Ethics and Critical Thinking Exam Questions
Course Introduction
This course explores the foundational principles of ethical reasoning and the tools of critical thinking used to evaluate arguments and make responsible decisions. Students will analyze classical and contemporary ethical theories, examine real-world moral dilemmas, and learn to identify logical fallacies, biases, and persuasive techniques in both academic and everyday contexts. Through case studies, structured debates, and reflective writing, the course fosters the development of reasoned judgment, ethical awareness, and effective communication, equipping students to approach personal, professional, and societal challenges with integrity and intellectual rigor.
Recommended Textbook
Critical Thinking 11th Edition by
Brooke Noel Moore
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12 Chapters
1520 Verified Questions
1520 Flashcards
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Page 2
Chapter 1: What Is Critical Thinking,anyway
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107 Verified Questions
107 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Identify the main point or issue in the following passage,and decide whether the rest of the passage offers reasons for the main point (such as,whether the passage contains an argument),whether it illustrates (provides examples for)the main point,whether it explains the point,is irrelevant to the point,and so on. "It is usual for the law to prescribe a lesser penalty for the attempt than for the completed crime.The reason is plain enough.Doing harm is a more serious matter than simply doing what might have ended up as that but didn't.It seems,therefore,that one who does harm does something that is more wrong than one who does something harmful but with no one harmed."
-H.Gross,A Theory of Justice
Answer: The main point is stated in the first sentence;the remainder is an explanation of the main point.Notice that this one is very easy to mistake for an argument,but the account does not argue that the law prescribes such-and-such;it explains why it prescribes such-and-such.
Q2) Sometimes arguments contain only unstated reasons.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
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Page 3
Chapter 2: Two Kinds of Reasoning
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70 Verified Questions
70 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Arguments whose premises are intended to provide absolutely conclusive reasons for accepting the conclusion are _________.
Answer: deductive
Q2) Consider:" X.Therefore,since Y,Z." Which would go in the "Y" space?
A)a premise
B)a conclusion
Answer: A
Q3) If we know that a valid argument has true premises,then the argument
A)must be sound.
B)might be sound.
C)is strong.
D)might have a false conclusion.
Answer: A
Q4) If a strong argument has a false conclusion,then not all its premises can be true.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
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Chapter 3: Clear Thinking,critical Thinking,and Clear Writing
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345 Verified Questions
345 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Determine whether the claim in the following is too vague in the context that is stated or implied:Instructions for a lawn mower:"For best service,crankcase oil should be replaced at least once each season."
Answer: Too vague-"best service" means what? Replace at least once each growing season.
Q2) Considering the context in which it was most likely uttered,would you say the following claim is ambiguous,too vague,or neither?
POLICE NAB STUDENTS WITH PAIR OF PLIERS
-Journal and Courier (Lafayette,Ind. )
Answer: Ambiguous.
Q3) Classify the following definition according to its use:to reduce vagueness,to introduce or explain a new or unusual word,to evoke an attitude about something,or to accomplish some other purpose.
The "HO" in "HO gauge" stands for "half-O," which refers to an older scale for model trains.HO gauge is one-half the scale of O-gauge,or one-sixty-fourth of full size.
Answer: To define an unfamiliar phrase.
Q4) For "liberal (noun)," provide an analytical definition that is unflattering. Answer: Our suggestion: a politician who can't keep out of your wallet.
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Page 5
Chapter 4: Credibility
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101 Verified Questions
101 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) For the following issue,discuss which source you'd trust more,and give at least one reason why.You may want to add to or otherwise modify our list of sources.And do keep in mind that we are glad our livelihoods do not depend on a general consensus on our rankings.
Issue:How do the economic policies of the Venezuelan government affect the standard of living of most Venezuelans?
a.the editor of a daily newspaper in a small town
b.a friend who just returned from a trip to Venezuela "to see what was going on"
c.a professor of Latin American studies at Ohio State University
d.a Republican state senator in Arizona
e.a politically radical councilwoman for a middle-sized New York city
Q2) Assess the following as probably true,as probably false,as requiring further documentation before judgment,or as a claim that cannot properly be evaluated.Consider both the nature of the claim and the source.
"By age 30,roughly a quarter of men and women have discernibly graying hair.Even so,only 28 percent of us ever become completely white haired."
-Lowell Ponte,Reader's Digest
Q3) In a brief essay,explain what factors help establish someone as an expert.
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Chapter 7: Induction Fallacies
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125 Verified Questions
125 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Identify the type of fallacy in the following passage. "A lot more people are near-sighted these days.Check out those kids over there on their computers.They all wear glasses."
Q2) Identify the type of fallacy in the following passage. Remark made while driving on the Pennsylvania Turnpike:"We've seen nine cars with license plates from west of the Mississippi today,and six of them have been from Texas.Texans must travel more than other people."
Q3) Identify the type of fallacy in the following passage. I went into that office supply store on Jackson Avenue the other day,and I can tell you that I'm not ever going back.They're the rudest people I've ever seen in a retail business.The guy who waited on me griped constantly about it being inventory time,and he was of no help at all in finding what I wanted to buy.
Q4) Identify the type of fallacy in the following passage. "You start talking to these door-to-door missionaries,before you can blink they will be dragging you off to their church."
Q5) Identify the type of fallacy in the following passage. "This student isn't good at math.Therefore she won't be good at writing,either."
