Deck 3: Evaluating Moral Arguments

Question 1

A moral statement is a:

A)statement affirming that an action is bad or that a person is bad.
B)statement asserting a valid moral argument.
C)statement asserting that a state of affairs is actual (true or false)but not assigning a moral value to it.
D)statement affirming that an action is right or wrong or that a person (or one's motive or character)is good or bad.

Answer 1

D

Question 2

What is a possible counterexample to the following moral principle?
Moral principle: Lying is always wrong.

A)In some cases,if lying can save a person's life,then lying would not be morally wrong.
B)Lying to cheat your friend out of money is morally wrong.
C)Lying to save yourself from embarrassment is wrong.
D)In some cases,if lying can save a person's life,then lying would still be morally wrong.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

The form of this argument [If p,then q.p.Therefore,q.] is called:

A)modus tollens.
B)hypothetical syllogism.
C)modus ponens.
D)reductio ad absurdum.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

The fallacy of assigning two different meanings to the same term in an argument is known as:

A)begging the question.
B)equivocation.
C)straw man.
D)appeal to ignorance.

Question 5

Deductive arguments are:

A)supposed to offer probable support for their conclusions.
B)usually valid.
C)usually invalid.
D)supposed to give logically conclusive support to their conclusions.

Question 6

Inductive arguments are:

A)intended to supplement deductive arguments.
B)intended to be abductive.
C)supposed to offer only probable support for their conclusions.
D)supposed to give logically conclusive support to their conclusions.

Question 7

What is the implicit premise in the following argument?
Argument: Same-sex marriage is contrary to tradition.Therefore,it should never be allowed.

A)Same-sex marriage is harmful to society.
B)Same-sex marriage is unnatural and therefore should be banned.
C)Whatever causes harm to children should not be allowed.
D)Whatever is contrary to tradition should not be allowed.

Question 8

In this argument-"(1)Premarital sex is morally permissible because (2)it makes people happy"-statement 1 is the ________;statement 2 is the ________.

A)conclusion;premise
B)premise;conclusion
C)main argument;premise
D)implied premise;stated premise

Question 9

A statement asserting that a state of affairs is actual (true or false)without assigning a moral value to it is a:

A)nonmoral argument.
B)nonmoral statement.
C)valid statement.
D)strong statement.

Question 10

In an argument,the supporting statements are known as ________;the statement being supported is known as the ________.

A)inferences;conclusion
B)premises;deduction
C)premises;conclusion
D)indicator words;conclusion

Question 11

A valid deductive argument with true premises is said to be:

A)strong.
B)sound.
C)fit.
D)cogent.

Question 12

What is the implied premise in the following moral argument?
Argument: The war did not increase the amount of happiness in the world.So the war was morally wrong.

A)If a war is immoral,it must be considered morally wrong.
B)If a war does not increase the amount of peace in the world,it must be considered morally wrong.
C)If a war does not increase the amount of happiness in the world,it must be considered morally wrong.
D)Some wars increase the amount of happiness in the world.

Question 13

In a valid argument,if the premises are true,then the:

A)argument is cogent.
B)conclusion is not necessarily true.
C)conclusion may or may not be true.
D)conclusion absolutely has to be true.

Question 14

This argument [If the dog barks,something must be wrong;something must be wrong;therefore the dog will bark.] has the form of:

A)denying the antecedent.
B)modus tollens.
C)affirming the consequent.
D)hypothetical syllogism.

Question 15

The utterance "Abortion is morally permissible" is:

A)an exclamation that expresses approval.
B)not a statement.
C)a statement.
D)an implied statement.

Question 16

An argument in the logical sense is a:

A)heated exchange of views.
B)group of statements,one of which is supposed to be supported by the rest.
C)group of statements,all of which make an assertion of some kind.
D)group of unconnected statements.

Question 17

A statement is:

A)an assertion about morality.
B)an assertion without a truth value.
C)an assertion that something is or is not the case.
D)a claim that cannot be verified.

Question 18

A strong inductive argument with true premises is said to be:

A)strong.
B)cogent.
C)valid.
D)invalid.

Question 19

The form of this argument [If p,then q.If q,then r.Therefore,if p,then r.] is called:

A)hypothetical inductive.
B)hypothetical syllogism.
C)modus ponens.
D)modus tollens.

Question 20

These words-because,given that,due to the fact that,and for the reason that-are:

A)conclusion indicators.
B)statement indicators.
C)statements.
D)premise indicators.

Question 21

The essential elements that one should strive for in any moral essay or conversation include:

A)a claim to be proved and an argument for or against the claim
B)equivocation and appeal to authority
C)consideration of alternative views
D)answers (a)and (c)

Question 22

What is the fallacy used in the following passage?
Passage: John argues that active euthanasia is sometimes morally acceptable.But we can reject out of hand anything he has to say because he's an ultraconservative.

A)equivocation
B)begging the question
C)appeal to authority
D)appeal to the person

Question 23

The fallacy of drawing a conclusion about an entire group of people or things based on an undersized sample of the group is known as:

A)hasty generalization.
B)begging the question.
C)slippery slope.
D)faulty analogy.

Question 24

What is the fallacy used in the following passage known as?
Passage: Liberals believe in abortion on demand,which means that killing a baby is permissible any time at all.At conception,in the second trimester,at infancy-any of these would be appropriate times to kill a baby,says the liberal.

A)appeal to the person
B)begging the question
C)straw man
D)equivocation

Question 25

What is the fallacy used in the following passage known as?
Passage: No one can prove that a fetus is not a person from the moment of conception.So a fetus must be accorded full moral rights as soon as it is conceived.

A)appeal to ignorance
B)appeal to the person
C)slippery slope
D)faulty analogy

Question 26

What is the fallacy used in the following passage known as?
Passage: If marijuana is legalized,young people will assume that smoking marijuana is socially acceptable,and that will lead them to give into the temptation to smoke marijuana themselves.And smoking marijuana can ruin their lives.Therefore,marijuana should not be legalized.

A)straw man
B)slippery slope
C)appeal to the person
D)appeal to ignorance