Argument Evaluation Flashcards

A politician argues: 'Crime rates fell after we increased police funding, so the funding caused the drop.' Which flaw best describes this reasoning?

Answer: Post hoc ergo propter hoc

Assuming causation from mere temporal sequence is the post hoc fallacy.

Which of the following, if true, most strengthens the argument that banning fast food advertising reduces childhood obesity?

Answer: Countries with advertising bans show lower childhood obesity rates than comparable countries without bans

Comparative evidence from countries with and without the ban directly supports the causal claim.

An argument concludes that all swans are white because every swan ever observed has been white. This is an example of:

Answer: Inductive reasoning with a known counterexample risk

The argument is inductive and could be falsified by a single counterexample, as indeed occurred when black swans were discovered.

Which statement best describes the difference between a valid argument and a sound argument?

Answer: A sound argument has true premises; a valid argument need not

Validity means the conclusion follows from the premises; soundness additionally requires the premises to be true.

A commentator says: 'You can't trust Jane's views on tax policy because she once evaded taxes.' This is an example of:

Answer: Ad hominem (abusive)

Attacking the person's character rather than their argument is an abusive ad hominem.

Which of the following is the strongest counter-argument to the claim that capital punishment deters murder?

Answer: States without capital punishment have similar or lower murder rates than those with it

Empirical evidence that murder rates do not differ by punishment regime directly undermines the deterrence claim.

In evaluating an argument, an 'assumption' is best defined as:

Answer: An unstated premise the argument relies on to reach its conclusion

An assumption is an unstated premise that must be true for the argument's reasoning to hold.