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Page 9
Chapter 8: Formal Fallacies and Fallacies of Language
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32 Verified Questions
32 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Identify any formal fallacies or fallacies of language in the following passage. Anybody who is well-informed must read at least one newspaper every day,and Murray reads two newspapers daily.So we can agree that Murray is a well-informed person.
Q2) Identify any formal fallacies or fallacies of language in the following passage. The angles of a triangle equal 180 degrees.Therefore each angle equals 180 degrees.
Q3) Identify any formal fallacies or fallacies of language in the following passage. I was tested for allergic reaction to cats,and the test said I am indeed allergic.The test I was given says "yes" 90% of the time when people really do have the allergy and it says "yes" 10% of the time when people really do not have it.So more than likely I have the allergy,which is unlucky since only 1% of the population has this affliction.
Q4) Identify any formal fallacies or fallacies of language in the following passage. If you didn't take the final,you didn't pass the course.However,you did take the final.So you passed the course.
Q5) Identify any formal fallacies or fallacies of language in the following passage. All German Shepherds are dogs,and some dogs are not trained to attack people.Therefore some German Shepherds are not trained to attack people.
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Chapter 9: Deductive Arguments I Categorical Logic
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66 Verified Questions
66 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Translate the following into a standard-form categorical claim:All the people I know who are named "Brooke" have birthdays in December.
Q2) Translate the following into a standard-form categorical claim:There's nobody in the park except members of the Lucero family.
Q3) Here is an argument with an unstated premise or conclusion.Translate it into a standard-form syllogism and determine whether the reasoning is valid. Whoa,don't enroll in that class,man.That's a physics class;all those people must be brains.
Q4) Determine whether the following argument is valid by using either the diagram method or the rules of the syllogism. All Xs are Ys.
No Ys are Zs.
So,no Xs are Zs.
Q5) Here is an argument with an unstated premise or conclusion.Translate it into a standard-form syllogism and determine whether the reasoning is valid. Robert Stewart actually thinks computers get in the way of true scholarship.He thinks they make people lazy.
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Page 11
Chapter 10: Deductive Arguments Ii Truth-Functional Logic
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85 Verified Questions
85 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Determine which of the lettered claims below is equivalent to the following:If the gun has a trigger lock,then it can be sold.(This can be easy to do if you symbolize the claims first and have some familiarity either with truth tables or with the Group II rules for derivations-the truth-functional equivalences. )
A)Only if the gun has a trigger lock can it be sold.
B)The gun has no trigger lock,but it can be sold anyway.
C)If the gun cannot be sold,then it has no trigger lock.
D)If the gun has no trigger lock,then it can be sold. Equivalent to C.
Q2) Determine which of the lettered claims below is equivalent to the following:The gun can be sold even though it has no trigger lock.(This can be easy to do if you symbolize the claims first and have some familiarity either with truth tables or with the Group II rules for derivations-the truth-functional equivalences. )
A)Only if the gun has a trigger lock can it be sold.
B)The gun has no trigger lock,but it can be sold anyway.
C)If the gun cannot be sold,then it has no trigger lock.
D)If the gun has no trigger lock,then it can be sold. Equivalent to B
Q3) Determine whether the following is valid or invalid: It's time to leave when they start putting up the chairs,as they're doing right now.
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Chapter 11: Inductive Reasoning
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170 Verified Questions
170 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Evaluate the following analogical argument: Mr.Naphal has read in an authoritative science report that a dye commonly injected into Florida oranges is carcinogenic.He resolves not only to avoid Florida oranges until he learns that they no longer are dyed with the same chemical,but also to avoid California oranges and all grapefruit as well.
Q2) In evaluating the following generalization(s),identify sample,population,attribute of interest,and the extent to which the claims involved are knowable.Consider carefully the size and diversification of the sample and the extent to which the population differs or may differ from the sample;remember,what's important is that the sample be representative.
A New York newspaper stopped theatergoers as they exited from a performance of La Tragédie de Carmen and asked them whether they thought that Broadway theater was better or worse than it was ten years ago.When the majority of the respondents answered that they thought it was worse,the paper printed an article with the headline "Public Thinks Broadway Is Going Downhill." Does the poll justify the headline?
Q3) Make this inductive (statistical)syllogism into a relatively strong argument by supplying an appropriate premise or conclusion:People who go to Burning Man are not like you and me.Why just look at how odd Greg is!
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13
Chapter 12: Moral,legal,and Aesthetic Reasoning
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145 Verified Questions
145 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) State whether the following item expresses moral value or nonmoral value;or no value at all.
The program Sam wrote for finding repeating decimals works wonderfully,and it's only thirty-five lines long-that's real elegance.
Q2) Identify the moral perspective at work here:
At the supermarket,Vickie just ran her cart into a display of jars with jams and preserves,and now the aisle is full of broken glass and jam.She feels like leaving the store as quickly as possible.Is that an acceptable course of action?
No,it isn't;our god says that it would be a sin to leave,so she must stay and clean up.
Q3) State whether the following item expresses moral value or nonmoral value;or no value at all.
It is too my turn to deal!
Q4) State whether the following item expresses moral value or nonmoral value;or no value at all.
The carpenter did an excellent job of remodeling the kitchen.
Q5) Evaluate the issue of human cloning from the utilitarian consequentialist viewpoint.
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Page 14