Exam 1: Basic Concepts

Nearly all philosophers and neuroscientists reject mind-body dualism. The primary objection is that that it conflicts with the law of conservation of matter and energy in physics. The only way to accelerate matter or transform energy, including the matter and energy in your body, is to act upon it with other matter or energy. For these reasons, if your mind is going to influence the matter or energy of your brain or any other part of your body, your mind must itself be composed of matter or energy. James W. Kalat, Biological Psychology, 7^th ed.

Which of the following is a necessary condition for graduating from college?

Astrological calculations indicate that the U.S. stock market will crash in the year 2020. Therefore, you should get your money out of the market before that year.

PART A If deficits increase then the economy will stagnate. Thus, if deficits increase, then interest rates will rise, because if interest rates rise, then the economy will stagnate. Which of the following correctly expresses the form of this argument? PART B Which of the following substitutions proves the argument invalid? A) D = Tom Hanks is a man, E = Tom Hanks is a human, I = Tom Hanks is a woman. B) D = dogs, I = mammals, E = animals. C) D = Bob is a physician, E = Bob is a professional, I = Bob is a doctor. D) D = dogs, E = animals, I = cats. E) D = Halle Berry is an actor, E = Halle Berry is a woman, I = Halle Berry is a human.

Which of the following are all conclusion indicators?

Which of the following are all inductive arguments?

If growth can no longer be counted on to provide for all the major wants, private and public, of a society, or to sustain all the peripheral members of a society at a level that keeps a lid on mutinous outbreaks, especially in congested urban centers, then some specification of a nation's most serious needs-its social priorities-and some direction as to how goods are to be allocated among society's members are needed. Neil W. Chamberlain, Social Strategy and Corporate Structure

Contrary to the assurances of the fast food industry, most fast foods are loaded with fat grams. For example, KFC's Chunky Chicken Pot Pie has 42 fat grams, a Double Whopper with Cheese has 65, and an order of Mucho Grande Nachos has an incredible 82 fat grams.

To focus on the performance of the stock market is to zero in on an economic indicator that can do well even as the country does poorly. In 2006, for instance, the Dow Jones industrial average hit highs. According to the just released census data, however, median earnings fell one percent, and millions more Americans entered the ranks of the uninsured. Indeed, from 2000 to 2007 the S&P 500 gained more than 500 points. Meanwhile, the median household income fell by more than $900. Ezra Klein, "Stock Split"

If a deductive argument has one true premise and a true conclusion, then we know:

Given that figure A is a triangle, and one of its sides has a length of 1 foot. It follows that its area is less than 1 square foot.

If organic food contains pesticides, then consumers are misled. Organic food does not contain pesticides. Therefore, consumers are not misled.

Radio show host Frank Weltner, who is a neo-Nazi white supremacist, says that all immigration from Mexico must stop immediately. Therefore, we must take Mr. Weltner at his word and call a halt to Mexican immigration.

The Titanic sank on its maiden voyage in 1912 because it collided with an iceberg. Four of the ship's 16 watertight compartments could have been flooded without the ship sinking. However the iceberg tore several gashes in the hull, flooding 5 of these compartments.

Cows' milk is hardly the perfect food, as the American Dairy Association would have us believe. Whole milk consumed in large quantities can raise blood cholesterol levels and contribute to heart disease. Studies have indicated a connection between the sugars in milk and ovarian cancer. The proteins in cows' milk can cause the body to develop antibodies that can lead to diabetes, and in a fourth of the population milk causes bloating, flatulence, and sometimes diarrhea. Jane Brody, "Debate over Milk: Time to Look at the Facts"

Oxygen makes up almost 21 percent of our present atmosphere. It is essential to modern life for two reasons. First, oxygen is what we must inhale so that our bodies can 'burn' (oxidize) food, releasing energy to our cells. Second, we depend on oxygen for protection from the ultraviolet radiation from the sun that constantly bombards our planet. Harold V. Thurman, Essentials of Oceanography, 5th. ed.

If beauty pageants are abolished, then our sense of values will improve. Beauty pageants will not be abolished. Therefore, our sense of values will not improve.

During the past 80 years, the number of Model T Fords on the highway has steadily fallen while the number of deaths from lung cancer has steadily risen. Thus, to reduce the number of deaths from lung cancer we should bring back the Model T Ford.

The exchange of energy between an organism and its surroundings involves the transformation of one form of energy into another. For example, when a leaf produces sugar, it converts solar energy to chemical energy in sugar molecules. When an animal's muscle cells use sugar as fuel to power movements, they convert chemical energy into kinetic energy. All of the work of cells involves the transformation of chemical energy (which is ordered) into heat, which is the unordered energy of random molecular motion. Neil A. Campbell and Jane B. Reece, Biology, 6^th edition

Brandon is a polytheist. Therefore, he believes in more than one god.