UI Statements Critical Thinking and Reasoning Questions – Description
Answer the following questions from Chapter 1 of Concise Guide to Critical Thinking:
Exercise 1.2: Answer #2, 3, 5, 6, 8, 9 (Answer the question and explain why)
Exercise 1.3: Answer #2, 3, 6, 9 (Answer the question and explain why)
Exercise 1.4: Answer #2, 9, 11 (State the argument in standard format)
Exercise 1.6: Answer #4 (This is an argument, so DO NOT write “this is not an argument”; State the argument in standard format). For an example, please see this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0NwENPreGY
Exercise 1.2
For each of the following sentences, indicate whether it is or is not a statement.
2. Do not allow your emotions to distort your thinking.
3. If someone wants to burn the American flag, they should be able to do it without interference from the police.
5. Should our religious beliefs be guided by reason, emotion, or faith?
6. Stop driving on the left side of the road!
8. The Vietnam War was not a terrible mistake.
9. I shall do my best to do my duty to God and my country.
Exercise 1.3
For each of the following passages indicate whether it constitutes an argument. For each argument specify what the conclusion is.
2. Do you think the upcoming election will change anything?
3. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
9. Spiderman is a better superhero than Superman because kryptonite can’t hurt him, and he doesn’t have a Lois Lane around to mess things up.
Exercise 1.4
For each of the following passages indicate whether it constitutes an argument. For each argument specify both the conclusion and the premises.
2. You have neglected your duty on several occasions, and you have been absent from work too many times. Therefore, you are not fit to serve in your current capacity.
9. Witches are real. They are mentioned in the Bible. There are many people today who claim to be witches. And historical records reveal that there were witches in Salem.
11. Vaughn’s car is old. It is beat up. It is unsafe to drive. Therefore, Vaughn’s car is ready for the junkyard.
Exercise 1.6
For each of the following passages, determine if there is an argument present. If so, identify the premises and the conclusion.
4. “Subjectivism claims that what makes an action [morally] right is that a person approves of it or believes that it’s right. Although subjectivism may seem admirably egalitarian in that it takes everyone’s moral judgments to be as good as everyone else’s, it has some rather bizarre consequences. For one thing, it implies that each of us is morally infallible. As long as we approve of or believe in what we are doing, we can do no wrong. But this cannot be right. Suppose that Hitler believed that it was right to exterminate the Jews. Then it was right for Hitler to exterminate the Jews. … But what … Hitler did was wrong, even if [he] believed otherwise.” [Theodore Schick, Jr., Free Inquiry Magazine]
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