CRITICAL THINKING

Answers to Exercises – Chapter 07

Exercise 7.1

1.  Bertie probably isn't home.  His car isn't in the driveway, and  there are no lights on in his house.

2.  No members of the volleyball team like hip hop.  Andrea is a member of the volleyball team. So, 
Andrea doesn't like hip hop.

3.  Don’t copy off Sturdley’s exam.  He’s one of the worst students in class.  My roommate told me he’s
bombed every test this semester.

4. Affirmative action in higher education is morally justifiable, because  it compensates for past
discrimination,  provides valuable role models for women and minorities, and  promotes multicultural
understanding.
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5.  Either this is my car or it's Sandy's car.  If it is my car, then the key should fit in the lock. But  my
key doesn't fit in the lock. So,  this is Sandy's car.

6.  Wexford College is a really great college.  The students are friendly.  The faculty really care about the
students.  The campus is beautiful, and  the athletic facilities are great.

7.  Only three people could have stolen the CD: Danny, Stacy, or Patrick. But  Stacy couldn't have stolen
the CD, because  she was out riding her bike.  Patrick couldn't have stolen the CD, because  he was at a
friend's house. Therefore,  Danny must have stolen the CD.

8.  Something is a square only if it is a rectangle. But  this isn't a rectangle. Look,  it only has three sides,
and  some of the sides aren't even straight. So,  this can't be a square.

9.  Lasse speaks fluent Finnish.  It is likely, then, that Lasse was born in Finland.  Anyone born in
Finland is a Finnish citizen. So  Lasse is likely a Finnish citizen. Finnish citizens are entitled to European
Union travel privileges. So  Lasse is probably entitled to European Union travel privileges.
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10. Several states have abolished the insanity defense against criminal responsibility.  This may be popular
with voters, but it is morally indefensible.  Insanity removes moral responsibility, and  it is wrong to punish
someone who is not morally responsible for his crime. Moreover, it is pointless to punish the insane, because
 punishment has no deterrent effect on a person who cannot appreciate the wrongfulness or criminality of his
or her actions.

11.  Jeremiah is a bullfrog.  It follows – since  all bullfrogs are amphibians – that Jeremiah is an
amphibian.  All amphibians can drink wine.  So Jeremiah can help me drink my wine.

12.  It's foolish to smoke cigarettes.  Smoking is expensive,  unhealthy, and  obnoxious to many
nonsmokers.  I wouldn't date anyone who smokes cigarettes.
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13.  If today is Saturday, then tomorrow is Sunday.  If tomorrow is Sunday, then we'll be having pasta for
dinner.  If we'll be having pasta for dinner, then I should pick up some red wine today, since  in this state
wine can be purchased only at liquor stores, and  the liquor stores are closed on Sundays.  Today is
Saturday. Therefore,  I should pick up some red wine today.

14.  It makes no sense to ask God for things in prayer.  The thing you ask for is either good or it is not.  If
it is good, then God will do it anyway.  If it is not, then he won't.  In neither case, can your prayer make any
difference.

15.  If Amy isn't dating Sturdley, then she's dating Mel or Steve.  Amy isn't dating Sturdley, since  she
doesn't date anyone who uses drugs, and  Sturdley sniffs glue practically every weekend. Thus,  Amy is
dating Mel or Steve. However,  Amy won't date anyone who isn't a football player, nor  will she date
anyone who isn't good-looking.  Both Mel and Steve are good-looking, but  Steve isn't a football player.
Consequently,  Amy is not dating Steve. We can logically deduce, therefore, that (11) Amy is dating Mel.
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Exercise 7.1

II.

1. Since  our feelings, desires, and preferences can be either beneficial or harmful, noble or ignoble,
praiseworthy or damnable, and since  they can be either in harmony or in conflict with other people's feelings,
desires, and preferences,  they are obviously not accurate tools for analysis of moral issues or trustworthy
guidelines to action.

2.  Suppose you had one sheep which fell into a ditch on the Sabbath; is there one of you who would not catch
hold of it and lift it out? And  surely a man is worth more than a sheep!  It is therefore permitted to do good
on the Sabbath.

3.  Wealth is not sought except for the sake of something else, because  of itself it brings us no good, but
only when we use it, whether for the support of the body or some similar purpose. Now  the highest good is
sought for its own sake, and not for another’s sake. Therefore  wealth is not man’s highest good. (St. Thomas
Aquinas, Summa Contra Gentiles).

4.  School tests should be abolished.  Tests introduce competition where it does not belong.  They deny
the individuality of students' talents and interests  They degrade education by encouraging passivity,
mindlessness, and triviality. Finally,  they send the wrong messages about what is valuable in education and
in life.
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5.  The rule of equal incomes is socially impracticable.  It would deter the great majority of the more
efficient from putting forth their best efforts and turning out their maximum product. As a consequence,  the
total volume of product would be so diminished as to render the share of the great majority of persons smaller
than it would have been under a rational plan of unequal distribution.

