Deck 11: Reasoning Critically

Question 1

Imagine you are out shopping for sneakers with your eight-year-old child.He says to you, "We have to buy Nike sneakers because that's what Michael Jordan wears." What form of "fallacy of relevance" would this be?

A)Begging the question
B)Appeal to authority
C)Appeal to flattery
D)Red Herring

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Let's assume you explain to your friend that you are against the death penalty, and your reason is that there are too many people in the world, anyway.What form of "fallacy of relevance" would this be?

A)Appeal to authority
B)Straw Man
C)Red herring
D)Appeal to flattery

Answer 2

C

Question 3

What type of causal fallacy exists when someone presents a causal relationship for which no real evidence exists?

A)Post hoc ergo propter hoc
B)Slippery slope
C)Misidentification of cause
D)Questionable cause

Answer 3

D

Question 4

The fallacy of questionable cause occurs when someone presents a causal relationship for which no real evidence exists.

Question 5

What do we call a general statement about an entire group made on the basis of observing some members of the group?

A)Fallacy of relevance
B)Causal reasoning
C)Inductive reasoning
D)Empirical generalization

Question 6

There are three key criteria for evaluating inductive arguments: Is the sample known? Is the sample sufficient? Is the sample representative?

Question 7

Scientists use a reasoning strategy called controlled experiment that can be set up in three ways:
cause-to-effect, effect-to-cause, and cause-to-cause.

Question 8

There is an argument form in which one reasons from premises that are known or assumed to be true to a conclusion that is supported by the premises but does not necessarily follow from them.What do we call this argument form?

A)Deductive reasoning
B)Inductive reasoning
C)Inferential reasoning
D)Invalid argument

Question 9

What do we call unsound arguments that are often persuasive and appearing to be logical because they usually appeal to our emotions and prejudices, and because they often support conclusions that we want to believe are accurate?

A)Fallacies
B)Irrational beliefs
C)Biases
D)Public opinion

Question 10

Consider the following scenario: a mother tells her child that if he doesn't do his homework, he will get failing grades.Then he will probably drop out of school and be unable to get a job, so he will become homeless.What type of "Causal Fallacy" is this?

A)Questionable cause
B)Post hoc ergo propter hoc
C)Slippery slope
D)Misidentification of the cause

Question 11

The author identifies the following thirteen types of "fallacies of relevance": appeal to authority, appeal to tradition, bandwagon, appeal to pity, appeal to fear, appeal to flattery, special pleading, appeal to ignorance, begging the question, Straw Man, Red Herring, appeal to personal attack, and two wrongs make a right.Suppose you were with your best friend and you happened to mention that your favorite type of music was classical.However, your best friend convinces you that only losers enjoy classical music.So, you stop listening to it.What type of fallacy of relevance would this?

A)Appeal to tradition
B)Appeal to personal attack
C)Bandwagon
D)Appeal to ignorance

Question 12

Empirical generalization is a form of inductive reasoning in which a general statement is made about an entire group based on observing some members of the group.

Question 13

What do we call a possible explanation that is introduced to account for a set of facts and that can be used as a basis for further investigation?

A)Conclusion
B)Hypothesis
C)Controlled experiment
D)Insight

Question 14

In the fallacy of special pleading, a person argues that a practice or a way of thinking is "better" or
"right" because it has 'always been done that way."

Question 15

According to ethical theorists, autonomy is one of the first virtues.People should be free to make their own decisions about things that pertain to them.Therefore, voluntary euthanasia is morally correct.This is an example of what type of generalization?

A)Hasty generalization
B)Empirical generalization
C)Sweeping generalization
D)False dilemma

Question 16

What do we call a form of inductive reasoning where a student believes that her softball team's recent winning streak is due to the fact that she has been wearing her good luck jersey?

A)False dilemma
B)Empirical generalization
C)Sweeping generalization
D)Post hoc ergo propter hoc

Question 17

If you had a disagreement with a teacher, and the teacher said, "If you continue to disagree with my assessment, I am afraid you won't get a very good grade in my class," what form of "fallacy of relevance" would this be?

