Part 5: Chapter 3
Special Instructions: When you submit Exam Part 5, MyCR will indicate your total score for the exam, but it will
not indicate which problems you got correct and incorrect. You should complete the exam at least once,
keeping careful track on separate sheet of paper of your answers for each problem, and bring a copy of the
exam (linked below) AND your answers to class on Tuesday, 2/11. We will go over the entire exam and review
answers. You will then be able to return to the exam in MyCR to retake the exam before 5 pm Thursday, 2/13.
1. (10 Points)
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.
2. (10 Points)
The utterance “Abortion is morally permissible” is
a.an exclamation that expresses approval.
b.not a statement.
c.a statement.
d.an implied statement.
3. (10 Points)
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
4. (10 Points)
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.
5. (10 Points)
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
6. (10 Points)
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.
7. (10 Points)
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.
8. (10 Points)
A valid deductive argument with true premises is said to be
a.strong.
b.sound.
c.fit.
d.cogent.
9. (10 Points)
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.
10. (10 Points)
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.
11. (10 Points)
A strong inductive argument with true premises is said to be
a.strong.
b.cogent.
c.valid.
d.invalid.
12. (10 Points)
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.
13. (10 Points)
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.
14. (10 Points)
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.
15. (10 Points)
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.
16. (10 Points)
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.
17. (10 Points)
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.
18. (10 Points)
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.
19. (10 Points)
What is the fallacy used in the following passage known as?
Passage: If same-sex marriage is legalized, young people will assume that being gay is socially acceptable, and
that will lead them to give into the temptation to become gay themselves. And being gay can ruin their lives.
Therefore, same-sex marriage should not be legalized.
a.straw man
b.slippery slope
c.appeal to the person
d.appeal to ignorance
20. (10 Points)
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
21. (10 Points)
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
22. (10 Points)
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
23. (10 Points)
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.