Logic and Critical Thinking Final Exam – Jimma University

Part I:  Write “True” if the statement is correct and “False” if not on the space provided 

1. In most cases, a claim should be considered true if it has not been shown to be false

2. Whether people are hypocritical regarding their claims is irrelevant to the truth of those claims

3. Critical thinking is chiefly concerned with the quality of our beliefs

4. In critical thinking, the principal reason for being charitable toward one another’s argument is ethical rather than practical

5. Arguments that commit the fallacy of begging the question are normally valid

Part II: Choose the best possible answer among the alternatives provided

6. An analogy is said to be weak if the things being compared are:

A. Sufficiently similar in relevant ways
B. Sufficiently dissimilar in irrelevant ways
C. Complete opposites
D. Sufficiently dissimilar in relevant ways

7. A thinking is said to be fair when:

A. New and unfamiliar ideas are contemptuously rejected
B. Treating with favor ideas which come from ones preferred group
C. Analyze issues impartially weighting the available data and facts
D. Putting one’s own self- interest in a second importance of order
E. Always giving priority and more importance to the interest of others

8. Based on “truth-seeking” principle of critical thinking, a critical thinker does all of the following except:

A. Thoughtfully considering criticisms of one’s own views
B. Willing to examine alternative positions seriously
C. Looking for insights in the positions of others
D. Regarding the truth to be what we now hold to be the truth
E. None of the above.

9. “We should abolish death penalty. Many respected people such as actor Handsome have publicly stated their opposition to it.” This passage commits fallacy of:

A. Unqualified Authority
B. Accident
C. Hasty Generalization
D. Missing the point

10. A fallacy which shifts “burden of proof” from where it ought to rest to the other side is:

A. Begging the question fallacy
B. Straw man fallacy
C. False dichotomy fallacy
D. None of the above

11. Europeans are rich because they are white. This argument commits fallacy of:

A. Oversimplified cause
B. Slippery slope
C. Non causa pro causa
D. Appeal to ignorance

12. “Killing is wrong. So, killing against aggressors is wrong.” This argument commits fallacy of:

A. Straw man
B. Appeal to pity
C. Accident
D. Appeal to force

13. Compared with strawman & red herring fallacies, the conclusion of missing the point fallacy is:

A. Irrelevant to the premises from which it is drawn
B. Relevant to the premises from which it is drawn
C. No such a difference among the three fallacies
D. Drawn from a new set of premises
E. None of the above

14. “I was too disappointed by Mr. X statement. He said: soldiers shouldn’t accused of any crime. This is worthless, exactly Mr. X is the minister of defense. ” This argument commits fallacy of:

A. Bandwagon
B. Ad Hominem circumstantial
C. Snobbery
D. Accident

15. Identify the correct statement regarding the concept ‘critical thinking’

A. Critical thinking is meant nothing more than cognitive skills
B. Being intelligent is not a sufficient condition for being a critical thinker
C. Criticizing an opponent’s argument is the only business of critical thinking
D. Critical thinking has a great deal of investigating the causes of our beliefs
E. Critical thinking is principally descriptive rather than normative

16. “Students, today we will discuss the major factors that cause high population growth. Apparently, a country with high human resources produces many things. When there is good governance, human resource is input in fighting poverty. Sometimes countries which have large populations are also exposed to high unemployment rates & migrations.” This argument commits fallacy of:

A. Missing the point
B. Red herring
C. Straw man
D. Appeal to pity

17. “The life of many Africans is dreadful. Africa lacks the power to supply what the mass needs to have. You know why they suffer, is due to Colonialism.” The passage commits fallacy of:

A. Appeal to people
B. Oversimplified
C. Suppressed evidence
D. Post hoc ergo propter hoc

18. “Either Socrates or Plato died by drinking hemlock poison. It was not Plato who drank hemlock poison. So, Socrates passed away by drinking hemlock poison.” This argument commits fallacy of:

A. Ad hominem circumstantial
B. False dichotomy
C. Appeal to ignorance
D. No fallacy is committed

19. One of the following is not among the rationales for Critical thinking, which one?

A. To have a complete understanding of oneself
B. To make evidence based decisions as much as possible
C. To form well-informed opinions
D. To be independent and totally alienated oneself from others
E. None of the above

20. The principle of “accuracy” in critical thinking refers to the ability to:

A. Express one’s view vividly in non-obscure, un-vague & non- amphibious way
B. Substantiate one’s view with reliable and valid evidences
C. Have an evidence based, clear & predictable stance across various conditions
D. Bring about evidences that directly support ones view
E. Have deep, robust and insightful understanding of an issue

21. “Critical thinker is someone who is always open to change his mind if an evidence based better idea comes even contrary to his claim.” This idea could be entertained under the principle of:

A. Truth Seeking
B. Fallibility
C. Clarity
D. Rebuttal

22. “Try to understand someone’s view positively as much as possible even if it is wrong” This idea most likely refers to the principle of:

A. Resolution
B. Charity
C. Precision
D. Clarity

23. One of the following is not among the traits of critical thinker?

A. Doesn’t look for errors but for ultimate truths
B. Take a superficial approach to understand issues
C. Have an exploratory attitude
D. Not stubborn

24. “Brazil” is the most popular country in football sport. Therefore, everyone in Brazil is a popular footballer.” This argument commits fallacy of:

A. Accident
B. Hasty generalization
C. False cause
D. Division

25. “Is evil an inherent quality of the world? How could it be? What a wretched place this earth would be if it were.” This is a good example for:

A. Egocentrism
B. Relativistic Thinking
C. Socio-centrism
D. Wishful thinking

26. Which one of the following is Correct about fallacious passages?

A. Necessarily, they are inferential passage
B. Necessarily, they are either bad inductive or deductive arguments
C. Are constituted by statements with ‘false’ truth values
D. All of the above.

27. Against a person fallacy is committed when someone try to defeat other’s claim by:

A. Coming up with a better counter claim
B. Attacking the arguer’s personality through which he can easily defeat his views
C. Distorting the view of someone to make it susceptible for attack
D. Applying a general rule to a specific case it was not intended to cover

28. Which one is correct regarding fallacies of Weak Induction?

A. Committed when the premises are logically irrelevant to the conclusion
B. Committed when the premises are sufficient to prove the conclusion
C. Exclusively committed by Inductive arguments
D. Committed when statements in the argumentation are misplaced

29. Which one is incorrect?

A. Appeal to pity takes place when an arguer tries to get people to accept a conclusion by making them feel sorry for someone
B. In the appeal to ignorance, the arguer basically says, “Look, there’s no conclusive evidence on the issue at hand. So, you should accept my conclusion on this issue.”
C. In Strawman, the premises of an argument do support a particular conclusion but not the conclusion that the arguer actually draws
D. Equivocation is sliding between two or more different meanings of a single word or phrase that is important to the argument

Part III. Identify the fallacies committed by the following arguments. If no fallacy is committed, write “No fallacy” 

30. You should believe in God’s existence. Unless, you will he destined to suffer eternally at hell

31. Bill Gates gives millions of dollars to charitable causes every year. It must be the case that all wealthy people give huge amounts of money to charity every year 

32. Probably no life exists on Venus. Teams of scientists have conducted exhaustive studies of the planet’s surface and atmosphere, and no living organisms have been found 

33. People who lack humility have no sense of beauty, because everyone who has a sense of beauty also has humility  34. A teacher is a human being. Thus, a good teacher is a good human being

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