Deck 2: Recognizing Arguments

Question 1

Rhetorical questions are statements.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Premises are statements that are claimed to provide evidence for another statement, the conclusion.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

Since, because, and thus are common premise indicators.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

"That is why," "which shows that," and "for this reason" are common conclusion indicators.

Question 5

Many arguments do not contain any indicator words.

Question 6

The following sentence is an argument: "Flight 336 to Rome will be delayed due to late arrival of the aircraft."

Question 7

If you have a well-established theory which says that change does not occur in the heavenly regions (regions of the sky more distant from the Earth than the moon), you will rightly discount reports of observers on a particular occasion who claim to have observed a new star to appear where there was no star before, or to have observed a comet pass through those regions (as opposed to being a mere sublunary phenomenon). (Richard Swinburne, Revelation: From Metaphor to Analogy)

A) nonargument; conditional statement
B) nonargument; illustration
C)argument; conclusion: You will rightly discount reports of observers on a particular occasionwho claim to have observed a new star to appear where there was no star before, or to have observed a comet pass through those regions (as opposed to being a mere sublunary phenomenon)
D) nonargument; unsupported assertion.

Question 8

Official world table tennis championships were first held in 1926 under the auspices of the International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF; founded in 1926). Women's doubles competition was added in 1929 and women's team competition in 1934. In 1980 the ITTF first sponsored a men's World Cup competition for the top 16 ranking players; it has been held annually since then. ("Sporting Record: Table Tennis," The New Encyclopaedia Britannica, 15^th ed.)

A) nonargument; explanation
B) nonargument; report
C) nonargument; unsupported assertion
D) argument; conclusion: It has been held annually since then.

Question 9

I believe in the United States of America as a Government of the people, by the people, for the people; whose just powers are derived from the consent of the governed; a democracy in a republic, a sovereign Nation of many sovereign States; a perfect Union one and inseparable; established upon those principles of freedom, equality, justice and humanity for which American patriots sacrificed their lives and fortunes. (William Tyler Page, "The American's Creed," quoted in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 12^th ed.)

A) nonargument; illustration
B) nonargument; conditional statement
C) nonargument; report
D) nonargument; unsupported assertion

Question 10

Although it is high time to deal with agriculture's contribution to water pollution, the damage is very uneven in scope and severity; it tends to occur where farming is extensive and fresh water resources are vulnerable. Thus, blanket regulations would be unwise. (David

A) argument; conclusion: Blanket regulations would be unwise.
B) argument; conclusion: It tends to occur where farming is extensive and fresh water resources are vulnerable.
C) nonargument; illustration
D) nonargument; explanation
E) Ervin, "Shaping a Smarter Environmental Policy for Farming")

Question 11

Since 1950, almost every top publishing house in the United States has been issuing books that its editors know to be occult garbage. Why? The answer is obvious. Like worthless diet books, they make lots of money. (Martin Gardner, The New Age: Notes of a Fringe Watcher)

A) argument; conclusion: Since 1950, almost every top publishing house in the United States has been issuing books that its editors know to be occult garbage.
B) nonargument; explanation
C) nonargument; report
D) argument; conclusion: Like worthless diet books, they make lots of money.

Question 12

This is for the lady who says she wants to vote for the opposite person who is not supported by pharmaceutical companies. Republicans support big business. Pharmaceutical companies are very, very big business. You want to vote against them? Vote Democratic. (From a newspaper call-in column)

A) nonargument; unsupported assertion
B) argument; conclusion: Republicans support big business.
C) argument; conclusion: If you want to vote against candidates who are not supported by the . pharmaceutical companies, vote Democratic.
D) argument; conclusion: Pharmaceutical companies are very, very big business.

Question 13

About a century and a half ago Matthew Arnold found in the withdrawing ocean tide a metaphor for the retreat of religious faith, and heard in the water's sound "the note of sadness." It would be wonderful to find in the laws of nature a plan prepared by a concerned creator in which human beings played some special role. I find sadness in doubting that we will. (Steven Weinberg, Dreams of a Final Theory)

A) nonargument; unsupported assertion
B) argument; conclusion: I find sadness in doubting that we will.
C)argument; conclusion: It would be wonderful to find in the laws of nature a plan prepared by a concerned creator in which human beings played some special role.
D) nonargument; explanation

