midterm exam, open book, summer 2021

INSTRUCTIONS FOR SENDING THE TEST 

When sending your assignment, please cut and paste my questions along with your answers in the body of the email! 

For questions with Explain, I need at least 40 words as an answer.

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ETHICS PART

1. Is there moral knowledge? Explain your answer from the evolutionary/historic point of view.

2. What does it mean to say that moral facts are "intersubjective"?

3. Is "holding a door to an old woman" a moral norm? Whether yes or no, explain your answer.

4. Tom comes from culture A professes cultural relativism and believes slavery is wrong, Theresa comes from culture B, professes cultural relativism and believes slavery is right. Is there a way for Tom to convince Theresa she is wrong?

5. The following question is based on this lecture.

Is the egoist capable of being benevolent to people? Whatever your answer EXPLAIN WHY  

CRITICAL THINKING PART

Necessary and sufficient conditions: 

1. If A is necessary condition for B, is B a sufficient condition for A? YES, NO

2. Suppose Alice loves John and John loves Alice. Is their mutual love a sufficient condition for the success of their relationship? YES, NO. 

3. A job requirement says "Qualified candidate must speak Spanish". If so, speaking Spanish is a _____ condition for getting the job. 

4. Identify the following fallacies: 

a) God does not exist because every argument for the existence of God has been shown to be unsound. 

b) Smoking causes cancer because my father was a smoker and he died of lung cancer. 

c) We have no evidence showing that he is innocent. So he must be guilty. 

5. If Bogota is north of Mexico and Mexico is north of Los Angeles, then Bogota is north is Los Angeles. Is this deductive argument valid? sound?  

6. Consider this argument:

Daffy Duck is a duck.

All ducks are mammals.

Therefore, Daffy Duck is a mammal.

Is the argument valid? sound? 

7. Of this inductive argument. Tell if they are strong or weak. 

The last fifty lottery tickets that Francis purchased have been losers. Therefore, the next one he buys is virtually certain to be a winner. 

8. Cause and effect. Mr. Ferguson is invited to Mr. Smith's party where is served seafood for dinner. When Mr. Ferguson goes back home he feels stomach pain and later has an attack of diarrhea. 

What conditions must be satisfied in order for us to say: "Smith's seafood caused Mr. Ferguson's stomach sickness".

homework (fall 2021)

questions 1-4 pertain to this post,

1. is there moral knowledge from the evolutionary stand point? explain.

2. explain how does the fact of killing becomes the moral fact "killing is wrong"?  

3. is "killing is wrong" a soft fact? explain.

4. what is the difference between consensus and best consensus.

5. provide one proposition of your own that represents a hard fact and one that represent a soft fact (remember a proposition is presented as a regular sentence within quotes). 

6. from our textbook online answer questions 4, 7, (Chapter 1, p. 22)

(all explain questions require at least 40 words)

inductive arguments, exercise, fall 2020

are these inductive arguments strong or weak? S: strong, W: weak.

1. If I get an A, then I will pass this course. Odds are, I will make a B. So, I probably won't pass this course. 

2. The platypus is not a mammal (google & find out) because no mammal lays eggs, and the female platypus does.

3. The last time I ate here, the shrimp dish I ordered was disgusting. It must be the case that this restaurant buys lousy seafood. 

4. The sign on the candy machine reads "Out of Order." The candy machine must be broken. 

5. Every day you've lived has been followed by another day in which you've been alive. Therefore, everyday you ever will live will be followed by another day in which you are alive. 

6. Nobel prize-winning biologist Herbert Ralls says that chlorinated hydrocarbons in our water supply constitute a major threat to the public health. Since no scientists disagree with him on this point. Accordingly, we conclude that the presence of these chemicals is a threat.

fallacies, exercise, fall 2020

Below, identify the following fallacies (based on this post) 

1. Thomas Elder attack on social welfare should not be taken seriously. He is said to have been a degenerate. 

2. You will get pregnant if you have sex. Sally had sex once, and now she is pregnant. 

3. Your honor, the defendant must be guilty because no one can prove his innocence. 

4. Rare taste: you either have taste or you don't. 

5. Men are all alike: selfish creatures who spend every weekend glued to a television tube.

6. I am sure that you will agree that we should all work together to increase the profit of this company. Anyone not agreeing with this policy will be fired immediately. 

7. Everyone believes that Lander University is improving its academic programs yearly; therefore, I conclude that Lander will be a much higher rated school several years from now. 

8. Theodore H. Teabody, the great historian, says that H. Copi's book is the best logic book in the world. I believe him since the word of such a great man shouldn't be disputed. 

inductive arguments plus inference to the best explanation

 click here for this video,

Inference to the best explanation is the procedure of choosing the hypothesis or theory that best explains the available data. 

Example: In ordinary life, a person might make the inference that a fuse has blown to explain why several kitchen appliances stopped working all at once.