This is a closed book examination but dictionaries are allowed, even electronic ones. No notes, however, can be consulted during the examination. No mp3 players or cell phones can be accessed. It is worth 25% of your final course.
You have 75 minutes to complete this examination. Use your time well.
Part I (30%) For each of the following passages, determine whether it contains an example of self-interested thinking, face-saving or group pressure. If it contains group pressure, determine whether it is an instance of peer pressure or appeal to popularity. (5 marks each)
1.
Rebecca has believed that guardian angels exist after she witnessed her mother miraculously recover from a near fatal car accident. She called upon them at the time and her mother was saved. She reasons that statistics indicate that most people believe in angels, even as her skeptical friends make fun of her. Even though they love and admire her, they like to joke about angels.
SELF INTERESTED THINKING AND SOME APPEAL TO POPULARITY.
2.
An association called Parents Against Drugs (PAD) has learned that a grade 12 student, an 18 year old, smokes marijuana at school everyday. Although his school has allowed this to happen because the student uses the substance for known and justified medical purposes, PAD is sure that this student’s behavior is encouraging other kids to try cannabis. Alarmed, they meet the
Principal and the next day, the Principal announces that this student is no longer allowed to smoke marijuana on school premises. He is told that he will be suspended if he does not comply. He does not comply and is promptly suspended.
GROUP PRESSURE, SPECIFICALLY APPEAL TO POPULARITY. THE ASSOCIATION IS NOT A
PEER GROUP FOR THE GRADE 12 STUDENT. THE PRINCIPAL CAVES INTO PRESSURE FROM
THE PAD.
3.
I don’t care that you have provided me 10 facts about why I should quit eating food at Wendy’s.
Why not try to give me 20 more? I could care less. I like the food and I don’t care what anyone else says.
SELF INTERESTED THINKING.
4.
Since Fareeda has studied at the Sorbonne in France, she has seen a decrease in Muslim students. She explains this by referring to the new government policies that include outlawing the wearing of the hijab in public service. She claims the policies have attracted the resistance of
Muslim students. But her friend, Natal, herself a Muslim, shows her statistical evidence that the
Sorbonne has recently recruited more Muslim students from Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. Fareeda

laughs and admits to Natal that she was joking. Her non-Muslim friends listening in also laugh along with her. Therefore, Fareeda must think very highly of Natal.
FAREEDA USES FACE SAVING AS A DEFENSE AND CHANGES HER VIEWS BECAUSE
SHE WISHES TO SAVE FACE IN FRONT OF HER PEERS AND FRIENDS.
5.
The Intelligent Design Theory, which most Evangelical Christian Church groups accept, gives us reason to think that the universe is not an accident but requires a creator. I cannot think of my life being meaningful without a creator.
SELF INTERESTED THINKING. THE ECC GROUPS DO NOT PRESSURE ANYONE.
6.
Martin is suspended from school for watching Youtube videos about Critical Thinking during his social studies class. While his school initially allowed laptops to be used in class, the School Board decided that the improper use of laptops could result in the suspension up to 1 week. Martin cannot believe it and insists that it is his right to use his laptop as he wishes, even if this means watching snuff films in class. The School Board is idiotic, he says, because it is only interested in thought control. He insists that he needs to do his own thing in school if he is to stay in school and graduate.
MARTIN ENGAGES IN SELF INTERESTED THINKING BUT HIS SCHOOL IS PRESSURED
BY THE SCHOOL BOARD TO CHANGE ITS INITIAL POSITION. THIS IS TO BE SURE A
STRONG HINT OF APPEAL TO POPULARITY DUE TO THE PRESSURE.
Part II (20%) For each of the following stand alone statements, determine whether to accept it, reject it or proportion your belief to the evidence. (5 marks each)
1.
Having a motor vehicle license qualifies you as a good driver.
QUALITY OF REASON WAS VERY IMPORTANT FOR ALL QUESTIONS. Some decent reasons for rejecting include citing the many collisions caused by licensed drivers: personal experiences of poor, dangerous, risky drivers. Reasons against may include the fact that licensing only insures that the driver can follow the rules of the road. Several students mentioned the television program, Canada’s Worst Driver, as a reason to reject. Reasons to accept this claim include how passing the tests means that one can sufficiently control the vehicle in real-life situations, and so on. It is difficult to accept this claim without many qualifying reasons. It is much easier to reject.
2.
UFO researchers have announced that old 1947 Kodachrome slides, photographs discovered recently and which show a humanoid being, prove that the UFO incident at Roswell New Mexico actually occurred in 1947.
In general, this one is best proportioned belief to evidence. It is difficult to outright reject for many reasons. One would have to know that this is not the case. It cannot, however, simply be accepted. Reasons for include how something happened in Roswell, the possibility of aliens existing due to how there are billions upon billions of solar systems in the universe, etc.
However, if good reasons are presented for how aliens could not exist, then this would help the case against.