A)Appeal to authority
B)Appeal to tradition
C)Red Herring
D)Appeal to fear

Question 18

What do we call a form of inductive reasoning in which it is claimed that an event (or events) is the result of the occurrences of another event (or events)?

A)Causal reasoning
B)Deductive reasoning
C)Inferential reasoning
D)Empirical generalization

Question 19

Often I have heard female students saying something like, "My boyfriend has never shown any real concern for my feelings; therefore, all men are selfish, insensitive, and emotionally superficial!" What form of generalization would this be?

A)Sweeping generalization
B)Hasty generalization
C)False dilemma
D)Empirical generalization

Question 20

There are three general guidelines to keep in mind when testing a plausible hypothesis; they are

A)explanatory power, economy, and predictive power.
B)predictive power, reasonability, and precision.
C)explanatory power, reasonability, and precision.
D)reasonability, economy, and predictive power.

Question 21

Appeal to personal attack has been one of the most frequently used fallacies throughout the ages.Its effectiveness results from ignoring the issues of the argument and focusing instead on the personal qualities of the person making the argument.Why do you believe that appeals to personal attacks work so well?

Question 22

Although generalizing and interpreting are useful in forming concepts, they also can give rise to fallacious ways of thinking, which include: hasty generalization, faulty conclusions, and improper interpretations.

Question 23

In an
argument, the supporting reasons are designed to make
us feel sorry for the person involved and agree with the conclusion out of sympathy.

Question 24

An argument form in which one reasons from premises that are known or assumed to be true to a conclusion that is supported by the premises but does not necessarily follow from them is called

Question 25

Joining the illogical appeals to authority and tradition, the fallacy of relies on the uncritical acceptance of other's opinion, in this case because "everyone believes it."

Question 26

One of the points in "The Critical Thinker's Guide to Reasoning" is to examine and evaluate the origin of your point of view about an issue to fully understand how your perceptions were formed.You can ask questions such as how did your point of view develop, and have you always held this view or did it evolve over time? Choose an issue that you have a clear point of view, or opinion, about and evaluate the origin(s) of that view.After you have finished, consider whether this close evaluation has caused you to change anything about your point of view.

Question 27

The fallacious argument of
gets its effectiveness
from ignoring the issues of the argument and focusing instead on the personal qualities of the person making the argument.

Question 28

A hasty generalization is one in which the conclusion are hasty because the interpreter of the data does not take the proper precautions in compiling and organizing the data.

Question 29

If we are to generalize with confidence from the sample to the population, then we have to be sure that the population is large enough to be evenly distributed around a mean, creating a bell-shaped curve in distribution.

Question 30

The fallacy of questionable cause occurs when someone presents a causal relationship for which no real evidence exists.How can you apply this type of fallacy to the preemptive attack on Iraq by the United States of America?

Question 31

is a form of inductive reasoning in which an event (or events) is claimed to be the result of another event.

Question 32

According to the author, the scientific method works on the assumption that the world is constructed in a complex web of causal relationships that can be discovered through systematic.Describe the causal relationships surrounding euthanasia.Your answer must include the legal, moral and emotional perspectives.

Question 33

One of the steps in the is to identify an event or a relationship between events to be investigated.

Question 34

The scientific method works on the assumption that the world is constructed in a complex web of causal relationships that can be discovered through systematic investigation.

Question 35

One guideline for testing a is that it should allow you to make various predictions to test its accuracy.

Question 36

A form of inductive reasoning in which a general statement is made about an entire group based on observing some members of the group is called .

Question 37

One of the fallacies of relevance is "appeal to authority" where the one making the argument will appeal to an authority who is not qualified to give an expert opinion because their authority is in another area (for example, Michael Jordan attesting to the superior quality of Nike shoes).Why does do you think people often have success using this type of fallacious reasoning work so well?

Question 38

Many fallacious arguments appeal for support to factors that have little or nothing to do with the
argument being offered.This type of fallacy is called

Question 39

Whereas the fallacy of hasty generalization deals with errors in the process of generalizing, the fallacy of focuses on difficulties in the process of interpreting.

Question 40

Fallacies are unsound arguments that are often persuasive and appearing to be logical because they appeal to our emotions or prejudices.