Question 1

Which of the following best describes a causal argument?
A) an event that brings about a change or effect
B) an argument that God must exist since the universe would not exist without a first cause
C) an argument that concludes one thing is the cause of other things
D) an argument that uses the word "because"

Accepted Answer

Causal arguments are argument about what causes something. Such arguments conclude that one thing has caused another. They typically employ the word "because," but do not always do so. Other types of argument may also use the word "because."

Question 2

Which of the following best describes a controlled experiment?
A) an experiment in which a scientist is in charge
B) an experiment divided into two groups: a control group and an experimental group
C) an experiment that studies the effects of leadership on others
D) None of these answers is correct.

Accepted Answer

A controlled experiment attempts to establish that correlation is due to some particular factor rather than some other, unknown factor. It does this by dividing the studied sample into two groups. The experimental group is the group that is studied while under the influence of the hypothesized factor, while the control group is a group that is like the experimental group in every respect other than it is not under the influence of the hypothesized factor. If some unknown cause were at work, it would show up in both the control group and the experimental group.

Question 3

Which of the following is true of metaphors?
A) Metaphors are typically factually true.
B) Metaphors are a type of analogy.
C) It is always clear when a claim is using a metaphor.
D) None of these answers is correct.

Accepted Answer

A metaphor is a type of analogy in which words indicating that an analogy is being made are dropped. "He is like a mad dog" is an analogy. "He is a mad dog" is (usually) a metaphor. (It would not be a metaphor if "he" referred to a dog that is in fact mad.) Whether something is intended as a metaphor may be unclear. "The Patriots crushed the Giants" may be used as a metaphor, but someone from a different culture may believe that the claim should be taken literally, e.g., that one team physically flattened out a different team.

Question 4

Which of the following can lead to placing the blame for harmful actions on the wrong person?
A) use of modus tollens arguments
B) the use of valid deductive, instead of inductive, arguments
C) failure to correctly perceive the cause of an action
D) None of these answers is correct.

Accepted Answer

A failure to appreciate the actual cause (or causes) of an act can lead to blame being laid on the wrong person (or people). For instance, blaming the prevalence of date rape on the victims or even the character of the perpetrator fails to ignore underlying cultural factors that make a direct and important contribution for the prevalence.

Question 5

Which of the following best describes the argument for God's existence known as the argument from design?
A) an argument that claims that the universe bears many similarities to designed objects (such as watches) and, therefore, the universe is probably designed by God
B) an argument that claims that since there is evil in the world and God is both capable and willing to prevent evil, we should believe that God exists
C) an argument that we should not believe in God because God was designed by human beings
D) None of these answers is correct.

Accepted Answer

The argument from design is an argument by analogy. Human-designed artifacts are very complicated. The argument claims that the universe is like artifacts in this respect and so we should conclude that the universe likely also has a designer and this designer must be God.

Question 6

Which of the following is a word or phrase that typically indicates an analogy?
A) "therefore"
B) "because"
C) "similar to"
D) "dream journal"

Accepted Answer

An argument that uses an analogy concludes that since two things are similar in some respects, they are probably also similar in other respects. "Similar to," then, is a good indication that the argument is making use of an analogy.

Question 7

Which of the following words or phrases tend to indicate that an argument is inductive?
A) "necessarily"
B) "therefore"
C) "proposition"
D) "mostly likely"

Accepted Answer

Successful inductive arguments (strong arguments) only show that their conclusion is probably true. Words such as "necessarily" indicate something more than mere probability, while "therefore" signals a conclusion in an argument, whether inductive or deductive. "Most likely" tends to indicate that the argument that it occurs in is inductive, since it indicates a strong probability of the conclusion's being true without going so far as to say that its truth is guaranteed.

Question 8

Which of the following is true of generalizations?
A) Arguments based on generalization are either true or false.
B) A good generalization's sample could have been taken at any time.
C) A good generalization does not need to be representative.
D) A good generalization has all true premises.

Accepted Answer

Generalizations are a type of inductive argument. Arguments are not true or false. A good generalization uses a representative and up-to-date sample. It also only uses true premises. A generalization only appears to support its premise if its premises are false-it would support its conclusion if it had only true premises.

Question 9

Why do polls,properly carried out,play a particularly important role in democratic nations?
A) Polls allow pollsters to influence public opinion.
B) Push polls can help voters make informed choices.
C) Polls are means of gauging whether the public consents to the laws and actions of the government.
D) Voters can use polls to determine who is in the lead in an election and to execute the will of the majority by voting for the candidate who is ahead.

Accepted Answer

Democratic governments are only legitimate as long as they reflect the will and consent of the governed. While polls are not the only means for checking for this consent and will (elections play an important role as well), well-conducted polls are an important tool for doing so.

Question 10

Which of the following is a factor in determining the success of an argument by analogy?
A) the extent of the similarities between the objects compared
B) the extent of the dissimilarities between the objects compared
C) the relevance of the similarities in the premises to those alleged to hold in the conclusion
D) All of these answers are correct.

Accepted Answer

An argument by analogy is stronger when the two objects being compared are very similar. If the two objects are too different, then similarities between them may be insignificant. We cannot conclude very much about the weight of soccer balls and planets from the fact that both are round. The more alike two objects, the better suited they are for arguments by analogy.

Question 11

Which is the following is true of polls?
A) Reliable polls use a sample that is representative of the entire population.
B) Phoning people at home at dinner time is best method for conducting a poll.
C) Polls are rarely reliable.
D) None of these answers is correct.

