Answers to Selected Exercises
ANS-7
5. Thus, to deny meaningful instruction in thinking to students below a certain IQ or proficiency level
is to deny them an essential part of their humanity. from 4
6. The constitutional guarantees of freedom to speak, to choose one’s own religion, and so on, lose much
of their meaning when only some individuals are trained to evaluate and choose among competing
views. 7. Therefore, thinking instruction in elementary and
secondary education should not be limited to the honors program. from 1, 5, and 6
7. 1. All sorrow or pain is either for something that is
truly evil or for something that is apparently evil, but good in reality.
2. There is something worse than pain or sorrow for that which is truly evil, namely, either not to
reckon as evil that which is really evil or not to reject it.
3. Thus, pain or sorrow for that which is truly evil cannot be the greatest evil. from 2
4. There is something worse than sorrow or pain for that which is apparently evil, but really good,
namely, to be altogether separated from that which is truly good.
5. Thus, pain or sorrow for what is apparently evil, but good in reality, cannot be the greatest evil.
from 4 6. Therefore, it is impossible for sorrow or pain to be
man’s greatest evil. from 1, 3, and 5
10. 1. The economic cost of legal drugs is two-and-a-
half times greater than that of illicit drugs. 2. [Thus, although legalizing drugs may take the
profit motive away from the street and clandes- tine manufacturers, these drugs will continue to
be manufactured and the economic costs of drugs will still be high from 1.]
3. Drug use not only has impacts on the user, but also has serious implications for families, the commu-
nity, consumers, and others. 4. Legalizing drugs would open the f loodgates of ac-
cess to these mood-altering chemicals and would send a message that drugs are not harmful.
5. Thus, legalizing drugs would increase the risk that pilots, surgeons, and school bus drivers would use
drugs on the job. from 4 6. Thus, drug use is not a right and should never be.
from 3 and 5 7. [It is ridiculous to say that child abuse laws should be
repealed because abuse of children is escalating.] 8. Saying drugs should be legalized because drug use
is escalating is like saying child abuse laws should be repealed because abuse of children is escalating.
and provide new safeguards for their future security.
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X E R C I S E
7.3
I. 1.
Missing premise: All Mazda Miatas are convertibles. 4.
Missing premise: This is not a Honda. 7.
Missing premise subconclusion: This is a Toyota. 10.
Missing premise: Some Fords are Rangers.
II. 1.
Missing premise: Most people from Singapore speak English.
4. Missing premise subconclusion: It is not cold.
Missing premise subconclusion: It is not snowing. Missing conclusion: Uncle Fred will be coming over
for dinner. 7.
Missing premise: Today is Thursday. Missing premise: Zoe is not on the golf course.
10. Missing premise: Jay is a Hampton College student.
Missing premise: Anyone who voted the straight Republican ticket in the last election and regu-
larly attends meetings of the Young Republicans is probably a Republican.
Missing premise: Most Republicans favor a constitu- tional amendment banning abortion.
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X E R C I S E
7.4
1. 1. Asking the question “Will this be on the exam?”
indicates that your main interest is in getting through the course with a good grade rather than
in learning what the instructor has to teach. 2. The question is insulting to the teacher, who has
worked hard to put you in a position to appreciate the material—its intrinsic interest, its subtlety, its
complexity. 3. Thus, the question “Will this be on the exam?”
infuriates many instructors, and rightly so. from 1 and 2
4. Therefore, you should not ask, nor be tempted to ask, the question “Will this be on the exam?”
from 3
4. 1. Everyone needs thinking skills to meet the de-
mands of career and citizenship. 2. The highest of Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of
human needs, self-actualization, is unachievable without the ability to think productively.
3. [Maslow correctly identifies self-actualization as the highest human need.]
4. Thus, everyone needs thinking skills to realize his or her potential as a human being. from 2 and 3