6.  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.

1.  Everything eternal is necessary. But  whatever God wills, he wills from eternity, for otherwise  His
will would be mutable. Therefore,  whatever He wills, He wills necessarily.

8.  Testing at the national level is indicated;  we are all aware of the abysmal education of too many young
people, especially in certain areas and certain schools.  Such people tend to become narrow-minded, ignorant
and hateful, and contribute little to advancing the highest ideals of which we are capable.  National testing can
help to devote extra attention to such places.
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9.  If a body moves, either it must move in the pace where it is or in the place where it is not. But  it cannot
move in the place where it is, and  it cannot move in the place where it is not. Therefore,  no body can
move. (Zeno, “Paradoxes.”)

10.  Education implies teaching.  Teaching implies knowledge.  Knowledge is truth.  The truth is
everywhere the same. Hence  education should be everywhere the same.

11.  All humans have equal positive value.  There is no morally relevant difference between humans and
some animals (such as mammals). Therefore,  some animals have equal positive worth with humans. 
Moral rights derive from the possession of value. Since  humans have rights (to life, not to be harmed, and so
forth),  animals have those same rights.

12.  True-false and multiple-choice tests have well-known limits.  No matter how carefully questions are
worded, some ambiguities will remain.  The format of the questions prohibits in-depth testing of important
analytic skills.  Students can become so "test savvy" that objective tests measure test-taking skill as much as
subject-matter content.

13.  Planetary exploration has many virtues.  It permits us to refine insights derived from such Earth-bound
sciences as meteorology, climatology, geology and biology, to broaden their powers and improve their practical
applications here on Earth.  It provides cautionary tales on the alternative fates of worlds.  It is an aperture
to future high technologies important for life here on Earth.  It provides an outlet for the traditional human
zest for exploration and discovery, our passion to find out, which has been to a very large degree responsible for
our success as a species. And  it permits us, for the first time in history, to approach with rigor, with a
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significant chance of finding out the true answers, questions on the origins and destinies of worlds, the
beginnings and ends of life, and the possibilities of other beings who live in the skies—questions as basic to the
human enterprise as thinking is, as natural as breathing.

14.  Creation has no place in a science class because  it is not science. Why not? Because  creationism
cannot offer a scientific hypothesis that is capable of being shown wrong.  Creationism cannot describe a
single possible experiment that could elucidate the mechanics of creation.  Creationism cannot point to a
single prediction that has turned out to be right, and supports the creationist case.  Creationism cannot offer a
single instance of research that has followed the normal course of scientific inquiry, namely, independent
testing and verification by skeptical researchers.

15.  Nonhuman animals lack linguistic capacity, and, for this reason,  lack a mental or psychological life.
Thus,  animals are not sentient.  If so, of course, they cannot be caused pain, appearances to the contrary.
Hence,  there can be no duty not to cause them pain.

16.  All students should study a foreign language.  It improves mastery of English.  It helps to avoid
cultural provincialism by expanding the cultural experience of students.  It is useful for travel and commerce.
 It makes it possible to do advance work in a foreign language, including the study of the major literary works
in that language. Finally,  the ability to read, speak, and think in a second language is a source of pleasure and
satisfaction even if this language is not used for travel and business and even if it does not become a field of
further study.
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17.  No belief is justified if it can be fully explained as the result of natural causes.  If materialism is true,
then all beliefs can be explained as the result of irrational causes. Therefore  if materialism is true, then no
belief is justified.  If no belief is justified, then the belief “materialism is true” is not justified. Therefore 
materialism should be rejected. (Victor Reppert, C.S. Lewis’ Dangerous Idea (slightly adapted)).

18.  A square must have exactly four corners, and  a circle must have exactly zero corners. So  a round
square must have exactly four corners and simultaneously have exactly zero corners. But  this is plainly
impossible; hence  there cannot be a round square. (Erik J. Wielenberg, God and the Reach of Reason)

19.  Lefty Grove was the greatest pitcher of all time, period.  The one best indicator of a pitcher's ability is
his ERA, and  Lefty grove led leagues in earned run average nine times.  No one else even approaches this
record.  The second-best indicator of a pitcher's ability is his winning percentage. Guess what?  Grove also
led the league in that more times than anyone else.

