answer 35

Target group( target population)

Question 36

The observed members of a target group in an observational study

Answer 36

A sample

Question 37

A sample that is selected randomly from a target group in such a way as to ensure that the sample is representative

Answer 37

Random sample

Question 38

A sample that resembles the target group in all relevant ways

Answer 38

Representative sample

Question 39

A condition for the occurrence of an event without which the event cannot occur

Answer 39

Necessary condition

Question 40

A condition for the occurrence of an event that guarantees that the event occurs

Answer 40

Sufficient conditions

Question 41

The fallacy that states that since event Y followed event X, event Y must have been caused by event X:

Answer 41

Post hoc fallacy

Question 42

The fallacy wherein someone applies standards, principles, and or rules to towhees while making oneself or certain circumstances exempt from the same critical criteria, without providing adequate justification. Double standards.

Answer 42

Special pleading

Question 43

The tendency for individuals to seek out or favor information that supports their established beliefs or opinions, while correspondingly disregarding or avoiding information that does not support their belief structure

Answer 43

Confirmation bias

Question 44

When someone maintains a hasty generalization by simply excluding a counterexample from that generalization

Answer 44

The no true Scotsman fallacy

Question 45

The fallacy of dismissing an argument or complaint due to the existence of more important problems in the world, regardless of whether those problems bear relevance to the initial argument. If X is not as bad as Y therefore X is not a problem

Answer 45

The fallacy of relative privation

Question 46

A form of argument which attempts either to disprove a statement by showing is inevitably leads to a ridiculous, absurd, or impractical conclusion, or to prove one by showing that if it were not true, the result would be absurd or impossible

Answer 46

Reduction to absurdity

Question 47

Arguments of this type If P then QP/ Therefore, Q or P>Q, P- Q are referred to as

Answer 47

The way of affirmation (modus ponens)

Question 48

The formal fallacy involves arriving at an affirmative conclusion from merely negative premises. Any valid forms of categorical syllogisms that assert a negative premise must have a negative conclusion

Answer 48

Illicit negative

Question 49

Traditionally known as an “A maiore ad minus” argument. this class of arguments makes an assertion about a specific member of a class, based upon what holds true for the class more generally

Answer 49

Arguing from the general to the specific

Question 50

What should happen to a margin of error a sample size increases

Answer 50

It should decrease

Question 51

This type of casual explanation describes the general conditions under which a specific event occurred on

Answer 51

A physical cause explanation

Question 52

This type of casual explanation describes classes of human actions as it relates to their psychological, sociological, economic, or historical conditions

Answer 52

Behavioral casual explanations

Question 53

A casual explanation offered for further investigation or testing. This is a form of inference to the best explanation

Answer 53

A hypothesis

Question 54

An interface between a cause and effect- an apparatus- that has the property of making the effect happen, given the cause. This separates mere correlation from causation

Answer 54

A casual explanation

Question 55

According to Harry Frankfurt, what is is that bullshit essentially misinterprets?

Answer 55

The intentions of the speaker

Question 56

A diversionary tactic whereby someone shifts criticism from themselves or their allies onto others by bringing up the shortcomings of the interlocutor or their allies by saying “what about...” followed by some unrelated event, action, or position

Answer 56

Whataboutism

Question 57

A form of persistent manipulation that causes the victim to doubt her or himself, and ultimately lose their own sense of perception, identity and self worth

Answer 57

Gaslighting

Question 58

A theory of truth which states that the truth of any proposition consists in its coherence with some specified set of propositions

Answer 58

A coherence theory of truth

Question 59

A theory of truth which that’s that truth consists in a relation to reality, I.e., that truth is a relational property involving a characteristics relation (to be specified) to some portion of reality (to be specified):

Answer 59

A correspondence theory of truth

Question 60

In their book, manufacturing consent, Edward S. Herman and Noam Chomsky maintain that in a democracy, physical force is typically removed as a means of coercion. Therefore, control in a society must rely upon on what

Answer 60

Propaganda

Question 61

Within a sentence, the properties of being “right”, “wrong”, or “indifferent” are said to reflect the statements

Answer 61

Truth function