Deck 3: On Socratess Two Favorite Questions

Question 1

A definition is an explanation of the meaning of a word or words.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Two primary purposes of a definition are to remove ambiguity and to remove vagueness.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

An extensional definition lists the qualities or properties something must possess in order to be a member of the extension.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

An intensional definition lists the qualities or properties something must possess in order to be a member of the extension.

Question 5

A stipulative definition gives the commonly understood meaning of a term.

Question 6

A theoretical definition gives the scientific meaning of a term.

Question 7

A persuasive definition states one person's opinion of the meaning of a term.

Question 8

A lexical definition gives the commonly understood meaning of a term.

Question 9

A precising definition gives the theoretical meaning of a term.

Question 10

A stipulative definition is stated in order to give a new meaning to a term.

Question 11

A dictionary definition is a lexical definition.

Question 12

A word is vague if it has two or more meanings and we cannot tell, given the context, which meaning is intended.

Question 13

A word is ambiguous if it has two or more meanings and we cannot tell, given the context, which meaning is intended.

Question 14

A word is vague if it has borderline cases.

Question 15

A word is ambiguous if it has borderline cases.

Question 16

A borderline case is one in which we are not sure whether or not a word applies.

Question 17

This is an intensional definition: "Rock band" means a group like the Beatles, the Doors, the Animals, etc.

Question 18

This is an extensional definition: "Rock band" means groups like the Beatles, the Doors, the Animals, etc.

Question 19

This is an intensional definition: "Square" means "a planar, four-sided figure with four equal sides and four equal angles."

Question 20

This is an extensional definition: "Square" means "a planar, four-sided figure with four equal sides and four equal angles."

Question 21

As it is commonly used, the following word is vague: "wealthy."

Question 22

As it is commonly used, the following phrase is vague: "legally an adult."

Question 23

As it is commonly used, the following word is vague: "loud."

Question 24

In some contexts, the following word is ambiguous: "bank."

Question 25

As it is commonly used, the following word is vague: "bald."

Question 26

Ambiguous and vague mean the same thing.

Question 27

A deductive argument aims to show that its conclusion is probably true, but not certain, if its premises are true.

Question 28

An inductive argument aims to show that its conclusion must be true if its premises are true.

Question 29

Using the rules for intensional definitions, critique the following definitions.
-Baseball player" means an athlete who plays a game that involves throwing a ball.

Question 30

Using the rules for intensional definitions, critique the following definitions.
-Truck driver" means "someone who drives a great big truck for a living

Question 31

Using the rules for intensional definitions, critique the following definitions.
-Roofer" means "a man who puts roofs on buildings

Question 32

Using the rules for intensional definitions, critique the following definitions.
-Philosophy" means "the activity practiced by philosophers

Question 33

Using the rules for intensional definitions, critique the following definitions.
-Carpenter's square" means "a square used by a carpenter

Question 34

Using the rules for intensional definitions, critique the following definitions.
-Silicone" means "a polymer containing alternating silicon and oxygen atoms

Question 35

Using the rules for intensional definitions, critique the following definitions.
-Heavy metal music" is music such as Ozy Osbourne's music, music by KISS, Led Zeppelin, Metallica, etc.

Question 36

Using the rules for intensional definitions, critique the following definitions.
-Theocracy" means "a system of government administered by priests or religious officials

Question 37

Using the rules for intensional definitions, critique the following definitions.
-Aerosol" means a liquid substance in a pressurized can such as deodorant in a spray can.

Question 38

Using the rules for intensional definitions, critique the following definitions.
-Aurora" means "a radiant emission in the upper atmosphere appearing as luminous bands of light

Question 39

Using the rules for intensional definitions, critique the following definitions.
-Insulin shock" means "a collapse caused by a decrease in blood sugar caused by the administration of too much insulin

Question 40

As "argument" is defined in the text, every argument has at least two premises.

Question 41

As "argument" is defined in the text, every argument has exactly one conclusion.

Question 42

As "argument" is defined in the text, an argument is two people angry at each other and yelling.

Question 43

As "argument" is defined in the text, an argument is a conclusion offered in support of one or more premises.

Question 44

As "argument" is defined in the text, some arguments may have no premises at all.

Question 45

As "argument" is defined in the text, some arguments may have no conclusion at all.

Question 46

As "argument" is defined in the text, some arguments have neither premises nor conclusions.

Question 47

As "argument" is defined in the text, some arguments have two conclusions.

Question 48

According to the text, Aristotle defined truth as the correspondence of a statement or proposition with reality.

Question 49

Aristotle's definition of truth is called the "correspondence theory of truth."

