Assessment Brief

1. Which 18th century mathematician and
philosopher made the following proposal: “And although learned men have long
since thought of some kind of language or universal characteristic by which all
concepts and things can be put into beautiful order, and with whose help
different nations might communicate their thoughts and each read in his own
language what another has written in his, yet no one has attempted a language
or characteristic which includes at once both the arts of discovery and judgment,
that is, one whose signs and characters serve the same purpose that
arithmetical signs serve for numbers, and algebraic signs for quantities taken
abstractly.”?
  A.  William of Ockham
  B.  Blaise Pascal
  C.  Gottfried Leibniz
  D.  George Boole
1 point
2.  Predicates such
as “triangular”, “divine”, and “temperate” do not exist except in the minds of
intelligent beings.  Whatever exists in
reality is an individual thing and can be named.  This characterization represents the key
thought of: 
  A.  William Ockham
  B.  DeMorgan
  C.  Chrysippus
  D.  Pascal
1 point
3.  The criticism of
President Obama that he lied to the American public when he said: “If you like
your health plan you can keep it.” is completely unjustified because it has not
been proven that he acted fraudulently.
This is most clearly an example of: 
A.  against
the person
B.  argument
from ignorance
C.  red
herring
D.  hasty
generalization
2 points
4.  The philosophy of Aquinas is nonsense.  He was a Catholic theologian who would say
anything as long as it agreed with Rome, and he was fat as a hog besides.
This is most clearly an example of:   
A.  argument
from ignorance
  B.  appeal to authority
  C.  ad
hominem
  D.  petitio
principii
2 points
5.  “Paranthropus boisei was discovered by
Mary Leakey on July 17, 1959, at the FLK Bed I site of Olduvai Gorge in
Tanzania (specimen OH 5). She rushed back to camp and at the news Louis made a
remarkable recovery. They refrained from excavating until Des Bartlett had
photographed the site. In his notes Louis recorded a first name, Titanohomo
mirabilis, reflecting an initial impression of close human affinity.”  [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zinjanthropus]
The name and definition Titanohomo mirabilis best illustrates which of the following definition types: 
  A. operational definition
  B. persuasive definition
  C. lexical definition
  D. stipulative definition
2 points
6. Assess this definition: Logic is the science of the laws
of thought.  (2 points)
A. the definiens is “logic” and is too broad for
the definiendum
B. the definiens is “logic” and is just right for
the definiendum
C. the definiens is “the science of the laws of
thought” and is just right for the definiendum
D. the definiens is “the science of the laws of
thought” and is too broad for the definiendum
2 points
7.  Which of the following is a better
characterization of definition by genus and species.
  A. species concepts are narrower
than genus concepts
  B. genus concepts are narrower
than species concepts
  C. a species and a specific
difference make a genus
  D. definitions by genus and
species are totally useless for modern science
2 points

All questions about
Categorical Logic are to be answered from the Traditional or Aristotelian
Logic of Categories, not the Boolean version.
8. What does Oab mean? 

1 point

9. Which, if any, of the terms in Oab are distributed? 
1 point

10.  Identify 10 propositions that may be inferred by
means of the square of opposition and other immediate inferences such as
obversion, etc. from it is false that Iab. Name the kind of inference in each case. If you wish to interpret Iab in concrete terms (i.e. use a class name for both a and
b, for instance, Eab might be ‘No sheep are wolves’) you may; but be sure to
use the same two class-names throughout for a and b.  In some of these you will follow a two-step process
of inference (e.g. contradiction then contrariety). 
20 points
11.  Suppose that Aab
is false.  Does that mean Eab is false
too.  Explain briefly. 
2 points
12. What is the difference between contrary statements and
contradictory statements.  Give an
examples of each. 
4 points
13.  What does this
diagram exhibit? 

2 points

Syllogisms
14.  Consider
the syllogism:
  No catfish are cats.
Some
fish are catfish.
  Therefore, No fish are cats.
  14a. 
What is the major term? 
  14b.  What is the minor term? 
  14c.  What is the middle term? 
  14d.  Is the syllogism in standard form?  If not, what has to change to make it so?
  14e.  What is the mood? 
  14f.  What is the figure? 
  14g.  Is it valid? 

