AP/ADMS/PHIL 4295  6.0  2005-2006

PHILOSOPHICAL AND ETHICAL ISSUES IN THE MASS MEDIA

Mid-Year Take-Home Assignment. Due: January 11. Worth 25% of the final grade.

PART ONE: DEFINITIONS.  Define the following concepts. Each correct definition is worth 1 point. Do not explain.

argument; valid argument; inductive argument; major premise; minor term; mood; informal fallacy; fallacy of division; fallacy of presumption; undistributed term.

PART TWO: TRUE OR FALSE. In the next 5 statements you should indicate whether they are true or false. Each correct answer is worth 2 points.

1)      An argument is unsound only when the premises are false.

2)      In an unsound argument the conclusion must be false.

3)      A BARBARA syllogism whose premises are true is a sound argument.

4)      In a 4^th figure AEE syllogism if the conclusion is true then the premises are true. 

5)      If in a 3^rd figure OAO syllogism the conclusion is false and the minor premise is true then the major premise must be false.

PART THREE: MOODS. Indicate whether the following 10 moods are valid or invalid. Each correct decision is worth 1 point.

                            AAI- EAO- AEO- AAI- IEO- EIO- EOI- AOO- IAI- IAA.

PART FOUR: SYLLOGISTIC ENTHYMEMES.  Rewrite the following 4 syllogistic enthymemes in standard form (putting the major premise first, the minor premise second and the conclusion last). Indicate the missing component with an arrow (à). After you have completed the syllogisms, indicate their symbolic structure, figure and mood, and finally, find out whether they are valid or invalid by tracing the moods in the Poem. Each correct exercise is worth 5 points. Please, notice that it is extremely important that your syllogisms are correctly rewritten according to the standard form.

1)      All honest moralists are good citizens since all good citizens are reliable people.

      2)  No criminal is a normal person given that no trustworthy person is a criminal.

      3)  All poets are writers; therefore Mrs. Hu is not a poet.

      4) This statement has been repeated thrice and all statements repeated 3 times are true.

PART FIVE: FULL SYLLOGISMS. Put the next 4 syllogisms in standard form (major premise first, minor premise second and the conclusion last). After you have put them in standard form, indicate their symbolic structure, figure and mood, and finally find out whether they are valid or invalid by tracing their moods in the Poem. Each correct exercise is worth 5 points. Please notice that it is extremely important that your syllogisms are correctly written according to the standard form.

1)         All sharks are carnivores; therefore, no carnivores are camelopards, because no camelopards are sharks.

2)         All socialists are people who believe in sharing wealth. So, because no capitalists
are people who believe in sharing wealth, no capitalists are socialists.

3)         Some politicians are people who serve the community, given that we know that all people who serve the community are honest people and all honest people are politicians.

4)         Some moralists are cynical people. In conclusion some cynical people are not good citizens, for no moralists are good citizens.

PART SIX: INFORMAL FALLACIES. In the following 6 exercises indicate which informal fallacy has been committed. Explain with brevity, clarity and precision the reason for your assessment. Each correct exercise is worth 5 points.

1)     All laws should be respected. The formula “Force=mass times acceleration” is a law. Therefore this formula should be respected.

2)      The average grade of this class is a solid B+. Now, because Larry is a student in this class, we can say that he has a B+ average.

3)      Alloys of gold are malleable, since gold is malleable.

4)      Husband: I am not having an affair with her.

Wife: You said that you are not having an affair with her. Therefore you have admitted that you are having an affair with someone.

5)     Aristotle is the most famous philosopher in Western civilization, because his philosophy (with modifications) became the official philosophy of the Catholic Church. This came about because Aquinas and others based their philosophies on Aristotle’s philosophy. They did this because Aristotle was the most famous philosopher in Western civilization

6)     Since high level education in nuclear medicine results in improvements for the health of people, everyone should be accepted in the institutes where nuclear medicine is taught.