Accepted Answer

If a poll uses a sample that is not like the general population, the poll will not be reliable. It may accidentally get the right result, but it provides no good reason to believe its conclusion. Random selection is often a good way to ensure that the sample is representative, but occasionally random samples will be misleading, and those conducting the poll must choose people based on some characteristic that would be underrepresented by a random sample.

Question 12

Which of the following is NOT a type of inductive argument?
A)modus ponens
B)generalization
C)analogy
D)causal argument

Accepted Answer

Modus ponens is a deductive argument, meaning it follows a logical process of inference based on premises and conclusion. Generalization, analogy, and causal arguments are examples of inductive arguments, which rely on subjective observations and evidence to draw a conclusion.

Question 13

Which of the following best describes a generalization?
A) an argument that guarantees the truth of its conclusion.
B) an argument that claims that something is the cause of something else.
C) an argument that claims a group is likely to have some characteristic on the grounds that a subset of that group has that characteristic.
D) None of these answers is correct.

Accepted Answer

A generalization is a type of inductive argument. As such, it only shows that its conclusion is likely to be true. But there are many types of arguments that do this. A generalization draws a conclusion from data about a sample of a group. It generalizes that data to the rest of the group. If I claim that all crows are black based on observing thirty thousand crows that are all black, then I have made a generalization.

Question 14

Which of the following may result in a biased poll?
A) a poll with a unrepresentative sample
B) a poll with a loaded question
C) a poll with a question specifically written to get a certain answer
D) All of these answers are correct.

Accepted Answer

A number of factors can bias a poll. Unrepresentative samples can do so, but even a poll with a representative sample may be biased by a poorly worded question. Unscrupulous pollsters will even intentionally phrase questions to help get a desired answer.

Question 15

Which of the following is true of correlations?
A) A correlation always indicates a causal relationship.
B) A positive correlation holds when the occurrence of one event decreases the chance of another event occurring.
C) A correlation is when two events occur together at a rate higher than mere chance would predict.
D) None of these answers are correct.

Accepted Answer

A correlation is the occurrence of two events together at a rate higher than mere chance would suggest. Correlations can indicate that one of the events is causing the other, but they do not always. A correlation may the result of some third event causing both of the correlated events, or it may even be pure coincidence.

Question 16

Which of the following are true of generalizations?
A) Generalizations, because they are so general, cannot provide evidence for their conclusions.
B) Polls are a type of generalization.
C) Generalizations are a type of deductive argument.
D) None of these answers is correct.

Accepted Answer

Polls are a common kind of generalization. Polls are surveys of the opinions of small groups of people from which a general conclusion, using inductive reasoning, can be drawn. Political polls, for instance, ask a small number of likely voters how they will vote in some election, and the result is generalized as the conclusion that all voters will vote in the same proportions as the sample.

Question 17

Which of the following is one criterion for evaluating causal arguments as successful?
A) The conclusion goes beyond the premises.
B) A correlation exists.
C) The data is not up-to-date.
D) None of these answers is correct.

Accepted Answer

A causal argument attempts to establish a causal relationship between two events. A correlation, however, may exist without there being a causal relationship between the two correlated events. A strong causal argument will use only up-to-date data and not draw conclusions that are not supported by the premises.

Question 18

Which of the following is an example of a self-selected sample?
A) a sample chosen by one person who is also a member of the sample
B) a sample chosen at random
C) a sample in which only people interested in the poll agree to take part
D) a sample consisting of nothing but millionaires

Accepted Answer

A self-selected sample is a sample in which only those interested in participating are included in the sample. Such samples are often unrepresentative; since many people will be uninterested in the issue the poll concerns and the people that are interested may be unrepresentative of the population as a whole.

Question 19

Which of the following is true of inductive arguments?
A) If the conclusion of an inductive argument is true, then the premises must be true as well.
B) If the premises of an inductive argument are all true, then the conclusion must be as well.
C) If the premises of an inductive argument are all true, then the conclusion might still be false.
D) Inductive arguments can be expressed in categorical syllogisms.

Accepted Answer

A good inductive argument only shows that its conclusion is probably true. Inductive arguments do not guarantee the truth of their conclusions even if all the premises in such an argument are true. Inductive arguments that provide a lot of evidence for their conclusion are called strong. Arguments, inductive or otherwise, are never called true or false. Propositions are true or false.

Question 20

The information collected in the Freshman Survey is used to make which of the following type of argument?
A) inductive argument
B) deductive argument
C) ad hominem argument
D) dream journal argument

Accepted Answer

The Freshman Survey is an annual survey of thousands of college freshmen. The collected information is then used as evidence for various claims about all college freshmen. This is an inductive argument, since the evidence only shows that the conclusion is probable rather than necessarily true (as a valid deductive argument would show).

Quiz 7: Inductive Arguments

Which of the following best describes a causal argument?

Which of the following best describes a controlled experiment?

Which of the following is true of metaphors?

Which of the following can lead to placing the blame for harmful actions on the wrong person?

Which of the following best describes the argument for God's existence known as the argument from design?

Which of the following is a word or phrase that typically indicates an analogy?

Which of the following words or phrases tend to indicate that an argument is inductive?

Which of the following is true of generalizations?

Why do polls,properly carried out,play a particularly important role in democratic nations?

Which of the following is a factor in determining the success of an argument by analogy?

Which is the following is true of polls?

Which of the following is NOT a type of inductive argument?

Which of the following best describes a generalization?

Which of the following may result in a biased poll?

Which of the following is true of correlations?

Which of the following are true of generalizations?

Which of the following is one criterion for evaluating causal arguments as successful?

Which of the following is an example of a self-selected sample?

Which of the following is true of inductive arguments?

The information collected in the Freshman Survey is used to make which of the following type of argument?