Please do not write on this quiz!
Critical Thinking
Quiz #3: Chapter Two
Problems 1-5 True/False: A = True and B = False (1 point each)
1. An argument, as that term is used in critical thinking, is a quarrel or dispute between two or more
persons.
2. Every argument must have at least one premise and a conclusion.
3. All sentences are statements.
4. Ought imperatives are only expressions of personal opinion and so should not be considered
statements.
5. An illustration is an attempt to prove a claim is true, i.e. provide support for the claim, by giving
examples.
Problems 6-10 Multiple Choice: (1 point each)
6. Which of the following is best treated as non-statement?
a. That’s a bunch of malarkey! (Said by Joe Biden during the Vice Presidential debates)
b. If philosophy is dangerous then nothing is safe.
c. Can’t you understand that without justice there will be no peace?
d. Eat your spinach. (Said by a parent to their child)
7. Statements in an argument offered as evidence or reasons in support of another statement are called
a. justifiers
b. explanans
c. premises
d. conclusions
8. Which of the following is an example of a conditional statement?
a. Presidential candidates should not pander to public opinion.
b. Rick will choose either Sarah or Jeb as his running mate.
c. If Mitt maintains his present momentum, he will likely win the Republican nomination.
d. No President has ever been re-elected during a recession.
9 According to the Principle of Charity, one should
a. always attribute to an arguer a stronger argument when they have failed to provide sufficient
reasons in support of their conclusion.
b. never attribute to an arguer a bad argument when the evidence reasonably permits us to interpret
it as not an argument at all.
c. attempt to fix the errors we find in the arguments of others in order to make them stronger.
d. accept the arguments of others unless we have absolute proof that their conclusions are false.
10. Consider the following Conditional Statement: “If you can’t say something nice then don’t say anything
at all.” In the statement, what is the proper term for the phrase, “you can’t say something nice?”
a. premise
b. antecedent
c. consequent
d. precedent
Problems 11-14: Identify whether the following sentences are A = statements or B = non-statements (1 point
each)
11. Step out of the car with your hands up. (Sheriff to motorist)
12. One should never mix ammonia and chlorine while cleaning house.
13. When will the public realize that “single payer” healthcare is socialism?
14. What is the true nature of justice?
Problems 15-20: Indicate whether the given passage is an A = argument, B = explanation, or C = neither an
argument nor an explanation. (1 point each)
15. God made man because he loves good stories. (Elie Wiesel, quoted in James E. Hutchingson, Religion
and the Natural Sciences: The Range of Engagment, 1993)
16. Capital punishment should be abolished since it is barbaric and sometimes leads to the execution of
innocents.
17. President Obama should approve the building of the Keystone pipeline because it will create jobs and
reduce dependence on Middle Eastern oil.
18. We hear the crack of a bullwhip because its tip is moving faster than the speed of sound, creating a
shock wave, a small sonic boom. (Carl Sagan, Cosmos, 1980)
19. If the inexpressible cruelties of slavery could not stop us, the opposition we now face will surely fail.
We will win our freedom because the sacred heritage of our nation and the eternal will of God are
embodied in our echoing demands. (Martin Luther King, Jr., Letter from Birmingham Jail, 1963)
20. If you are skeptical about everything, then you must be skeptical of your own skepticism. (Michael
Shermer, Why People Believe Weird Things, 1997)
For problems 21-24, please use the answer sheet provided by the instructor
Quiz # 3, Chapter Two
Answer Sheet
Name
21. Circle all premise indicator words and underline all conclusion indicator words in the following argument.
(2 points)
Considering that the 14th amendment was adopted to protect minority groups from
discrimination, and since the practices of large corporations have proved discriminatory toward
women, it follows that some large corporations are operating in an unconstitutional manner.
Problems 22-24: Analyze the following arguments placing the premises (P) and conclusion (C) in the spaces
provided. Translate any non-statement language into statement form when appropriate. (For example, if the
author uses a rhetorical question or a command, but intends to assert that something is true, change the
grammatical form into statement form.)
(3 points each)
22. If ill will were the chief motive-force, the world would have been destroyed long ago. Thus, love is the
greater force, for we are alive today. (Adapted from Gandhi, Satyagraha and Tapasya, 1917)
P1
P2
C
23. When the universe has crushed him man will still be nobler than that which kills him, because he knows
that he is dying, and of its victory the universe knows nothing. (Blaise Pascal, 1993)
P1
P2
C
24. Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be
too eager to deal out death in judgment. For even the wise cannot see all ends. (Gandalf in J.R.R. Tolkien,
The Lord of the Rings, 1954)
P1
P2
P3
P4
C