  14h.  If not, why not?  If so, what is the medieval name for this
syllogism?
8 points
15.  Let’s change it
around a little…
Consider the syllogism
  No cats are fish.
  All catfish are fish.
  Therefore, No cats are catfish.
 
  15a. 
What is the major term? 
  15b.  What is the minor term? 
  15c.  What is the middle term? 
  15d.  Is the syllogism in standard form?  If not, what has to change to make it so?
  15e.  What is the mood? 
  15f.  What is the figure? 
  15g.  Is it valid? 

  15h.  If not, why not?  If so, what is the medieval name for this
syllogism?
8 points
16. What is the figure, mood, and give an example of
Felapton. 
3 points
For 19-21,
apply the six traditional rules for checking syllogisms to validate or
invalidate the following syllogisms.
Write Valid or
Invalid, and write out the rule violated if invalid.

17.  All sharks are
fish.  Some pelagic whitetips are
fish.  Therefore some sharks are pelagic
whitetips.
3 points
18.  Some zebras are
albinos.  No zebras are pachyderms.  Therefore some albinos are pachyderms.
3 points
19.  Some conditions
caused by viruses are not dangerous. 
All cancers are dangerous. 
Therefore some cancers are not conditions caused by viruses.
3 points
20. Explain why the
following argument is valid or invalid.
Some non-potsmokers are
athletes, because no potsmokers are persons in perfect
physical condition, and some
people in perfect physical condition
are not nonathletes.
4 points
21. Translate the following argument
into standard form.
  Name the mood and figure of its
standard-form translation.
  Test its validity using a Venn diagram. If
it is valid, give its traditional
  name.
  If it is
invalid, name a rule that it violates.
. . . because intense heat
is nothing else but a particular kind of painful
sensation; and pain cannot
exist but in a perceiving being; it follows that
no intense heat can really
exist in an unperceiving corporeal substance.
—George Berkeley, Three
Dialogues Between Hylas and Philonous,
in Opposition to Sceptics and Atheists,
1713
8 points
22. Name a valid
syllogism exhibited by the following diagram. 
Give a standard form example of it.

4 points
Sentential Logic
23.  Which of the
following is a valid argument?
A. 
If Pb exceeds U238 by less than 5%, then post-Jurassic
vulcanism is responsible.  Pb exceeds U238
by 10%, therefore post-Jurassic volcanism is not responsible.
B. If Pb exceeds U238 by
less than 5%, then post-Jurassic vulcanism is responsible, and post-Jurassic
volcanism is responsible, so Pb exceeds U238 by less than 5%.
C. If Pb exceeds U238 by
less than 5%, then post-Jurassic vulcanism is responsible.  But post-Jurassic volcanism is not
responsible, thus Pb does not exceed U238 by less than 5%.
D. Pb exceeds U238 by
less than 5%, therefore Pb does not exceed U238 by less than 5%.
3 points
24.  Which of the
following is an invalid argument?
A. 
If light is composed only of waves, then light cannot travel across
empty space.  But light is composed only of
waves, therefore light cannot travel across empty space.
B. 
If light is composed only of particles, then light cannot exhibit
diffraction patterns; and light is composed only of particles, so light cannot
exhibit diffraction patterns.
C. 
If light is composed only of waves, then light cannot travel across
empty space.  But light can travel across
empty space.  Therefore light is not
composed only of waves.
D. 
If light is composed only of particles, then light cannot exhibit
diffraction patterns; and light is not composed only of particles, therefore
light can exhibit diffraction patterns.
3 points
25.  Which of the
following is invalid deductively but might be part of a useful inductive
argument.
A. 
If light is composed only of waves, then light cannot travel across
empty space.  But light is composed only
of waves, therefore light cannot travel across empty space.
B. 
If light is composed only of particles, then light cannot exhibit
diffraction patterns; and light can exhibit diffraction patterns, so light
cannot be composed only of particles.
C. 
If light is composed only of waves, then light cannot travel across
empty space.  So suppose light cannot
travel across empty space.  In that case
light is composed only of waves.
D. 
If light is composed only of particles, then light is composed only of
waves. 
3 points
26.  Explain briefly
the difference between modus tollens
and affirming the consequent.  How are
they both used in modern science? 
3 points
Extra
Credit  (5 points)
Construct a valid deductive argument with two true premises
and a false conclusion.