Question 1

What is the implicit premise in the following moral 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.

Accepted Answer

The argument implicitly assumes that the moral value of the war is determined by its effect on the world's happiness. It concludes the war was morally wrong because it did not increase happiness, implying that increasing happiness is a criterion for moral rightness.

Question 2

A statement asserting that a state of affairs is actual (true or false) without assigning a moral value to it is a
A) moral statement.
B) nonmoral statement.
C) valid statement.
D) strong statement.

Accepted Answer

A nonmoral statement is one that asserts a state of affairs without assigning any moral value to it, meaning it simply states something is true or false without saying it is good or bad.

Question 3

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

Accepted Answer

In an argument, the statements that provide support are called premises, and the statement that is being supported or derived from these premises is called the conclusion.

Question 4

Name the form of the following argument: If the dog barks, something must be wrong. Something must be wrong. Therefore, the dog will bark.
A) denying the antecedent
B) modus tollens
C) affirming the consequent
D) hypothetical syllogism

Accepted Answer

This argument is an example of affirming the consequent, a logical fallacy. It incorrectly assumes that because the consequence (something must be wrong) is true, the antecedent (the dog barks) must also be true.

Question 5

The phrases "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.

Accepted Answer

These phrases are used to introduce or indicate the premise of an argument, not the conclusion. They signal the reason or basis for a conclusion, hence they are premise indicators.

Question 6

Name the form of the following argument: If p, then q. If q, then r. Therefore, if p, then r.
A) hypothetical inductive
B) hypothetical syllogism
C) modus ponens
D) modus tollens

Accepted Answer

This argument is a hypothetical syllogism because it follows the form: If p, then q; if q, then r; therefore, if p, then r. It connects two conditional statements to form a conclusion.

Question 7

A strong inductive argument with true premises is said to be
A) sound.
B) cogent.
C) valid.
D) invalid.

Accepted Answer

A strong inductive argument with true premises is considered cogent, indicating that the argument is both strong and its premises are indeed true, making it a reliable form of reasoning.

Question 8

What is a possible counterexample to the following moral principle? "Lying is always wrong."
A) Lying is morally wrong unless doing so will save a person's life.
B) Lying to cheat your friend out of money is morally wrong.
C) Lying to save yourself from embarrassment is wrong.
D) Lying is always morally wrong, even if doing so will save a person's life.

Accepted Answer

A counterexample to the principle that "Lying is always wrong" would be a situation where lying is considered morally acceptable or even necessary, such as lying to save a person's life. This shows that there can be exceptions to the principle, making A the correct counterexample.

Question 9

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) without 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.

Accepted Answer

A moral statement evaluates actions or character as right or wrong, or good or bad, assigning moral value.

Question 10

What is the implicit premise in the following moral 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.

Accepted Answer

The implicit premise is that anything that goes against tradition should not be permitted, which is assumed in the argument without being explicitly stated.

Question 11

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 that leads to a question.
D) group of unconnected statements.

Accepted Answer

An argument in the logical sense is indeed a group of statements, one of which (the conclusion) is supposed to be supported by the rest (the premises). This structure is fundamental to logical reasoning and critical thinking.

Question 12

In the argument "(1) Premarital sex is morally permissible because (2) it makes people happy," statement 1 is the ________ and statement 2 is the ________.
A) conclusion; premise
B) premise; conclusion
C) main argument; premise
D) implied premise; stated premise

Accepted Answer

Statement 1 is the conclusion of the argument, which is the statement that is being argued for. Statement 2 is the premise, which is the reason given to support the conclusion.

Question 13

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.

Accepted Answer

Inductive arguments are designed to provide probable support for their conclusions, rather than offering logically conclusive support, which is characteristic of deductive arguments.

Question 14

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.

Accepted Answer

Equivocation is the fallacy that involves using a word or term in different senses within an argument, thereby misleading or confusing the audience.

Question 15

A valid deductive argument with true premises is said to be
A) strong.
B) sound.
C) fit.
D) cogent.

Accepted Answer

A valid deductive argument with true premises is considered to be sound. This means that not only does the conclusion logically follow from the premises (validity), but the premises are also actually true, making the conclusion necessarily true.

Question 16

Name the form of the following argument: If p, then q. p. Therefore, q.
A) modus tollens
B) hypothetical syllogism
C) modus ponens
D) reductio ad absurdum

Accepted Answer

This argument form is modus ponens, which follows the structure: if p then q, p is true, therefore q must also be true.

Question 17

The utterance "Abortion is morally permissible" is
A) an argument.
B) a nonmoral statement.
C) a moral statement.
D) an implied statement.

Accepted Answer

The utterance "Abortion is morally permissible" is a moral statement because it expresses a judgment about the rightness or wrongness of abortion, which is a matter of moral evaluation.

Question 18

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.

Accepted Answer

A statement is defined as an assertion that something is or is not the case, which means it is a declaration or expression of a fact or opinion, capable of being either true or false.

Question 19

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.

Accepted Answer

Deductive arguments are designed to provide logically conclusive support to their conclusions, meaning if the premises are true, the conclusion must also be true.

Question 20

In a valid argument, if the premises are true, then the
A) argument is cogent.
B) conclusion is probably true.
C) conclusion may or may not be true.
D) conclusion absolutely has to be true.

Accepted Answer

In a valid argument, if the premises are true, then the conclusion absolutely has to be true. This is the definition of a valid argument: the truth of the premises guarantees the truth of the conclusion.

Quiz 3: Evaluating Moral Arguments

What is the implicit premise in the following moral argument? "The war did not increase the amount of happiness in the world. So, the war was morally wrong."

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

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

Name the form of the following argument: If the dog barks, something must be wrong. Something must be wrong. Therefore, the dog will bark.

The phrases "because," "given that," "due to the fact that," and "for the reason that" are

Name the form of the following argument: If p, then q. If q, then r. Therefore, if p, then r.

A strong inductive argument with true premises is said to be

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

A moral statement is a

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

An argument in the logical sense is a

In the argument "(1) Premarital sex is morally permissible because (2) it makes people happy," statement 1 is the and statement 2 is the .

Inductive arguments are

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

A valid deductive argument with true premises is said to be

Name the form of the following argument: If p, then q. p. Therefore, q.

The utterance "Abortion is morally permissible" is

A statement is

Deductive arguments are

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