3.
Every bird in North America flies south for the winter.
This is easily rejected. If one has a pet bird, then this statement is false. This bird does not migrate. Furthermore, there are many species in Regina that do not migrate in the winter, including sparrow and chickadee.
4.
A new company called Space Monkey is now offering body enhancement procedures to help clients look like Chimpanzees. If this were not enough, it also offers flights to the edge of Earth’s atmosphere. Soon, it will, like Space X and Virgin, take clients into outer space.
As absurd as this claim may be, that does not qualify it for rejection. The lack of knowledge of all the companies in the world offering body modification does not count. Perhaps an appeal to ignorance. The best verdict is proportioning belief to evidence because there are companies that take passengers to this location, Space X and Virgin do. There are companies that do body modification to make people look anyway that they want, reptilian, etc..
Part III (40%) For each argument, identify the premises and conclusions, diagram the argument and determine whether it is inductive or deductive. Then, assess its degree of strength if it is inductive, assess whether it is valid or not if it is deductive. Proceed to assess whether the argument is cogent or sound. (5 marks for identification of parts and diagram, 5 for correct identification of type and assessment)
1.
If you graduate from the University of Regina, you will be in a much better position to get a job than someone who does not have a university degree. You are not in a much better position for employment. Therefore, you did not graduate from the University of Regina.
This deductive argument is a Modus Tollens and is hence valid. But because the first premise is false or likely to be false, the argument is not sound.
Premises: 1. “If you graduate . . . , degree. 2. “You are not . . . . “
Conclusion: 3. “You did not graduate . . . . “
Diagram:
1 2
3
2.
Going to war against ISIS will not solve anything. These terrorists want a fight, and a war against terrorism cannot succeed.
This inductive argument has all independent premises and because it does not follow any deductive pattern, we know this is the case.

Premises: 2. These terrorists want a fight. 3. A war against terrorism cannot succeed.
Conclusion: 1. Going to war against ISIS will not solve anything.
Diagram.
2 3
1
As for strength and cogency, we begin with the second premise. If true, it would easily support the conclusion. It assumes very little and we cannot get from this premise to any opposite conclusion. The argument, due to this, is strong. There are good reasons to accept the premise as true. Historically and currently, wars against terrorism do not get resolved.
This is likely a cogent argument.
3.
One must conclude that it is a good idea to work on more logic exercises to prepare for the midterm examination. Either a student works on more exercises to prepare for the exam, or she does not study at all. It is not a good idea to not study at all.
THIS DEDUCTIVE ARGUMENT FOLLOWS THE DISJUNCTIVE PATTERN, THOUGH THE
CONCLUSION IS IMPLIED IN THE FIRST QUESTION. IT HAPPENS THE FOLLOW A VALID
PATTERN.
PREMISES: 2) EITHER A STUDENT WORKS ON MORE EXERCISES TO PREPARE FOR THE EXAM,
OR SHE DOES NOT STUDY AT ALL. 3) IT IS NOT THE CASE THAT SHE STUDIES.
CONCLUSION: 1) A STUDENT WORKS ON MORE EXERCISES TO PREPARE FOR THE EXAM.
DIAGRAM: THE SAME AS # 1 ABOVE
4.
If homophobic and xenophobic individuals are allowed to bully and intimidate gay, lesbian and transgender people, then our society is indirectly promoting intolerance and discrimination. If our society indirectly promotes intolerance and discrimination, it fosters not mental progress but emotional regress. Hence, if homophobic and xenophobic individuals are allowed to bully and intimidate the aforementioned individuals, then our society fosters not mental progress but emotional regress.
THIS IS A DEDUCTIVE ARGUMENT. STUDENTS COULD IDENTIFY IT AS A HYPOTHETICAL
SYLLOGISM OR A PURE HYPOTHETICAL SYLLOGISM.
IT IS VALID AND THERE IS A HIGH LIKELIHOOD THAT THE PREMISES ARE TRUE AND HENCE
IT IS SOUND.
DIAGRAM: 1) IF HOMOPHOBIC . . . INTOLERANCE AND DISCRIMINATION (PREMISE) 2) IF

OUR SOCIETY . . . EMOTIONAL REGRESS. (PREMISE) 3) IF HOMOPHOBIC . . . EMOTIONAL
REGRESS. (CONCLUSION)
1 2
Part IV (10%) Identify the fault (s) of reasoning, obstacles to good critical thinking or fallacies present in the following passages. This could include subjective relativism, cultural relativism and skepticism along with early fallacies like appeal to popularity, appeal to common practice and appeal to tradition and later fallacies covered in chapter 4. (2-5 questions)
1.
You are not a very good critical thinker if you cannot show how anything and everything can be doubted. I learned the importance of questioning all authority and everything I know when I completed my undergraduate degree. Besides Descartes showed how it is possible to doubt even the most obvious claim.
SKEPTICISM, UN-PHILOSOPHICAL SKEPTICISM. THE FIRST STATEMENT SHOWS THIS. THIS IS
A TYPE OF RED HERRING BECAUSE DESCARTES DID NOT SHOW THIS. HOWEVER, I DID NOT
EXPECT STUDENTS TO RECOGNIZE THIS.
2.
The golden rule can be found in many forms and expressions in every significant spiritual and religious tradition in the world. What we can conclude from this evidence is obvious! The question remains: why would anyone deny its truth and universality?
APPEAL TO TRADITION OR MAJORITY. APPEAL TO COMMON PRACTICE IS SOMEWHAT
ACCEPTABLE TO.
3.
The Gambler’s fallacy is the worst of all possible fallacies to commit. My Social Work professor said so and she has dealt with many cases of Gambling Addiction.
APPEAL TO AUTHORITY. A SOCIAL WORK PROFESSOR HAS NO EXPERTISE IN LOGIC OR
CRITICAL THINKING.
4.
Immanuel Kant was a racist who supported the right of Europe to colonize other countries. Surely we cannot accept his demonstration of the categorical, moral imperative.
A CLEAR CASE OF AD HOMINEM, POISONING THE WELL.
5.
Jean Paul Sartre is famous for saying “Alcohol for Novels, Speed for Philosophy.” His ideas and works of art were born from such addiction. We must dismiss his philosophical argument for
Existentialism.
GENETIC FALLACY, ALTHOUGH AD HOMINEM IS NOT BAD ALSO.