Exam 8: Valid Inferences

Using "A" and "B" describe the fallacy of Affirming the Consequent.

What is the reasoning mistake made known as Fallacy of False Composition?

Consider this passage: "'Either we'll finish the yard work in time to go to the movie, or we'll enjoy a quiet evening at home,' said John. 'I don't see us finishing in time for the movie,' said Malaya. 'It's a quiet evening at home then,' said John." We can reasonably characterize this passage as __________.

One way to evaluate an argument's logical strength is to use creative imagination. If we can come up with a counterexample, namely, a scenario in which all the premises are true but the conclusion is false, then the argument is not a valid argument.

Consider this argument: "When Caitlin was six years old she told her Mom that in school she wanted to learn how come babies grew up to look like their parents. The science that deals with that is genetics. Therefore, when she was a little girl Caitlin had already announced that she planned to major in genetics." That argument is an example of __________.

Consider this argument: "If we drive on the Pacific Coast Highway near San Francisco we can see islands off the Pacific Coast. Look! We can see islands off the Pacific Coast. So we are driving on the Pacific Coast Highway near San Francisco." That argument is an example of __________.

Using "A" and "B" describe the reasoning pattern of the valid argument template called Disjunctive Syllogism.

The grammatical structure "A unless B" is a logically equivalent to __________

Using "x," "y," and "z" express the valid inference pattern in the transitivity relationship.

Which of the following is the mark of an educated mind? For the same reason as was suggested by Aristotle, namely being educated is not the same as being able __________.

Using "A" and "B" describe the fallacy of Denying the Antecedent.

The expression "If A, then not B" is grammatically equivalent to the expression _______________

Consider this argument: "If Richard graduated with honors, then Richard maintained a GPA of 3.2 or higher. It is not the case that Richard maintained a GPA of 3.2 or higher. Therefore, Richard did not graduate with honors." That argument is an example of __________.

If the argument's premises imply or entail that the conclusion must be true if all of those premises are assumed to be true, then the argument is called ________.

The expression "A, only if B" is grammatically equivalent to the expression ________________

If the conclusion of a valid argument is false, then we know for certain that one or more of its premises is or are _________________.

Using "A" and "B" describe the reasoning pattern of the valid argument template called Denying the Consequent.

Consider this argument: "If Pepsi tasted better than Coke, then it would outsell Coke. But Pepsi does not taste better than Coke. So it will not outsell Coke." That argument is an example of __________.

Consider the reasoning expressed by the speaker in this passage: "We were having a severe midwinter cold spell. The city was running out of heating oil for private home use. So the city ordered everyone to set their home thermostats down to 65 degrees Fahrenheit during the day and 62 at night. But I set my thermostat at 67 during the day and 64 at night. I reasoned this way. It is in my best interest to cheat just a little by keeping our house a bit warmer. In fact, it is in the best interest of each person who lives in the city to do the same thing. So it follows that it is in the city's best interest if everyone were to cheat just a little." We can reasonably evaluate the speaker's inference as __________.

If we can come up with a scenario in which all the premises are true but the conclusion is false, then we know that __________.