20.  Here is a gentleman of a medical type, but with the air of a military man.  Clearly an army doctor, then.
 He has just come from the tropics, for  his face is dark, and  that is not the natural tint of his skin, as 
his wrists are fair.  He has undergone hardship and sickness, as  his haggard face says clearly.  His left
arm has been injured.  He holds it in a stiff and unnatural manner. Where in the tropics could an English
doctor have seen much hardship and get his arm wounded? (11) Clearly in Afghanistan.
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Exercise 7.2

1. Most Californians are friendly.

2. A need or complaint kept secret will never be addressed.

3. You shall not commit murder.

4. Human beings are the only rational animals on earth.

5. Don't worry about problems that can't be fixed. (Or: People don't worry about problems that can't be fixed.)

6. Only persons that are citizens from birth may be president.

7. Having a lot of money is not the secret to true happiness.

2. In case I don’t have another opportunity to wish you a nice holiday, I do so now.

9. All human beings are created with equal moral worth and equal basic rights. (This paraphrase is debatable,
obviously.)

10. Because a well-regulated citizen militia is necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the individual
citizens to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.

11. People make light of hardships they’ve never personally experienced.

12. Regarding yesterday's e-mail from you, please note that there is no parking close to the convention center,
because the Jefferson Street Parking Garage is closed for repairs.

13. Common sense tells us that long-established governments should not be changed without compelling
reasons. That is why, as all experience shows, people tend to be willing to endure political abuses, while those
abuses are tolerable, rather than correct them by abolishing the forms of government to which they are
accustomed. But when a long series of abuses and injustices, all with the same purpose, makes clear that the
government is attempting to establish a complete dictatorship, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off the
government and provide new safeguards for their future security.

14. Because human reason is so weak and uncertain, some people should simply be told what their duties are.
Otherwise, they will make poor choices that may result in serious harm.
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15. A person commits the crime of sexual misconduct in the first degree if he or she (1) has deviate sexual
intercourse with another person of the same sex without that person's consent, (2) purposely subjects another
person to sexual contact without that person's consent, or (3) purposely engages in conduct that would constitute
nonconsensual sexual contact with another person except that the touching occurs through that person's
clothing.

Exercise 7.3

I.

1. Missing premise: All Mazda Miatas are convertibles.

2. Missing conclusion: This Beetle is fuel efficient.
3. Missing premise: Blazers are not made by Ford.
4. Missing premise: This is not a Honda.
5. Missing premise: This is either a Camaro or a Firebird.
6. Missing premise: Minivans are roomy.
7. Missing premise (subconclusion): This is a Toyota.
8. Missing premise (subconclusion): This car doesn't get good gas mileage.
9. Missing conclusion: Either this is a Ford or it's a Mercury.
10. Missing premise: Some Fords are Rangers.

II.

1. Missing premise: Most people from Singapore speak English.

2. Missing conclusion: Whatever is dangerous should be banned.

3. Missing premise: Most blondes are dumb.

4. Missing premise (subconclusion): It's not cold. Missing premise (subconclusion): It's not snowing. Missing
conclusion: Uncle Fred will be coming over for dinner.

5. Missing premise: All Princeton graduates are smart. Missing premise: Anyone who is smart should be able
to solve this logic problem in the time allotted.

6. Missing premise: I'm not rich. Missing premise: Bill Gates is the Chairman of Microsoft.

7. Missing premise: Today is Thursday. Missing premise: Zoe is not on the golf course.

8. Missing premise: Anything that comes to an end is meaningless.

9. Missing premise: If Bugsy became totally blind last year, then he didn't drive the getaway car. Missing
premise (subconclusion): Bugsy didn't drive the getaway car. Missing premise (subconclusion): Sparky was
not working for Bugsy.

10. Missing premise: Jay is a Hampton College student. Missing premise: Anyone who voted the straight
Republican ticket in the last election and has a large poster of president George W. Bush in his dorm room
is probably a Republican. Missing premise: Most Republicans favor a constitutional amendment banning
abortion.
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Exercise 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)

2.

1. Science seeks to explain only objective knowledge, knowledge that can be acquired
independently by different investigators if they follow a prescribed course of observation or
experiment.
2. Many human experiences and concerns[, including aesthetics and morality,] are not objective.
3. Thus, many human experiences and concerns, including aesthetics and morality, do not fall within
the realm of science. (from 1 and 2)
4. Thus, science has nothing to say about aesthetics or morality. (from 3)
5. [Aesthetics and ethics are essential to the functioning of human society.]
6. Therefore, the functioning of human society clearly requires principles that stem from some
source other than science. (from 4 and 5)

3.

