Philosophy Midterm
2/6/2016
1. Identify the branch of
philosophy: “A valid argument
can have false premises”?
a. Logic;
b. Epistemology;
c. Metaphysics;
d. Ethics.
2. Inductive arguments deal with
probabilities. This is part of :
a. Logic;
b. Epistemology;
c. Metaphysics;
d. Ethics.
3. Ghosts are not real.
a. Logic;
b. Epistemology;
c. Metaphysics;
d. Ethics.
4. Since our perceptions often
deceive us, we cannot know
whether the external world
exists.
a. Logic;
b. Epistemology;
c. Metaphysics;
d. Ethics.
5. It is always wrong to kill an
innocent person/a fetus is an
innocent person/abortion is
morally acceptable. These
statements are:
a. Logically consistent;
b. Logically inconsistent.
6. Nobody is perfect/My father is
flawless.
a. Logically consistent;
b. Logically inconsistent.
7. Being an animal is _____ for
being a mammal.
a. A Necessary condition.
b. A Sufficient condition.
c. Both a and b;
d. Neither a nor b.
Name: ______________________________
8. Being a grandfather is ____ for
being a father.
a. A Necessary condition.
b. A Sufficient condition.
c. Both a and b;
d. Neither a nor b.
9. Being rich is _____ for being
happy.
a. A Necessary condition.
b. A Sufficient condition.
c. Both a and b;
d. Neither a nor b.
10. If the premises of an argument
are true, and the conclusion is
logically guaranteed by the
premises, the argument is:
a. A valid argument.
b. An inductive Argument.
c. A sound argument.
d. All of the above;
e. Both a and c.
11. If it has mammary glands, it’s a
mammal/human females have
mammary glands/ therefore
human females are mammals.
This is
a. A valid argument.
b. An inductive Argument.
c. A sound argument.
d. All of the above;
e. Both a and c.
12. All sociologists are devil
worshipers/Ric Dias is a
sociologist/therefore, Dias is a
devil worshiper. This is:
a. A valid argument.
b. An inductive Argument.
c. A sound argument.
d. All of the above;
e. Both a and c.
Philosophy Midterm
2/6/2016
13. Every historian I ever met was a
devil worshiper/Dias is an
historian/therefore, Dias is a
devil worshiper. This is
a. A valid argument.
b. An inductive Argument.
c. A sound argument.
d. All of the above;
e. Both a and c.
14. If people always act selfishly,
then no one can be truly moral.
If no one can be moral, then
religion is useless. It follows
then that if people always act
selfishly, religion is useless.
This is an example of:
a. Modus Ponens.
b. Modus Tollens.
c. Disjunctive Syllogism.
d. Hypothetical Syllogism.
15. If all people were selfish, then no
religions would exist. Religions
do exist. Therefore, it can’t be
true that all people are selfish.
This is an example of:
a. Modus Ponens.
b. Modus Tollens.
c. Disjunctive Syllogism.
d. Hypothetical Syllogism.
16. Either I leave South Dakota or I
am going to freeze my butt off
every winter. I ain’t leaving, so
my butt is freezin’.
a. Modus Ponens.
b. Modus Tollens.
c. Disjunctive Syllogism.
d. Hypothetical Syllogism.
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Name: ______________________________
17. In order for something to count
as knowledge, what must be true
of it?
a. One must believe it.
b. That belief must be true.
c. That belief must be
justified.
d. All of the above.
e. a and c.
18. It is impossible for anyone to
know what the future will be.
This is an example of:
a. Local Skepticism;
b. Global Skepticism;
c. Empiricism;
19. It is impossible to be certain that
our memories of recent events
are reliable. This is:
a. Local Skepticism;
b. Global Skepticism;
c. Empiricism;
20. It is impossible for anyone to
know anything about anything.
This is:
a. Local Skepticism;
b. Global Skepticism;
c. Empiricism;
d. All of the above.
e. Both a and c.
21. Cogito Ergo Sum means:
a. Knowledge is beyond
human capacity.
b. I am what I am.
c. I think, therefore I am.
d. I think, therefore I know.
e. I think I’ll have another
beer.
Philosophy Midterm
2/6/2016
1.
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Name: ______________________________
Philosophy Midterm
2/6/2016
Name: ______________________________
30. Put the following arguments into standard form, and identify them as Deductive or
Inductive by circling one of the words at the end.
a. Only those beings are free who can act in unpredictable ways. It is
obvious that computers aren’t free, for computers can be programmed to
act in predictable ways.
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Deductive or Inductive?
b. It is not wrong to kill bad people. But if bad people have eternal souls,
then it is wrong to kill them. Thus, it is false that bad people have eternal
souls.
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Deductive or Inductive?
c. I am sure that I will die of a heart attack. This is highly likely since my
father died of a heart attack. My grandfather died of a heart attack and my
brother died of a heart attack.
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Deductive or Inductive?
31. Determine whether the following arguments are valid or not.
a. 1. Anyone who snorts cocaine is an irresponsible person.
2. Tony snorts cocaine.
Therefore: Tony is an irresponsible person.
Valid or Invalid?
Philosophy Midterm
2/6/2016
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Name: ______________________________
b. 1. All rich people are happy.
2. Socrates is happy.
Therefore: Socrates is rich.
Valid or Invalid?
32. Put the following into standard form, and identify as modus ponens, modus tollens,
disjunctive syllogism, or hypothetical syllogism.
a. Either God is crazy, or the universe is simply a cosmic accident. God is
certainly not crazy. We must conclude that the creation of the world is a
simple cosmic accident.
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b. If I score 90% or better on the final, I get a passing grade. Well, I guess I
passed. I scored 92%.
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c. Either Darwin’s theory of evolution is wrong, or human beings are related
to monkeys. So Darwin’s theory just has to be wrong. Humans are not
related to monkeys!
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33. Identify the following as enumerative or analogical inductive arguments.
a. All the political scientists at Northern are ugly. All the political scientists
at the University of Arizona are ugly. Therefore, all political scientists are
ugly.
Enumerative or Analogical?
Philosophy Midterm
2/6/2016
Page 6
Name: ______________________________
b. I ate at a Japanese restaurant in Memphis and it charged too much. There
is a Japanese restaurant in Bloomington. Therefore it will charge too
much.
Enumerative or Analogical?
34. Explain the brain in a vat problem. What does it mean for epistemology?
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