+1 862 207 3288 ASSIGNMENT 1
This assignment should take you approximately nine hours to complete. It consists of two parts, Part A covers the material from units 2 and 3. Part B covers the material from unit 4. Part A is worth 100 marks and Part B is also worth 100 marks. So, the total possible high mark for this assignment is 200 marks.
PART A: CATEGORICAL PROPOSITION QUESTIONS
Your answers in this part of the assignment should be concise, and in enough detail so that your answer is clear and unambiguous. Remember, verbatim quotes from the text should be kept to a minimum. To be sure, in question 4 you should indicate which passages refer to the numbers in your diagram. Use the same numbering system Hurley uses when discussing extended arguments in Chapter 1. Don’t worry if you have difficulty with the questions in #4. They are rather tricky. Total possible high score for Part A = 100 marks.
1. Provide a brief explanation of the difference between the following pairs of concepts: (5 marks each. Total = 25 marks)
a. inductive arguments / deductive arguments.
b. valid argument / invalid argument.
c. strong argument / weak argument.
d. sound argument / unsound argument.
e. cogent argument / uncogent argument.
2. Explain why is it incorrect to say that an argument is true, or that a proposition is valid. (5 marks)
3. Explain the difference between inductive strength and deductive validity. (5 marks)
4. The following passages express arguments and should be diagrammed using Hurley’s method. (10 marks each. Total = 20 marks)
a. When the Meech Lake agreement was negotiated, it had the support of the Prime Minister and all provincial premiers, who represented all the major political parties. In several provinces the opposition parties voted to ratify the agreement. So politicians of all parties all across Canada strongly supported the agreement. However, the vast majority of Canadians outside Quebec and a significant minority inside Quebec were strongly opposed to the agreement. Therefore, the politicians were out of touch with the views of the people.
b. The rapidly rising cost of prescription drugs has many people near and beyond retirement age quite frightened. The majority of retirees live on fixed incomes from Social Security and/or pension systems. Social Security income and pension payments increase, at most by so-called cost-of-living increments (which have been a percent or two per year for the past five years). Prescription drug prices have been growing at something like ten percent a year for that same period. This means that many retirees must choose between medicine and food. People nearing retirement anticipate being caught in the same trap that they see retirees in.
5. Answer true or false to the following questions concerning definitions. Also provide 2 sentences of explanation for each answer. You should try to be concise. Don’t repeat what you have read in the text. The majority of the marks awarded for each question will depend on your explanation. (3 marks each. Total marks = 15)
a. All words have an intensional meaning and an extensional meaning.
b. The extension of a term always remains the same with the passage of time.
c. Some terms have empty intension.
d. The order of increasing intension is always the same as that of decreasing extension.
e. The terms “Leprechaun” and “unicorn” have the same extension.
6. Consider the following argument.
“Paul likes Mary. Mary likes Peter. Therefore, Paul likes Peter.”
While this argument may appear to be deductively valid it is not. Explain why. (10 marks)
7. “Adult” (as applied to humans) is a vague term. For what purposes might a précising definition of “adult” be required? Provide one example. (5 marks)
8. Provide two persuasive definitions of the term ‘abortion,’ one definition should be positive and the other negative. (5 marks)
9. Can a demonstrative (ostensive) definition be provided for the number 5? Explain why or why not. (5 marks)
10. Formulate an operational definition for the term “bitter” as used in the statement “This lime tastes bitter.” (5 marks)
PART B
In this part of the assignment, some of the questions will ask you to provide examples of the various fallacies. Being able to generate an appropriate example is a sign that you understand the fallacy in question. Do not use examples from the text. Be original and think up your own examples. When you are asked to “compare and contrast” particular informal fallacies, you should ensure that you concisely state the fallacies to be compared and how they differ from each other. This part of the assignment consists of 10 questions. Total possible high score for Part B = 100 marks.
1. Hurley characterizes one type of informal fallacy as “Fallacies of Relevance.” Explain what makes a fallacy a fallacy of relevance. Provide an example and explain why it is a fallacy of relevance. (10 marks)
2. Hurley characterizes one type of informal fallacy as “Fallacies of Weak Induction.” Explain what makes a fallacy a fallacy of weak induction. Provide an example and explain why it is a fallacy of weak induction. (10 marks)
3. Explain the difference between an informal fallacy and a formal fallacy. Provide an example of each type. (10 marks)
In the following questions (4)-(10), identify the informal fallacy in the passage, and explain how the supposed argument in the passage involves that fallacy. The passages are deliberately fallacious and may display the characteristics of more than one fallacy. If this is the case, indicate what you consider to be the dominant fallacy and explain why you consider it to be the dominant fallacy in the passage. (Each question is worth 10 marks)
4. Roughly a million children a year, worldwide, die from iodine deficiency disorder. Several million more are left mentally or physically handicapped each year by the lack of about a nickel’s worth of iodine. It is our undeniable responsibility to contribute enough money to eradicate this easily prevented condition.
5. Despite claims by hundreds of people that they have been abducted by aliens, we have never found concrete evidence of alien visitation to Earth. This proves conclusively that aliens don’t exist.
6. Dr. Tom Jones has been promoting a new diet, based on a combination of diets which are published by the American Heart Association and the American Diabetes Association. He claims that the best way to ‘get all the details of his diet’ is to buy his new book, A Life of Eating. That makes it pretty clear that there’s no reason to believe his diet will work–it’s just his scam to make money.
7. As your instructor I have spent hours refining the definitions of the various fallacies of relevance. The description offered of each of them is as unambiguous as I can make it. On your next examination you will be asked to define several of the fallacies. If you do not define them in the exact terms in which I have presented them, you can expect your grade to be severely reduced.
8. The Bible is the unquestioned word of God. How do we know this? Jesus said it is. And how do we know what Jesus said is true? He’s the son of God. How do we know that? The Bible tells us that He is. And what it says must be right because it’s the Word of God.
9. There is a need to have laws periodically re-examined and to repeal those that are causing problems. “Einstein’s Laws” are an immediate candidate for repeal. Since Einstein’s Laws prevent us from developing faster-than-light space drive, we can’t get to the stars. And since we want to get there, we ought to repeal them as soon as we can.
10. About every fifth child born in the world today is Chinese. Jim, our racially prejudiced Caucasian neighbour, is really going to flip out when his expected fifth child is born because, as a fifth child, it will be Chinese.
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