Question 14

Life can throw us some curves at times that are not always easy to handle. We can often feel lost, uncertain and upset. With so much to do and think about, we may become confused; not sure how to feel or what to do with our feelings. A natural reaction to stress, disappointment and losses in our lives is to feel down. But it's important to know that when these feelings are severe or continue for a long time, you may be experiencing depression--a disorder that requires professional help. (First Priority Health Brochure)

A) argument; conclusion: Life can throw us some curves at times that are not always easy to handle.
B) nonargument; report or unsupported assertion
C) argument; conclusion: But it's important to know that when these feelings are severe or continue for a long time, you may be experiencing depression--a disorder that requires professional help.
D) nonargument; illustration

Question 15

In a thoroughly naturalistic universe, it would be hard to see how any of our gestures toward meaning could be efficacious in any way at all. For this reason, the debate about the existence of God is never just an intellectual controversy. (Tom Morris, Philosophy for Dummies)

A) argument; conclusion: In a thoroughly naturalistic universe, it would be hard to see how any of our gestures toward meaning could be efficacious in any way at all.
B) nonargument; explanation
C) argument; conclusion: The debate about the existence of God is never just an intellectual controversy.
D) nonargument; conditional statement

Question 16

There can be no defense of eating flesh in terms of satisfying nutritional needs, since it has been established beyond doubt that we could satisfy our need for protein and other essential nutrients far more efficiently with a diet that replaced animal flesh by soy beans, or products derived from soy beans, and other high-protein vegetable products. (Peter Singer, Animal Liberation)

A) nonargument; explanation
B) argument; conclusion: It has been established beyond doubt that we could satisfy our need for protein and other essential nutrients far more efficiently with a diet that replaced animal flesh by soy beans, or products derived from soy beans, and other high-protein vegetable products.
C) argument; conclusion: There can be no defense of eating flesh in terms of satisfying nutritional needs.
D) nonargument; unsupported assertion

Question 17

If moms would stay home and be moms the way they're supposed to be instead of trying to act like men, we wouldn't have the trouble we're having with our children today. (From a newspaper call-in column)

A) argument; conclusion: Moms should stay home and be moms the way they're supposed to be instead of trying to act like men.
B) nonargument; conditional statement
C) nonargument; unsupported assertion
D) argument; conclusion: We wouldn't have the trouble we're having with our children today.

Question 18

Simple distinctions come all too easily. Frequently we open the way for later puzzlement by restricting the options we take to be available. So, for example, in contrasting science and religion, we often operate with a simple pair of categories. On one side there is science, proof, and certainty; on the other, religion, conjecture, and faith. (Philip Kitcher, Abusing Science: The Case Against Creationism)

A) nonargument; conditional statement
B) argument; conclusion: For example, in contrasting science and religion, we often operate with a simple pair of categories.
C) argument; conclusion: Simple distinctions come all too easily.
D) nonargument; illustration

Question 19

He that makes use of the light and faculties God has given him and seeks sincerely to discover truths by those helps and abilities he has, may have this satisfaction in doing his duty as a rational creature, that, though he should miss truth, he will not miss the reward of it. For he governs his assent right, and places it as he should, who, in any case or matter whatsoever, believes or disbelieves, according as his reason directs him. (John Locke, An Essay Concerning Human Understanding)

A) nonargument; conditional statement
B) nonargument; unsupported assertion
C) nonargument; explanation
D)argument; conclusion: He that makes use of the light and faculties God has given him and seeks sincerely to discover truths by those helps and abilities he has, may have this satisfaction in doing his duty as a rational creature, that, though he should miss truth, he will not miss the reward of it.

Question 20

Without really knowing it, many students inwardly believe that it is possible to acquire knowledge without thought, that it is possible to read without exerting any intellectual energy, and that good writing is not a product of practice and hard work but of a talent one is born with. As a result, they are not inclined to take any responsibility for their own learning or to put any effort into learning new modes of thinking. (Foundation for Critical Thinking, Critical Thinking: Basic Theory and Instructional Structures)

A) nonargument; explanation
B) argument; conclusion: They are not inclined to take any responsibility for their own learning or to put any effort into learning new modes of thinking.
C) nonargument; report
D) nonargument; unsupported assertion

Question 21

We do not choose to be born. We do not choose our parents. We do not choose our historical epoch, the country of our birth, or the immediate circumstances of our upbringing. We do not, most of us, choose to die, nor do we choose the time or conditions of our death. But within all this realm of choicelessness, we do choose how we shall live: courageously or in cowardice, honorably or dishonorably, with purpose or in drift. (Joseph Epstein, Ambition: The Secret Passion) Aargument; conclusion: Within all this realm of choicelessness, we do choose how we shall live: courageously or in cowardice, honorably or dishonorably, with purpose or in drift.

