Critical Thinking Exercises from lecture 1:
1) Is what Dave says in the following examples an argument (find the premises and conclusions) or is it an explanation (find the explanandum and the explanans)? Or is what Dave says just a series of claims?
a) Trev: My family enjoy eating German food more than they enjoy eating Mexican food.
Copyright By PowCoder代写 加微信 powcoder
Dave: No, your family like Mexican food better. I remember talking with your family about this, and all of them said that they like Mexican food better than German food, and when they go out to dinner without you they never choose to eat German food.
b) Trev: It’s raining today.
Dave: Nobody likes going out on rainy days. Some people don’t like going out even when it is sunny.
c) Trev: Why did the band The Beatles break up when they were at the height of their success?
Dave: Yoko started seeing and got him interested in conceptual art and political protest, which was ok with the other Beatles. But Yoko herself was an artist and she felt that she had a right to be involved with Beatles recording sessions. Cartney was frustrated by Yoko’s interference, and that’s why the Beatles broke up.
d) Trev: Let’s get on the 431 bus.
Dave, No, the 431 bus goes down Glebe Point Rd, but the 440 goes all the way down Parramatta Rd past the . We want to go to , not to Glebe, so we should get the 440.
e) Dave: Knitting is a really popular hobby. My grandmother used to knit jumpers for us, and she taught me how to knit. Knitting is very relaxing!
f) Trev: My family enjoy Mexican food more than they enjoy German food, which is a mystery to me.
Dave: I agree that they do. It’s because your family like eating spicy food, and Mexican food is more spicy than German.
2) Do the following arguments have linked or convergent premises?
a) P1: Vespas are fuel efficient.
P2: It is easy to find parking for a Vespa.
P3: Vespas look great.
C: I should buy a Vespa.
b) P1: Vespas are Italian scooters.
P2: Italian things are stylish but pricey.
C: Vespas are stylish but pricey.
c) P1: Cricket fans are very loud when they watch a game.
P2: I am sensitive to loud noise.
P3: I find sport extremely boring.
C: I will not enjoy going to the watch the cricket today.
3) What are some possible implicit premises in the following arguments? Using the principle of charity, decide which is the most likely implicit premise.
a) P1: Nobody wants to fail the exam.
C: Everybody should do the tute exercises each week.
b) P1: You want to reduce your carbon dioxide emissions.
C: You should buy an electric car rather than a petrol-driven car.
c) P1: Morocco is in Africa.
P2: Rome is in Europe.
C: Rome is further North than Morocco.
4) Set out the structure of the following argument in terms of sub-premises and premises, filling in any implicit premises as you go.
Sydney has better beaches than Melbourne. Sydney is warmer than Melbourne. I would move to Melbourne if my work required me to do so. I can find work easily in Sydney. Therefore, I should not move from Sydney to Melbourne.
1 a) Argument
1. Your family said that they like Mexican food better than German food.
2. When they go out to dinner without you they never choose to eat German food.
Conclusion: Your family like Mexican food better than German food.
b) Just a series of claims.
c) Explanation
Explanandum: The Beatles broke up.
Explanans: Yoko was an artist, and she felt that she had a right to be involved with Beatles recording sessions. Paul was frustrated by Yoko’s interference.
d) Argument
P1: The 431 goes down Glebe Point Rd.
P2: The 440 goes all the way down Parramatta Rd past the uni.
P3: We want to go to uni, not to Glebe.
C: We should get the 440.
e) Just a series of claims.
f) Explanation
Explanandum: Trev’s family enjoy Mexican food more than they enjoy German food.
Explanans: Trev’s family like spicy food, and Mexican food is more spicy than German.
2 a) Convergent
c) P1 and P2 are linked. P3 and the pair (P1 and P2) are convergent.
P1: Nobody wants to fail the exam.
P2 (implicit): Doing the exercises each week will increase your chances of passing the exam.
C: Everybody should do the exercises each week.
(Could there be a stronger implicit premise? Options include: “Doing the exercises is the only way to pass the exam”, or “If you do the exercises then you will pass the exam”. Which is the most likely? Using the principle of charity, you should pick one that is true / well justified, and that supports the conclusion. Both of the listed alternatives are false, even though, if they were true, they would support the conclusion. So the best implicit premise is “Doing the exercises each week will increase your chances of passing the exam”, which is true, and which supports the conclusion.)
P1: You want to reduce your carbon dioxide emissions.
P2 (implicit): You can reduce your carbon dioxide emissions by buying an electric car rather than a petrol car.
C: You should buy an electric car rather than a petrol-driven car.
P1: Morocco is in Africa.
P2: Rome is in Europe.
P3 (implicit): (All of) Europe is North of Africa.
C: Rome is further North than Morocco.
1.1 I should move to Melbourne if I could not find work in Sydney.
1.2 I can find work easily in Sydney.
1. I should not move to Melbourne for work.
2. Sydney has better beaches than Melbourne.
3. Sydney is warmer than Melbourne.
C: I should not move from Sydney to Melbourne.
程序代写 CS代考 加微信: powcoder QQ: 1823890830 Email: powcoder@163.com