Critical Thinking & Reasoning Flashcards

The argument 'Most birds can fly. Penguins are birds. Therefore, penguins can fly.' fails because:

Answer: The conclusion does not follow necessarily from the premises

Using 'most' makes the first premise probabilistic, so the conclusion does not follow necessarily — penguins are an exception.

A news headline reads: 'Crime Rises After New Mayor Takes Office.' A reader concludes the mayor caused the crime increase. What is the most likely error?

Answer: The reader assumed causation from temporal sequence (post hoc fallacy)

The post hoc fallacy assumes that because one event followed another, the first caused the second.

Which type of evidence is generally LEAST reliable for supporting a scientific argument?

Answer: A single personal anecdote

Personal anecdotes are subject to bias and lack controlled conditions, making them the weakest form of scientific evidence.

A company argues: 'Our product has been used for 100 years, so it must be effective.' This relies on which fallacy?

Answer: Appeal to tradition

Appeal to tradition assumes something is good or correct simply because it has been done for a long time.

Which of the following statements is a value judgment rather than an empirical claim?

Answer: Society has a moral obligation to prioritize renewable energy

A moral obligation is a value judgment that cannot be tested empirically; the other options are measurable factual claims.

If the conclusion of an argument is already known to be true, this means the argument is:

Answer: Not necessarily sound or valid

A true conclusion does not guarantee that the argument is valid or that the premises are true — the reasoning could still be flawed.

Two candidates debate education policy. Candidate A proposes vouchers; Candidate B responds by criticizing Candidate A's past tax record. Candidate B commits which fallacy?

Answer: Red herring

Bringing up an irrelevant issue (tax record) to distract from the actual debate topic (education vouchers) is a red herring.