1) Explain why the shipbuilder in “The Ethics of belief” by William Clifford, acted unethically.
2) Assume that the shipbuilder had formed a valid argument such as:
If a ship is safe, then one can responsibly let is sail.
This ship is safe.
Therefore, I can let it sail.
How would you respond to this in light of this week’s course content?
3) What would William Clifford say about the belief “I believe that people don’t need to get vaccinated against Covid 19” – assuming that people form this belief based on their own research.
determine if the following four deductive arguments are valid or invalid. Indicate in each case, why the argument is valid (modus ponens, modus tollens), or invalid (denies antecdent; affirms the consequent). Be sure to pay attention to conclusion and premise indicator words.
1. If there is a hedgehog in your gas tank, then your car will not start. My car will not start. Hence, there must be a hedgehog in my gas tank.
2. If there is a hedgehog in your gas tank, then your car will not start. So, my car will not start because there is in fact a hedgehog in my gas tank,
3. My car will start, because there is no hedgehog in my gas tank, And everyone knows that if there is a hedgehog in your gas tank, then your car will not start
4. There mustn’t be hedgehog in my gas tank, because my car will start. And everyone knows that if there is a hedgehog in your gas tank, then your car will not start.
determine if the following statements are a) self-evidently or analytically true; b) self-evidently or analytically false; c) neither self-evidently true nor false; d) conceptually incoherent (= nonsense)
See pg 190 for comparable exercises.
1. Gun control laws will lower fire arm deaths.
2. Ineffective gun control laws are effective
3. Strict gun control laws are strict.
4. Gun control is about 50 miles an hour slower than pure methane.
5. GPS technology works when GPS technology works.
6. GPS technology smirks smells beltways traffic.
7. After GPS technology becomes a standard feature on rental cars, people will tend to get lost less.
8. GPS technology never makes people happy and it always makes people happy.
– read this story, In one or two paragraphs comment on the whether Wei-Hoc Soon is credible on the subject of climate change. What aspects of his expertise are and are not in question?
Identify a website that is credible and a website that is not credible. Using the criteria supplied in week three (see the Lecture on Acceptability), focus on three or four traits that each website has that make it credible or not credible. (100 -150 words)