Amanda Libbie Kelebit COM 204 3rd Feb 10

I. Identify the premises and conclusions in the following

arguments. (only odd number)

1. [Since pain is a state of consciousness, a “mental event,”], premise

[it can never be directly observed.], conclusion.

3. [Because so many of the matters of real concern to us center on

controversial moral issues,], conclusion [it is important to know how
to construct and evaluate moral arguments effectively.], premise.

5. [Many just persons are afflicted in this world; which is unjust.],

conclusion [Therefore not in every work of God are justice and
mercy.], premise.

7. [Science is based on experiment, on a willingness to challenge old

dogma, on an openness see the universe as it really is.], premise
[Accordingly, science sometimes require courage- at the very least
the courage to question the conventional wisdom.], conclusion.

9. [The invention or discovery of symbols is doubtless by for the single

greatest event in the history of man.], conclusion [Without them, no
intellectual advance is possible; with them, there is no limit set to
intellectual development except inherent stupidity.], premise.

11. [Democracy has at least one merit, namely, that a Member of

Parliament cannot be stupider than his constituents,], premise [for
the more stupid he is, the more stupid they were to elect him.],
conclusion.

13. [There is nothing wrong with burning crude oil like crazy, oil
isn’t helping anyone when it sits in the ground-], premise [so as long
as there’s a plan for energy alternatives when the cheap oil runs
out.], conclusion.

1
Amanda Libbie Kelebit COM 204 3rd Feb 10

15. [So far the states are spending more than 90 percent of the
tobacco- settlement money on programs unrelated to smoking, such
as building highways.], premise [This is good, because we need
quality highways to handle the sharp increase in the number of
Mercedes automobiles purchased by lawyers enriched by the
tobacco settlement.], conclusion.

17. [In great contests each party claims to act in accordance with
the will of God. Both may be right, and one must be wrong.],
premise [God cannot be for and against the same thing at the same
time.], conclusion.

19. [Has it ever occurred to you how lucky you are to be alive?],
conclusion [More than 99% of all creatures that have ever lived
have died without progeny, but not a single one of your ancestors
falls into this group!], premise.

II. Identify the premises and conclusions in the following

arguments. (only even number)

2. [Rights are either God- given or evolve out of the democratic

process.], conclusion [Most rights are based on the ability of people
to agree on a social contract; the ability to make and keep
agreements.], premise [Animals cannot possibly reach such an
agreement with other creatures. They cannot respect anyone else’s
rights.], premise [Therefore they cannot be said to have rights.],
conclusion.

2
Amanda Libbie Kelebit COM 204 3rd Feb 10

4. [Since moral responsibility presupposes free- will, since this freedom

is not compatible with universal causal determinism, and since
universal causal determinism appears to be the case, it seems
evident that- contrary to what most people believe-], premise
[human beings are not morally responsible.], conclusion.

6. [The travel rule I will stress here is: Never trust anything you read in
travel articles. Travel articles appear in publications that sell large,
expensive advertisements to tourism- related industries, and these
industries do not wish to see articles with headlines like: “
URUGUAY: DON’T BOTHER”.], premise [So no matter what kind of
leech- infested, plumbing free destination travel writers are writing
about, they always stress the positive.], conclusion.

8. [Philosophy is dangerous whenever it is taken seriously. But so is

life. Safety is not an option.], premise [Our choices, then, are not
between risk and security, but between a life lived consciously, fully,
humanly in the most complete sense and a life that just happen.],
conclusion.

10. [If a man say, “I love God,” and hateth his brother, he is a
liar,], conclusion [for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath
seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?], premise.

12. [What is right in one place may be wrong in another, because

the only criterion for distinguishing right from wrong-], premise [so
the only ethical standard for judging an action- is the moral system
of the society in which the act occurs.], conclusion.

14. [We should be emotionally reconciled to the fact of death,

rather than fearing it,], conclusion [Once we understand that death
is necessary for two important, and very positive, things. First, it is
necessary for our appreciation of life. The more vivid our sense of
the approach of death, the more we relish the small things in life.
And secondly, death necessary for the continued march of

3
Amanda Libbie Kelebit COM 204 3rd Feb 10

evolutionary improvement, an ongoing process leading to more

valuable states of good to take place on earth.], premise.