Exam 11: Analogical Reasoning

Because I've dropped my watch in a pond, worn it in the rain, and had it on me while swimming, my belief in its quality is more justified now than when the sales- person first demonstrated it to me.

"I have been to McDonald's in New York City, in Los Angeles, and in London-and in all three places, the French fries have tasted exactly the same.Because of these three experiences, I am confident in saying that McDonald's French fries taste the same everywhere." This argument's strength rests on the criterion of:

Matching: -In order for a refutation by logical analogy to be successful, the counteranalogy needs to have a form ________ to that of the original.

"Getting up in the morning and going to work without taking a morning jog is like expecting your car to drive without first turning on the engine." Which of the following counteranalogies most decisively refutes this reasoning?

One serious disanalogy always tends to weaken an analogy, regardless of the fact that the two things being compared may have a great many similarities.

To be deductively valid, an argument by analogy must pass all six of the criteria for appraising analogical arguments.

"I have always liked Fords.They are great cars: you'll get at least 200,000 miles on an Escort; it will never break down!" What is the best way to make this claim even stronger?

Matching: -An argument is _________ when its conclusion is made less bold.

Matching: -Pointing out a ________ is often the same as detecting the fallacy of accident.

Matching: -In a refuting analogy, the conclusion should be known to be ________.

"This chef is from the south of France-the same place that Chef Picard is from! We should dine at his restaurant as soon as we can!" On which criterion is this analogical argument rather weak?

If I have always had excellent advice from my best friend, and another friend asks me how good her advice is, my claim will be stronger if I say that her advice has been pretty good instead of excellent.

Matching: -The more dissimilar the instances mentioned in the premises of an analogical argu- ment are, the ________ the argument is.

Zibby has taken four logic courses in college, and has liked them all.So she decides to take one more, expecting that she will like it, too.Which of the following addi- tional pieces of information would make this conclusion more probable?

It is not possible to logically refute an analogy, even if the counteranalogy has exactly the same form, because analogical reasoning is inductive, which means that the premises never support the conclusion with certainty.

"What do you mean I should be careful eating this chili? I have been to Wendy's for lunch every day since 1985-except for Sundays and holidays.Each time, I have eaten chili, and each time it has been great.It has never caused me the least bit of discomfort, either.I conclude from this that Wendy's chili will not cause me discomfort now." The speaker's argument relies mostly on the criterion of:

"Compromising with an enemy in your midst is like trying to reason with a cancer in the body.The doctor does not compromise with the cancer-he cuts it out before it can spread." Of the choices below, which counteranalogy most decisively refutes this argument?

"I have been to Florida two times.Each time, I had great weather and a great time. I conclude, therefore, that Florida is a great place to vacation." What would be the best way to make this conclusion stronger?

"" I don't care that you think that you and your silly friend have so much in com-mon. You may be the same age, and weight, and height; you may even both likePokémon and pizza. But that doesn't matter: he comes from a Baptist family, andwe are Buddhist." This speaker's argument rests on the criterion of:

Which conclusion would make an argument the strongest?