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repealed because abuse of children is escalating.] 8.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is escalating is like saying child abuse laws should be repealed because abuse of children is escalating.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.
E
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.
E
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
ANS-8
Answers to Selected Exercises
III. 1. Answers will vary. Pertinent counterpoints
include: Not all colleges cost a fortune. Often students who were bored in high school f ind that
they enjoy college work. Though jobs like truck- ing and construction may be relatively high-
paying, the work may be more dangerous, less enjoyable, less prestigious, and less secure than
many jobs that require a college education. The difference in earning power may also be greater
than this individual supposes. Studies consistently show that college graduates make on average
about 45 percent more than those who have only a high school diploma.
4. Answers will vary. Some pertinent counterpoints include: Although the meaning of the Second
Amendment is hotly debated, few would argue that the “right to bear arms” extends to military-style
weapons that are neither necessary for personal protection nor suitable for hunting. Moreover,
the risks of legalizing such weapons would seem to outweigh the gains. The risks of foreign inva-
sion or a breakdown of society are probably pretty remote. By contrast, the risk that such weapons
could fall into the hands of criminals or be used in Columbine-type massacres, domestic disputes,
and accidental shootings is high.
7. Answers will vary. Pertinent points that arguably weaken or refute the argument include: There is
a likelihood that legalizing hard drugs would lead to greatly increased use and addiction rates, with
all the personal and societal costs this would en- tail: more overdoses, hospitalizations, car accidents,
industrial accidents, suicides, family break-ups, unemployable workers, lower productivity, and so
forth. Legalizing hard drugs would also likely make these drugs more readily available to children and
implicitly send a message that these drugs aren’t harmful.
C
HAPTER
9
E
XERCISE
9.1
1.
Artichokes Fruits
4.
Skateboarders Jazz fans
X 9. [Thus, it is ridiculous to say that drugs should be
legalized because drug use is escalating from 7 and 8.]
10. Common sense and state experiments with the decriminalization of marijuana in the 1970s tell us
that when there are fewer controls, there will be more incidents.
11. America’s two favorite legal drugs—alcohol and nicotine—have a tremendous negative impact on
the physiological, social, psychological, economic, and spiritual aspects of our lives.
12. Thus, if drugs were legalized, hospitalizations, crimes, car accidents, addicted babies, industrial
accidents, family break-ups, and other problems affiicting our society would worsen significantly.
from 10 and 11 13. [Therefore, drugs should not be legalized from 2,
6, 9, and 12.]
C
HAPTER
8
E
XERCISE
8.3
I. 1. The statement is self-refuting. If no statements are
true, then the statement that no statements are true isn’t true either. So, if the statement is true, it’s
false, which is a contradiction. 4. The statement is self-refuting. If no beliefs are jus-
tified, then the belief that no beliefs are justified isn’t justified either. So, if the statement is true,
it’s false, which is contradictory. Looked at another way, if we should be absolute and total skeptics
i.e., hold that no beliefs are justified, we should be skeptical of the claim that we should be absolute
and total skeptics, and hence not be absolute and total skeptics. The statement asserts that we should
be absolute and total skeptics, yet implies that we shouldn’t, which is contradictory.
7. If the claim here is that all children in Lake Wobegon are above average with respect to other
Lake Wobegon children, the claim is necessarily false, for something can be above average in a compari-
son group only if some other things in the group are below average. The statement is not necessarily
false if it means that all children in Lake Wobegon are above the national average.
II. 1. What about polar bears, seals, walruses, and orcas,
to name a few? 4.
Plausible counterexamples include Thoreau, Melville, Hawthorne, Poe, Fitzgerald, Hemingway,
and Faulkner, among others. 7. Don’t forget good ol’ Ohio and Utah.