1. Education is required in the performance of our most basic public responsibilities, even service in
the armed forces.
2. It is the very foundation of good citizenship.
3. It is a principal instrument in awakening the child to cultural values, in preparing him for later
professional training, and in helping him to adjust normally to his environment.
4. Thus, it is doubtful that any child may reasonably be expected to succeed in life if he is denied the
opportunity of an education. (from 3)
5. Thus, today education is perhaps the most important function of state and local governments.
(from 1, 2, and 4)
6. [All fundamental benefits and opportunities offered by the state must be made available to all on
an equal basis.]
7. Therefore, a right to a public education is a right which must be made available to all on equal
terms. (from 5 and 6)

4.

1. Everyone needs thinking skills to meet the demands 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.]
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4. Thus, everyone needs thinking skills to realize his or her potential as a human being. (from 2
and 3)
5. Thus, to deny meaningful instruction in thinking to students below a certain IQ of 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, 3, and 6)

5.

1. Providing all students in the twelfth grade with some kind of work-and-study experience would
help to overcome age segregation by allowing students to observe adults at work and, in doing so,
to learn what it is like to work all day.
2. It would give students the opportunity to overcome stereotypes about people who perform kinds
of job different from their parents’.
3. Students would see how education actually contributes to workaday life.
4. Thus, the jobs would enhance the meaning of school work. (from 4)
5. Young people would come to know better what they really like to do and what they are good at
doing.
6. Thus, they would develop clearer career aspirations. (from 5)
7. Most important, the work experience could be used to make classroom discussions of social and
economic institutions vivid and individually relevant.
8. Therefore, consideration should be given to providing all students in the twelfth grade with some
kind of work-and-study experience. (from 1-4, 6, 7)

6.

1. Teachers already have enough time during the school day to instruct children.
2. There are too many children that come home with either no adult there or no adult with the ability
to help them with their homework.
3. This places many children at a disadvantage compared to other children who have their parents
there to help them with their homework.
4. [Teachers should not give assignments that place some children at a disadvantage compared to
others.]
5. Children, like adults, should have the luxury of being able to come home after a long day and
have the rest of the day to themselves.
6. Therefore, teachers should assign no homework whatsoever. (from 1-5)

7.

1. All sorrow or pain is either 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 truly 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)
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6. Therefore, it is impossible for sorrow or pain to be man’s greatest evil. (from 1, 3, and 5)

8.

1. Urban, southern, and western school districts have disproportionately low spending and high
numbers of disadvantaged students.
2. Students in these areas constitute a growing proportion of U.S. students, and future productivity
will depend on learning how to provide better education for them.
3. Recent research suggests that the achievement scores of minority and disadvantaged students
respond to additional well-targeted educational expenditures and that significant score gains could
occur.
4. Research also suggests that additional educational investment might be recouped through lower
future social expenditures and improved economic productivity.
5. Such policies would reduce the achievement gap between racial or ethnic and income groups—a
source of continuing social and political divisions and economic costs in society.
6. Improving the United States’ international standing requires lifting the scores of these students.
7. Therefore, urban, southern, and western school districts should receive the focus of educational
policy attention. (from 1-6)

9.

1. A mail voting system requires so little time and effort on the part of voters that it makes it easy to
forget the value of voting.
2. A mail voting system allows voters who cast their ballots near the end of the designated voting
period to have a greater volume of information and perhaps more accurate information than other
voters do.
3. There is a serious potential for voter fraud in elections conducted by mail.
4. In a mail voting system, some ballots may get lost in the mail or arrive late.
5. Therefore, we should not rush to adopt a mail voting system. (from 1-4)

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 clandestine
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 impacts on the user, but has serious implications for families, community,
consumers and others.
4. Legalizing drugs would open the floodgates of access to these mood-altering chemicals and
would send a message that drugs are not harmful.
5. Thus, legalizing drugs would increase that 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.
9. [Thus, it is ridiculous to say that drugs should be legalized because drug use is escalating. (from
7-8)}
10. Common sense and state experiments with the decriminalization of marijuana in the 1970s tell
use that when there are fewer controls, there will be more incidents.
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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 afflicting our society would worsen significantly.
(from 10-11)
13. [Therefore, drugs should not be legalized. (from 2, 6, 9, and 12)]

11.

1. There is no fair and objective way to measure effort in one’s academic work.
2. So, if professors based their grades on their perception of how much effort their students have
expended, the grades would be wildly unfair and the professors would have to barricade
themselves in their offices to ward off all the pleaders and complainers. (from 1)
3. If professors gave out grades based on effort rather than on achievement, students would be
unable to assess their own learning.
4. If professors gave out grades based on effort rather than on achievement, outside evaluators such
as employers and graduate schools would not know which students are likely to be top
performers.
5. It is absolutely crucial to our nation’s health and prosperity that outside evaluators be able to
know which students are likely to be top performers.
6. Therefore, professors should base their grades primarily on achievement rather than on effort.
(from 2, 3-5)