Question 50

A premise indicator word is used to signal the presence of a premise.

Question 51

A conclusion indicator word is used to flag the presence of a conclusion.

Question 52

If no premise or conclusion indicator word is present, then no argument is present.

Question 53

As "argument" is defined in the text, if two conclusions are present in a passage, then two arguments must be present.

Question 54

Some arguments contain no indicator words of any kind.

Question 55

As "argument" is defined in the text, if two premises are present in a passage, then two arguments must be present, too.

Question 56

Some exclamatory sentences are true.

Question 57

Some imperative sentences are true.

Question 58

Some interrogative sentences are true.

Question 59

Some performative sentences are true.

Question 60

The textbook draws an analogy between the structure of an argument and the structure of a building.

Question 61

In logic, the term "argument" refers to a heated, nasty verbal fight.

Question 62

Argument or not an argument?
-The Beatles were the greatest rock band of all times.

Question 63

Argument or not an argument?
-The Beatles reached their height of fame and glory in July 1967.

Question 64

Argument or not an argument?
-I do not recommend buying that stock.

Question 65

Argument or not an argument?
-Which band do you prefer: The Beatles or the Stones?

Question 66

Argument or not an argument?
-The world contains much evil, a great deal of evil. An all-good, all-powerful, all-knowing God would never create a place with so much evil. So an all-good, all-powerful, all-knowing God does not exist.

Question 67

Argument or not an argument?
-It is impossible that something pop into being from nothing. But the universe was not created. Therefore, the universe must have simply existed from all eternity.

Question 68

Argument or not an argument?
-Science indicates that the universe began a finite time ago. It is impossible that something might come into existence without a cause. Therefore, the universe has a cause. The cause of a thing always precedes the effect and is greater than the effect. Therefore, the universe has a transcendent cause that is greater than it. This being is what all reasonable people call "God."

Question 69

Argument or not an argument?
-It is impossible that something existed before time began. But time began when the universe began. Therefore, it is impossible that something created the universe.

Question 70

Argument or not an argument?
-If our thoughts are nothing but physical events occurring in our brains, then our thoughts are fully caused by our brains. But our brains are purely material (physical) entities whose workings are ultimately determined by preexisting events and the laws of physics. Therefore, our thoughts are determined by preexisting events and the laws of physics, not by the laws of logic and the rational consideration of evidence.

Question 71

Argument or not an argument?
-Jimi Hendrix bought his first guitar at Myers Music, located on First Avenue in downtown Seattle, from old man Myers himself.

Question 72

Argument or not an argument?
-Many people say Ringo was not a good drummer. But they are wrong. He was a very creative drummer in his own day, introducing many new forms into rock 'n' roll drums. On numerous songs, his drumming is very complex and interesting. He was also extremely steady and solid. It is hard to imagine the Beatles being the Beatles with a different drummer.

Question 73

Argument or not an argument?
-During the Battle of New Orleans, the American forces chased the British all the way down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico. The British ran through the briars, and they ran through the brambles, and they ran through the bushes where a rabbit couldn't go. Those farmers with their squirrel guns really gave 'em hell.

Question 74

Argument or not an argument?
-It is possible that our thoughts are physical events in our brains and that they track the truth as well. For it is possible that our brains evolved over time to be truth-tracking engines that aim at truth and that often hit it. Therefore, the mere claim that our thoughts are physical events in the brain does not show that they do not aim at truth, nor does it show that our thoughts are irrational and arbitrary.

Question 75

Argument or not an argument?
-Part of the road from Lexington, Massachusetts, to Concord, Massachusetts, is named "Battle Road" in honor of the historic battle fought on the very spot the morning of April 19, 1775.

Question 76

Argument or not an argument?
-Extreme wealth corrupts a person. Extreme poverty also corrupts. Steeply progressive income taxation is the best way to eradicate extremes in wealth and poverty. Therefore, government should use a steeply progressive income tax so as to prevent extremes in wealth and poverty and thus to make us better people than we otherwise might be.

Question 77

Argument or not an argument?
-The right to property sets no limit on the amount of property one may justly accumulate, for the right to property is the right to accumulate any possessions as long as one's possessions result from voluntary exchanges.

Question 78

Argument or not an argument?
-If rocking-horse people eat marshmallow pies, then Lucy will take a newspaper taxi to the sky, where she will find cellophane flowers of yellow and green, towering over her head as people walk by slowly. The flowers there grow so incredibly high!

Question 79

Argument or not an argument?
-Darn it. I forgot to turn the lights out again!

Question 80

Argument or not an argument?
-Please consider donating to the fund again this year.