philosophy.lander.edu

Homepage  >  Assessment  > Logic >  Question 4       

Philosophy 103: Introduction to Logic
Logic Assessment Pretest Question 4

4. Evaluate the following argument:  Mr. H.L.A. Aikens has argued persuasively that nuclear power plants are much safer that coal plants. Nevertheless, little weight should be given to his reasoning since he has worked in the nuclear power industry for over twenty years.  a. Mr. Aikens' arguments can be discounted because Mr. Aiken is biased.  b. Mr. Aikens might have some good points, but the issue is too complex for an conclusion to be drawn at this time.  c. Mr. Aikens' character and experience are not logically relevant to the soundness of his arguments.  d. Mr. Aikens' arguments must be right because of his experience. He knows what he is talking about.  e. Everyone has a right to his opinion. If Mr. Aikens thinks his arguments are sound, then they are at least sound to him. Purpose for the Question:  One objective of logic is to develop the ability to think critically.  Simply because someone is unsavory or not is strictly speaking irrelevant to the question of whether that person is arguing validly. Even illogical persons can give good arguments on occasion.  We should evaluate the argument not the person. This question is designed to find out if a student is clearly aware of the ad hominem attack and fallacy.		Phil 103 02 Archie
		Engl 373 04 Dumont-Poston
		Engl 101 22 Westcott

a. No evidence is presented that Aikens is biased.  

b. This answer is an attempt to avoid the question.

Answer c is correct not especially because authorities in a field can render valuable important information about the field, but in logic, arguments are to be evaluated on their own structure and import.

d.  Even authorities can make mistakes.  Interesting questions occur when authorities in the field disagree.

e. If logic were this subjective, communication would have no secure basis and intersubjective agreement would be impossible.

Evaluation: One would expect most students in lower-level classes to emphasize the bias the Mr. Aikens might have.  The answers to this question seem consistent across the two disciplines and classes.

Send corrections or suggestions to webmaster@philosophy.lander.edu
Read the disclaimer concerning this page.
11.23.04    © 2004 Licensed under GFDL

Arguments | Language | Fallacies  | Propositions  | Syllogisms  | Translation  | Symbolic