Deck 11: Analogical Reasoning

Question 1

"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?

A)People are rational agents and cancers are not.
B)If a person can be a cancer then we could call anything we don't like a disease like taxes or tornadoes.
C)A doctor who performs surgery when other less drastic measures would have worked instead is a bad doctor-perhaps even a criminal.
D)Calling people of other ethnic backgrounds "cancers" is like calling them "cockroaches"-it is certainly bigotry.

Answer 1

A doctor who performs surgery when other less drastic measures would have worked instead is a bad doctor-perhaps even a criminal.

Question 2

"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?

A)Getting up and immediately jogging around the block is like jogging right after a full meal.I wouldn't advise it.
B)Getting up in the morning and taking a morning run before going to work is like running around the track until you're exhausted just before competing in
a big race.
C)Trying to get up and jog every morning is like remembering to floss your teeth: It is the sort of New Year's resolution that does not last past January.
D)Going to work right after jogging is like filling out tax forms in your dentist's waiting room-why do this to yourself?

Answer 2

Getting up in the morning and taking a morning run before going to work is like running around the track until you're exhausted just before competing in
a big race.

Question 3

"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?

A)if I had been there a dozen times
B)if I gave more information about the state of Florida
C)if I had said where I stayed while there
D)if I had discussed other vacations not taken in Florida

Answer 3

if I had been there a dozen times

Question 4

"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?

A)saying "300000" instead of "200000"
B)saying why Fords are better than Hondas
C)estimating a bit less than "200000" and saying "almost never"
D)letting someone actually drive the Escort in questio

Question 5

"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?

A)number of entities
B)variety of instances in the premises
C)relevance
D)all of the above

Question 6

"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:

A)number of entities
B)relevance
C)variety of the instances in the premises
D)all of the above

Question 7

"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:

A)number of entities
B)relevance
C)variety of the instances in the premises
D)number of similar respects

Question 8

"" 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:

A)disanalogies
B)relevance
C)variety of the instances in the premises
D)number of similar respects

Question 9

Which conclusion would make an argument the strongest?

A)I know that we will always be together.
B)I know that we will be together for years.
C)I know that we will be friends for a long time.
D)I know that we will have a good time tomorrow.

Question 10

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?

A)Her previous logic courses have all been with the same professor but she does not know the professor teaching this course.
B)Her previous logic courses have all been in Aristotelian logic and this one is in symbolic logic.
C)Her previous logic courses have been the most exciting experiences of her life-and she has very high expectations of this one.
D)She also took logic courses in high school, and she liked them as well.

Question 11

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

Question 12

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.

Question 13

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.

Question 14

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.

Question 15

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.

Question 16

Matching:

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

A)different
B)opposite
C)similar

Question 17

Matching:

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

A)true
B)false
C)Valid

Question 18

Matching:

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

A)false premise
B)disanalogy
C)true premise

Question 19

Matching:

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

A)weakened
B)strengthened
C)lengthened

Question 20

Matching:

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

A)weaker
B)stronger
C)harder