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Instructions:
Topic 1 Reading Exercises from:
The Constitution of the United States, Amendment 2
Copi, Irving M. Introduction to Logic, 14th Edition. Routledge.
Chapter 1
INSTRUCTIONS
Identify the premises and conclusions in the following passages. Some premises do support the conclusion; others do not. Note that premises may support conclusions directly or indirectly and that even simple passages may contain more than one argument.
Example Problem
A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.
The Constitution of the United States, Amendment 2
Example Solution
Premise: A well-regulated militia is necessary for the security of a free state. Conclusion: The right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.
PROBLEMS
5. Standardized tests have a disparate racial and ethnic impact; white and Asian students score, on average, markedly higher than their black and Hispanic peers. This is true for fourth-grade tests, college entrance exams, and every other assessment on the books. If a racial gap is evidence of discrimination, then all tests discriminate.
Abigail Thernstrom, Testing, the Easy Target, The New York Times, 15 January 2000
6. Good sense is, of all things in the world, the most equally distributed, for everybody thinks himself so abundantly provided with it that even those most difficult to please in all other matters do not commonly desire more of it than they already possess.
René Descartes, A Discourse on Method, 1637
7. When Noah Webster proposed a Dictionary of the American Language, his early 19th-century critics presented the following argument against it: Because any words new to the United States are either stupid or foreign, there is no such thing as the American language; theres just bad
English.
Jill Lepore, Noahs Mark, The New Yorker, 6 November 2006
8. The death penalty is too costly. In New York State alone taxpayers spent more than $200 million in our states failed death penalty experiment, with no one executed. In addition to being too costly, capital punishment is unfair in its application. The strongest reason remains the epidemic of exonerations of death row inmates upon post-conviction investigation, including ten
New York inmates freed in the last 18 months from long sentences being served for murders or rapes they did not commit.
L. Porter, Costly, Flawed Justice, The New York Times, 26 March 2007
9. Houses are built to live in, not to look on; therefore, let use be preferred before uniformity.
Francis Bacon, Of Building, in Essays, 1597
10. To boycott a business or a city [as a protest] is not an act of violence, but it can cause economic harm to many people. The greater the economic impact of a boycott, the more impressive the statement it makes. At the same time, the economic consequences are likely to be shared by people who are innocent of any wrongdoing, and who can ill afford the loss of income: hotel workers, cab drivers, restaurateurs, and merchants. The boycott weapon ought to be used sparingly, if for no other reason than the harm it can cause such bystanders.
Alan Wolfe, The Risky Power of the Academic Boycott, The Chronicle of Higher Education, 17 March 2000
11. Ethnic cleansing was viewed not so long ago as a legitimate tool of foreign policy. In the early part of the 20th century forced population shifts were not uncommon; multicultural empires crumbled and nationalism drove the formation of new, ethnically homogenous countries
Belinda Cooper, Trading Places, The New York Times Book Review, 17 September 2006
12. If a jury is sufficiently unhappy with the governments case or the governments conduct, it can simply refuse to convict. This possibility puts powerful pressure on the state to behave properly. For this reason a jury is one of the most important protections of a democracy
Robert Precht, Japan, the Jury, The New York Times, 1 December 2006
13. Without forests, orangutans cannot survive. They spend more than 95 percent of their time in the trees, which, along with vines and termites, provide more than 99 percent of their food. Their only habitat is formed by the tropical rain forests of Borneo and Sumatra
Birute Galdikas, The Vanishing Man of the Forest, The New York Times, 6 January 2007
14. Omniscience and omnipotence are mutually incompatible. If God is omniscient, he must already know how he is going to intervene to change the course of history using his omnipotence. But that means he cant change his mind about his intervention, which means he is not omnipotent
Richard Dawkins, The God Delusion (New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2006)
15. Reason is the greatest enemy that faith has; it never comes to the aid of spiritual things, but more frequently than not struggles against the divine Word, treating with contempt all that emanates from God
Martin Luther, Last Sermon in Wittenberg, 17 January 154
INSTRUCTIONS
Some of the following passages contain explanations, some contain arguments, and some may be interpreted as either an argument or an explanation. What is your judgment about the chief function of each passage? What would have to be the case for the passage in question to be an argument? To be an explanation? Where you find an argument, identify its premises and conclusion. Where you find an explanation, indicate what is being explained and what the explanation is.