A)argument; conclusion: Within all this realm of choicelessness, we do choose how we shall live: courageously or in cowardice, honorably or dishonorably, with purpose or in drift.
B) nonargument; explanation
C)nonargument; unsupported assertion
D) nonargument; conditional statement

Question 22

I would like to voice my opinion on what pet shops should sell. Cats, dogs, birds, fish are OK, but rodents, reptiles should not be caged and should remain in their own environment. I think that they should do something to stop them from profiting on these creatures. (From a newspaper call-in column)

A) nonargument; explanation
B) argument; conclusion: They should do something to stop them from profiting on these creatures.
C) nonargument; unsupported assertion
D ) argument; conclusion: Cats, dogs, birds, fish are OK, but rodents, reptiles should not be caged and should remain in their own environment.

Question 23

The heavily cratered lunar highlands speak to us of an early epoch in the history of the solar system when cratering was much more common than it is today; the present population of interplanetary debris fails by a large factor to account for the abundance of the highland craters. (Carl Sagan, Broca's Brain: Reflections on the Romance of Science)

A) argument; conclusion: The heavily cratered lunar highlands speak to us of an early epoch in the history of the solar system when cratering was much more common than it is today.
B) argument; conclusion: The present population of interplanetary debris fails by a large factor to account for the abundance of the highland craters.
C) nonargument; report
D) nonargument; explanation

Question 24

Let's get this straight now. Guns, evil. Abortion, good. Restrictions on gun ownership. Federal protection of abortion clinics and abortionists. Register your guns, but you don't have to tell your parents or the father you're having an abortion. A relative handful of kids tragically get killed because a few people went beserk or played with their daddy's gun; but thousands of kids are killed every year by abortion. Guns evil? Abortion good? There is something really, really wrong going on here. (From a newspaper call-in column)

A) nonargument; unsupported assertion
B) nonargument; conditional statement
C) argument; conclusion: Guns are good and abortion is evil.
D) argument; conclusion; There is something really, really wrong here.

Question 25

It is very easy for Pope John Paul II to urge Catholics to attend Sunday mass, especially in Rome, where one can be surrounded by hundreds of priests. Out here in the real world there is a serious shortage of male priests; those who remain increasingly preside over lackluster liturgies. This situation could be alleviated by allowing married priests into active ministry and by the Catholic Church's recognition of female priests. (Mary Louise Hartman, Letter to the Editor, New York Times)

A) nonargument; report
B) argument; conclusion: The Catholic Church should recognize female priests and allow married priests into active ministry.
C) nonargument; explanation
D) nonargument; unsupported assertion

Question 26

I worry that to promote science as all fun and larky and easy is to store up trouble for the future. Real science can be hard (well, challenging to give it a more positive spin) but, like classical literature or playing the violin, worth the struggle. If children are lured into science, or any other worthwhile occupation, by the promise of easy fun, what are they going to do when they finally have to confront the reality? (Richard Dawkins, Unweaving the Rainbow: Science, Delusion, and the Appetite for Wonder)

A) argument; conclusion: Real science can be hard, but is worth the struggle.
B) nonargument; explanation
C) argument; conclusion: By promoting science as all fun and larky and easy we may be storing up trouble for the future.
D) nonargument; report

Question 27

We can acquire a more profound understanding of events by recognizing their significance in Christ; thus the crossing of the Red Sea is a sign or type of Christ's victory and also of Christian baptism. (The Catechism of the Catholic Church)

A) argument; conclusion: We can acquire a more profound understanding of events by recognizing their significance in Christ.
B) argument; conclusion: The crossing of the Red Sea is a sign or type of Christ's victory and also of Christian baptism.
C) nonargument; illustration
D) nonargument; explanation

Question 28

Cells are the smallest independent units of life, and all life as we know it depends on the many chemical activities of cells. Some of the basic functions of cells are growth, metabolism, irritability, and reproduction. Cells vary in size from a sperm, which is about 5 micrometers (five-millionths of a meter) long, to a nerve cell with thin fibers that may be more than a meter long. (Robert Carola, John P. Harley, and Charles R. Noback, Human Anatomy and Physiology, 2^nd ed.)

