CCTST Argument Assessment 2

Question 1

A politician argues: 'We should not legalize recreational marijuana because my colleague who supports legalization was once arrested for drug possession.' This is an example of which fallacy?

Accepted Answer

Ad hominem

Answer

Attacking the personal history of the person making an argument rather than addressing the argument itself is an ad hominem fallacy.

Question 2

Which of the following best describes a 'cogent' argument in the context of inductive reasoning?

Accepted Answer

A strong inductive argument with true premises

Answer

A cogent argument is an inductive argument that is both strong (the premises make the conclusion probable) and has true premises.

Question 3

Maria says: 'Either you support this policy completely or you are against helping the poor.' What is wrong with this argument?

Accepted Answer

It presents a false dilemma by ignoring middle-ground positions

Answer

This is a false dilemma (false dichotomy) because it presents only two extreme options when other positions likely exist.

Question 4

An argument's conclusion that 'All swans are white' is drawn from observing 500 white swans with no counter-examples. This argument is best described as:

Accepted Answer

Inductively strong but not deductively valid

Answer

Generalizing from observed cases to a universal claim is inductive reasoning, which can be strong but is never deductively valid since a single counter-example could defeat it.

Question 5

In evaluating an argument, which question is MOST important to ask about the premises?

Accepted Answer

Do the premises provide adequate evidence for the conclusion?

Answer

The central evaluative question is whether the premises actually support or provide sufficient evidence for the conclusion being drawn.

(CCTST) California Critical Thinking Skills Test Practice Test

(CCTST) California Critical Thinking Skills Test Practice Test

CCTST Argument Assessment 2