Example Problem
Humans have varying skin colors as a consequence of the distance our ancestors lived from the Equator. Its all about sun. Skin color is what regulates our bodys reaction to the sun and its rays. Dark skin evolved to protect the body from excessive sun rays. Light skin evolved when people migrated away from the Equator and needed to make vitamin D in their skin. To do that they had to lose pigment. Repeatedly over history, many people moved dark to light and light to dark. That shows that color is not a permanent trait
Nina Jablonski, The Story of Skin, The New York Times, 9 January 2007
Example Solution
This is essentially an explanation. What is being explained is the fact that humans have varying skin colors. The explanation is that different skin colors evolved as humans came to live at different distances from the Equator and hence needed different degrees of protection from the rays of the sun. One might interpret the passage as an argument whose conclusion is that skin color is not a permanent trait of all humans. Under this interpretation, all the propositions preceding the final sentence of the passage serve as premises.
PROBLEMS
15.The Treasury Departments failure to design and issue paper currency that is readily distinguishable to blind and visually impaired individuals violates Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, which provides that no disabled person shall be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity conducted by any Executive agency.
Judge James Robertson, Federal District Court for the District of Columbia, American Council of the Blind v. Sec. of the Treasury, No. 02-0864 (2006)
16.Rightness [that is, acting so as to fulfill ones duty] never guarantees moral goodness. For an act may be the act which the agent thinks to be his duty, and yet be done from an indifferent or bad motive, and therefore be morally indifferent or bad
Sir W. David Ross, Foundations of Ethics (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1939)
17.Man did not invent the circle or the square or mathematics or the laws of physics. He discovered them. They are immutable and eternal laws that could only have been created by a supreme mind: God. And since we have the ability to make such discoveries, mans mind must possess an innate particle of the mind of God. To believe in God is not beyond reason.
J. Lenzi, Darwins God, The New York Times Magazine, 18 March 2007
18.Many of the celebratory rituals [of Christmas], as well as the timing of the holiday, have their origins outside of, and may predate, the Christian commemoration of the birth of Jesus. Those traditions, at their best, have much to do with celebrating human relationships and the enjoyment of the goods that this life has to offer. As an atheist I have no hesitation in embracing the holiday and joining with believers and nonbelievers alike to celebrate what we have in common
John Teehan, A Holiday Season for Atheists, Too, The New York Times, 24 December 2006
19.All ethnic movements are two-edged swords. Beginning benignly, and sometimes necessary to repair injured collective psyches, they often end in tragedy, especially when they turn political, as illustrated by German history
Orlando Patterson, A Meeting with Gerald Ford, The New York Times, 6 January 2007
20.That all who are happy, are equally happy, is not true. A peasant and a philosopher may be equally satisfied, but not equally happy. Happiness consists in the multiplicity of agreeable consciousness. A peasant has not the capacity for having equal happiness with a philosopher
Samuel Johnson, in Boswells Life of Johnson, 1766
Chapter 2
INSTRUCTIONS
Identify the premises and conclusions in the following passages. Some premises do support the conclusion; others do not. Note that premises may support conclusions directly or indirectly and that even simple passages may contain more than one argument. Each of the following passages may contain more than one argument.
RUBRIC |
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Excellent Quality 95-100%
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Introduction
45-41 points The background and significance of the problem and a clear statement of the research purpose is provided. The search history is mentioned. |
Literature Support 91-84 points The background and significance of the problem and a clear statement of the research purpose is provided. The search history is mentioned. |
Methodology 58-53 points Content is well-organized with headings for each slide and bulleted lists to group related material as needed. Use of font, color, graphics, effects, etc. to enhance readability and presentation content is excellent. Length requirements of 10 slides/pages or less is met. |
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Average Score 50-85% |
40-38 points More depth/detail for the background and significance is needed, or the research detail is not clear. No search history information is provided. |
83-76 points Review of relevant theoretical literature is evident, but there is little integration of studies into concepts related to problem. Review is partially focused and organized. Supporting and opposing research are included. Summary of information presented is included. Conclusion may not contain a biblical integration. |
52-49 points Content is somewhat organized, but no structure is apparent. The use of font, color, graphics, effects, etc. is occasionally detracting to the presentation content. Length requirements may not be met. |
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Poor Quality 0-45% |
37-1 points The background and/or significance are missing. No search history information is provided. |
75-1 points Review of relevant theoretical literature is evident, but there is no integration of studies into concepts related to problem. Review is partially focused and organized. Supporting and opposing research are not included in the summary of information presented. Conclusion does not contain a biblical integration. |
48-1 points There is no clear or logical organizational structure. No logical sequence is apparent. The use of font, color, graphics, effects etc. is often detracting to the presentation content. Length requirements may not be met |
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The Constitution of the United States, Amendment 2