Question 1

If an opinion is true, then it is&#8230;&#10;A) Certain&#10;B) Still objectionable&#10;C) A fact&#10;D) Common sense

Accepted Answer

An opinion that is true can be considered a fact, as facts are statements that can be proven true or false.

Question 2

Your background information consists of&#8230;&#10;A) Beliefs that are certain&#10;B) Both well-supported and obviously false beliefs&#10;C) Numerous valid arguments&#10;D) Very well-supported beliefs

Accepted Answer

Background information typically consists of beliefs that are well-supported by evidence and experience, making them reliable and credible.

Question 3

When a claim is neither worthy of outright rejection nor deserving of complete acceptance, we should&#8230;&#10;A) Proportion our belief to the evidence&#10;B) Proportion our belief to background information&#10;C) Tentatively accept it&#10;D) Tentatively reject it

Accepted Answer

Proportioning our belief to the evidence is a rational approach when a claim does not clearly warrant outright acceptance or rejection. This method allows for adjusting the degree of belief in proportion to the strength and quality of the evidence available.

Question 4

When people say that some issue is &#34;a matter of opinion,&#34; they usually mean one of two things: that opinions differ on the issue or that&#8230;&#10;A) The issue is of little importance&#10;B) The issue cannot be settled by non-experts&#10;C) The issue is a matter of individual taste&#10;D) The truth of the issue is impossible to know

Accepted Answer

When people say an issue is "a matter of opinion," they often mean it is subjective and based on personal preferences or tastes, rather than objective facts.

Question 5

We are often justified in believing a claim because&#8230;&#10;A) Most people believe it&#10;B) Experts disagree about it&#10;C) Experts have not accepted it&#10;D) It comes from experts

Accepted Answer

Expert consensus is a strong indicator of the reliability of a claim, as experts have the knowledge and experience to evaluate the evidence and arguments supporting it.

Question 6

When experts disagree about a claim, we have good reason to&#8230;&#10;A) Reject it&#10;B) Believe it&#10;C) Doubt it&#10;D) Dismiss it

Accepted Answer

When experts disagree about a claim, it indicates that there is not a consensus on the matter, which gives us good reason to doubt the claim until further evidence or agreement is presented.

Question 7

In most professional fields, the two minimal prerequisites for being considered an expert are&#8230;&#10;A) Education and experience in making reliable judgments&#10;B) Education and field experience&#10;C) Reputation and training&#10;D) Reputation among peers and professional accomplishments

Accepted Answer

Education and field experience are generally considered the foundational prerequisites for being recognized as an expert in most professional fields. Education provides the theoretical knowledge, while field experience offers practical application and understanding.

Question 8

It is reasonable to accept the evidence provided by personal experience only if&#8230;&#10;A) It is backed by scientific evidence&#10;B) There's no good reason to doubt it&#10;C) We are infallible&#10;D) It is corroborated by other people

Accepted Answer

Accepting evidence provided by personal experience is reasonable if there's no good reason to doubt it. This doesn't necessarily require scientific backing, infallibility, or corroboration by others, though such factors can enhance credibility.

Question 9

Experts are more likely to be right because they have access to more information on the subject than we do and because&#8230;&#10;A) They are better at judging the information than we are.&#10;B) The information has been checked&#10;C) They are experts&#10;D) They have credentials

Accepted Answer

Experts are more likely to be right because they are better at judging and interpreting the information due to their experience and expertise in the subject matter.

Question 10

When we regard a nonexpert as an expert, we &#8230;&#10;A) Certify that expert's credentials&#10;B) Rely on the true expert&#10;C) Fall into the fallacy of available evidence&#10;D) Fall into the fallacious appeal to authority

Accepted Answer

Choosing a nonexpert as an expert is a classic example of the fallacious appeal to authority, where someone's opinion is taken as truth not because of their expertise, but because of their perceived authority or reputation in an unrelated field.

Question 11

Personal experience, although generally reliable, is&#8230;&#10;A) Infallible&#10;B) Difficult to quantify&#10;C) Not trustworthy&#10;D) Not infallible

Accepted Answer

The answer of Personal experience, although generally reliable, is&#8230;&#10;A) Infallible&#10;B)...

Question 12

Eyewitness testimony is&#8230;&#10;A) Unorthodox&#10;B) Authoritative&#10;C) Reliable&#10;D) Unreliable

Accepted Answer

The answer of Eyewitness testimony is&#8230;&#10;A) Unorthodox&#10;B) Authoritative&#10;C) Reliable&#10;D) Unreliable...

Question 13

Other things being equal, the more background information a claim conflicts with, the more reason we have to&#8230;&#10;A) Revise our background information&#10;B) Believe it&#10;C) Doubt it&#10;D) Try to prove it

Accepted Answer

The answer of Other things being equal, the more background...

Question 14

We fall into a fallacious appeal to authority when we&#8230;&#10;A) Judge the authority's credentials to be good&#10;B) Respect science and its methods&#10;C) Think that just because someone is an expert in one field, he or she is necessarily an expert in another&#10;D) Doubt the results of a scientific study

Accepted Answer

The answer of We fall into a fallacious appeal to...

Question 15

When our perceptual powers are impaired or impeded, we &#8230;&#10;A) Are more aware of possible mistakes&#10;B) Have a reason to doubt our perceptual powers&#10;C) Cannot trust any arguments&#10;D) Are in a normal state

Accepted Answer

The answer of When our perceptual powers are impaired or...

Question 16

Research suggests that our perception and memory are constructive, which means that&#8230;&#10;A) What we perceive and remember is responsive to criticism&#10;B) What we perceive and remember is built from sense data&#10;C) What we perceive and remember is to some degree fabricated by our minds&#10;D) What we perceive and remember is a merely a figment of our imaginations

Accepted Answer

The answer of Research suggests that our perception and memory...

Question 17

When ranking the trustworthiness of sources of information, the most reliable sources generally include&#8230;&#10;A) Non-governmental organizations, advocacy groups, and political action committees&#10;B) Major trade book publishers and news outlets&#10;C) TV, radio, and podcast shows&#10;D) Articles and reports in peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings

Accepted Answer

The answer of When ranking the trustworthiness of sources of...

Question 18

What is an expert? When and why do experts provide us with reasons for believing a claim?

Accepted Answer

The answer of What is an expert? When and why...

Question 19

What should we do when a claim is in dispute among experts? Why?

Accepted Answer

The answer of What should we do when a claim...

Question 20

Is it reasonable to regard a nonexpert as an expert? Why or why not?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Is it reasonable to regard a nonexpert...

Question 21

What principle should guide us in assessing the reliability of personal experience? Why should we rely on this principle?

Accepted Answer

The answer of What principle should guide us in assessing...

Question 22

Under what circumstances is it reasonable to doubt the evidence of personal experience?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Under what circumstances is it reasonable to...

Deck 6: Evidence and Experts