A) unsupported assertion
B) argument
C) report
D) illustration
E) explanation

Question 29

Large-scale reductions in class size will likely lower the average quality of teachers: first, because to hire additional teachers school districts must reach into the lower-quality segment of the teacher pool; and, second, because a given budget will be spread among a higher number of teachers, thereby limiting potential increases in teacher salaries. (Jane Hannaway and Robert I. Lerman, Letter to the Editor, The New Republic)

A) unsupported assertion
B) report
C) conditional statement
D) argument
E) explanation

Question 30

All organisms that have ever lived-every animal and plant, every bacteria and all fungi, every creeping thing, and all readers of this book-can look back at their ancestors and make the following proud claim: not a single one of our ancestors died in infancy. They all reached adulthood, and every single one was capable of finding at least one heterosexual partner and of successfully copulating. (Richard Dawkins, River Out of Eden)

A) conditional statement
B) report or unsupported assertion
C) argument
D) explanation
E) illustration

Question 31

Banning sweets from your household doesn't necessarily mean your child will grow up shunning sugary treats. Just the opposite is true, in fact: In a recent study, children who had just eaten a full meal were put in a room with a table piled with sweets. Even though they weren't hungry, children who were not usually allowed to have such treats gorged on the cakes and cookies, says researcher Leann Birch, Ph.D., professor of human development at Pennsylvania State University of Health and Human Development. Meanwhile, those kids whose parents regularly permitted such sweets in moderation hardly touched them. (Laura Flynn McCarthy, "Six Nutrition Rules Even Smart Moms Don't Know")

A) report
B) explanation
C) argument
D) unsupported assertion
E) conditional statement

Question 32

For six months after Pearl Harbor, nearly everything in the Pacific went Japan's way. Britain's supposedly impregnable colony at Singapore fell easily. American naval garrisons in the Philippines and on Guam and Wake Islands were overwhelmed, and American and Filipino armies were forced to surrender at Bataan and Corregidor in the Philippines. Other Japanese forces steamed southward to menace Australia. Then the tide turned. (John M. Murrin, et. al., Liberty, Equality, Power: A History of the American People, 2^nd ed.)

A) conditional statement
B) report
C) argument
D) unsupported assertion
E) explanation

Question 33

Medieval painting had presented life as an allegory; the Renaissance preferred realism. The Medieval painters posed their figures frontally, impersonally; the Renaissance developed psychological characterization and the art of portraiture. Medieval painting dealt in stereotypes; the Renaissance concerned itself with individuals. Space in medieval painting was organized in a succession of planes over which the eye traveled as over a series of episodes. The Renaissance created unified space and the simultaneous seeing of the whole. It discovered landscape, created the illusion of distance, and opened up endless vistas upon the physical loveliness of the world. (Joseph Machlis and Kristine Forney, The Enjoyment of Music: An Introduction to Perceptive Listening)

A) illustration
B) argument
C) unsupported assertion
D) conditional statement
E) report

Question 34

If it be true Christianity to dive with a passionate charity into the darkest recesses of misery and vice, to irrigate every quarter of the earth with the fertilizing stream of an almost boundless benevolence,
And to include all the sections of humanity in the circle of an intense and efficacious sympathy; if it
Be true Christianity to destroy or weaken the barriers which had separated class from class and nation from nation, to free war from its harshest elements, and to make a consciousness of essential equality and of genuine fraternity dominate over all accidental differences; if it be, above all, true Christianity to cultivate a love of truth for its own sake, a spirit of candour and of tolerance towards those with whom we differ-if these be the marks of a true and healthy Christianity, then never since the days of the Apostles has it been so vigorous as at present. (W. E. H. Lecky, History of the Rise and Influence of the Spirit of Rationalism in Europe)

A) report
B) conditional statement
C) argument
D) explanation
E) unsupported assertion

Question 35

The California Psychological Inventory (CPI) was initially developed and first published by Harrison Gough in 1957. Thirty years later Gough revised his inventory by adding several new scales and revamping or eliminating a number of dated, sexist, or difficult to read items. The current version of the CPI contains 462 true-false items designed to measure various facets of the normal personality. It is intended to be used with both adolescents and adults to predict how individuals will behave and react in a variety of interpersonal situations. (Kevin R. Murphy and Charles O. Davidshofer, Psychological Testing: Principles and Applications, 4^th ed.)

A) illustration
B) report
C) argument
D) explanation
E) unsupported assertion