Ashford PHI103 2019 May Week 4 Quiz Latest

PHI103 Informal Logic

Week 4 Quiz

Question 1 The following is one of the ways (listed in our text) to assess the quality of an inference to the best explanation:

  Does it agree well with the rest of human knowledge?

  Does the conclusion follow validly from the premises?

  Does it feel right?

  Is it novel and innovative?

 

Question 2 Which of these describes what we are inclined to believe about the most likely explanations of our observations?

  People tend to believe whatever sounds the most scientific

  People tend to believe what agrees with what they already believed

  People tend not to make inferences about what explains their observations

  People tend to come up with explanations for their experiences only after extensive testing

 

Question 3 Which of the following is not one of the advantages listed in the text of using inductive reasoning over deductive reasoning?

  Inductive reasoning is more robust (less fragile).

  Inductive premises are more available.

  In inductive reasoning, the conclusion follows with more certainty from the premises.

  Inductive arguments are frequently more persuasive.

 

Question 4 Which of these is one of the steps of the hypothetico-deductive method?

  Formulating a hypothesis.

  Deductive proof

  Rejecting the assumptions

  Manipulating the data

 

 

Question 5 Using the rules for assessing inferences to the best explanation (in Chapter 6), which of the following is likely the best inference to the best explanation for the following observation:

“That magician apparently made a card that was in the deck appear in my back pocket.”

  He is a sorcerer who can transport matter

  He is using a clever trick to fool people

  All reality is in our minds, and he can manipulate it

  I have lost my mind

 

 

Question 6 How does one go about testing a hypothesis?

  Make a prediction that would (likely) occur if the hypothesis were true

  See if it agrees with what you preferred to be true

  Reject the hypothesis if it disagrees with other research in the scientific literature

  Look for data that will confirm it no matter what

 

 

Question 7 The following is one of the ways (listed in our text) to assess the quality of an inference to the best explanation:

  Is it indubitably true?

  Does it help us explain other phenomena as well?

  Is there proof of it?

  Does the result seem important?

 

Question 8 What is a hypothesis?

  The outcome of an experiment

  A conjecture about how something works

  A proven truth

  A rejected theory

 

 

Question 9 This is a method by which one can strengthen an inductive argument.

  Adding false supporting premises

  Demonstrating that the argument is valid

  Adding supporting premises

  Inductive arguments cannot be strengthened

 

Question 10 Inductive arguments aim for this type of connection between their premises and conclusions.

  A true connection

  A probable connection

  A methodological connection

  An absolute connection

 

Question 11 Inductive arguments are preferable in some instances because they __________.

  are not as available

  are more limited than deductive arguments

  can be more persuasive

  have more truth

 

Question 12 Which of these is a limitation of inferences to the best explanation?

  Most of reality cannot be explained

  It will never be as convincing as deductive inference

  It depends upon our coming up with the right explanation as one of the candidates

  It generally leads us away from scientific explanations

 

 

Question 13 A claim is falsifiable if __________.

  we know how one could show it to be false

  we know how one could show it to be true

  we cannot determine a way to prove it false

  we can determine a way to see if it is true or false

 

 

Question 14 Which of the following is necessary in order for an explanation to be adequate?

  It does not agree with other human knowledge

  It provides an overly complex solution

  It is noncircular

  It is contradicted by other instances

 

 

Question 15 If the consequence that you predict from your hypothesis comes true, what follows from this?

  It logically follows that the hypothesis is true

  There is no support for the premises

  The conclusion must be false

  It provides some inductive support for the hypothesis

 

Question 16 Inference to the best explanation is often referred to as:

  Deductive reasoning

  Abductive reasoning

  Circular reasoning

  Biductive reasoning

 

Question 17 Claims that are interpreted such that they always come out to be true are called __________.

  valid propositions

  self-refuting propositions

  self-sealing proposition

  weak propositions

 

Question 18 Which one of the following is most likely not an inference to the best explanation?

  “It will rain tomorrow; the meteorologist said so.”

  “My living room is trashed; I must have been robbed.”

  “This plant is dying; I am probably not watering it enough.”

  “The street is all wet; it must have rained last night.”

 

Question 19 Which of the following is true of inductive reasoning but not deductive reasoning?

  If a premise is false then the arguments loses its value

  If the premises are true, then the conclusion must be true as well

  The premises are harder to find

  The argument is more likely to have merit even if one of the premises is not universally true

 

Question 20 A common misconception about inductive arguments is that they __________.

  are all weak

  are more persuasive than deductive arguments

  go from specific to general

  go from general to specific