PHL/410 Final 18th century mathematician and philosopher, philosophy homework help

1. Which 18th century mathematician and philosopher made the following proposal: “And although learned men have long since thought of some kind of language or universal characteristic by which all concepts and things can be put into beautiful order, and with whose help different nations might communicate their thoughts and each read in his own language what another has written in his, yet no one has attempted a language or characteristic which includes at once both the arts of discovery and judgment, that is, one whose signs and characters serve the same purpose that arithmetical signs serve for numbers, and algebraic signs for quantities taken abstractly.”?

  A.  William of Ockham

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  B.  Blaise Pascal

  C.  Gottfried Leibniz

  D.  George Boole

1 point

2.  Predicates such as “triangular”, “divine”, and “temperate” do not exist except in the minds of intelligent beings.  Whatever exists in reality is an individual thing and can be named.  This characterization represents the key thought of: 

  A.  William Ockham

  B.  DeMorgan

  C.  Chrysippus

  D.  Pascal

1 point

3.  The criticism of President Obama that he lied to the American public when he said: “If you like your health plan you can keep it.” is completely unjustified because it has not been proven that he acted fraudulently.

This is most clearly an example of: 

A.  against the person

B.  argument from ignorance

C.  red herring

D.  hasty generalization

2 points

4.  The philosophy of Aquinas is nonsense.  He was a Catholic theologian who would say anything as long as it agreed with Rome, and he was fat as a hog besides.

This is most clearly an example of:   

A.  argument from ignorance

  B.  appeal to authority

  C.  ad hominem

  D.  petitio principii

2 points

5.  “Paranthropus boisei was discovered by Mary Leakey on July 17, 1959, at the FLK Bed I site of Olduvai Gorge in Tanzania (specimen OH 5). She rushed back to camp and at the news Louis made a remarkable recovery. They refrained from excavating until Des Bartlett had photographed the site. In his notes Louis recorded a first name, Titanohomo mirabilis, reflecting an initial impression of close human affinity.”  [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zinjanthropus] The name and definition Titanohomo mirabilis best illustrates which of the following definition types: 

  A. operational definition

  B. persuasive definition

  C. lexical definition

  D. stipulative definition

2 points

6. Assess this definition: Logic is the science of the laws of thought.  (2 points)

A. the definiens is “logic” and is too broad for the definiendum

B. the definiens is “logic” and is just right for the definiendum

C. the definiens is “the science of the laws of thought” and is just right for the definiendum

D. the definiens is “the science of the laws of thought” and is too broad for the definiendum

2 points

7.  Which of the following is a better characterization of definition by genus and species.

  A. species concepts are narrower than genus concepts

  B. genus concepts are narrower than species concepts

  C. a species and a specific difference make a genus

  D. definitions by genus and species are totally useless for modern science

2 points

All questions about Categorical Logic are to be answered from the Traditional or Aristotelian Logic of Categories, not the Boolean version.

8. What does Oab mean? 

1 point

9. Which, if any, of the terms in Oab are distributed? 

1 point

10.  Identify 10 propositions that may be inferred by means of the square of opposition and other immediate inferences such as obversion, etc. from it is false that Iab. Name the kind of inference in each case. If you wish to interpret Iab in concrete terms (i.e. use a class name for both a and b, for instance, Eab might be ‘No sheep are wolves’) you may; but be sure to use the same two class-names throughout for a and b.  In some of these you will follow a two-step process of inference (e.g. contradiction then contrariety). 

20 points

11.  Suppose that Aab is false.  Does that mean Eab is false too.  Explain briefly. 

2 points

12. What is the difference between contrary statements and contradictory statements.  Give an examples of each. 

4 points

13.  What does this diagram exhibit? 

2 points

Syllogisms

14.  Consider the syllogism:

  No catfish are cats.

Some fish are catfish.

  Therefore, No fish are cats.

  14a.  What is the major term? 

  14b.  What is the minor term? 

  14c.  What is the middle term? 

  14d.  Is the syllogism in standard form?  If not, what has to change to make it so?

  14e.  What is the mood? 

  14f.  What is the figure? 

  14g.  Is it valid? 

  14h.  If not, why not?  If so, what is the medieval name for this syllogism?

8 points

15.  Let’s change it around a little…

Consider the syllogism

  No cats are fish.

  All catfish are fish.

  Therefore, No cats are catfish.

 

  15a.  What is the major term? 

  15b.  What is the minor term? 

  15c.  What is the middle term? 

  15d.  Is the syllogism in standard form?  If not, what has to change to make it so?

  15e.  What is the mood? 

  15f.  What is the figure? 

  15g.  Is it valid? 

  15h.  If not, why not?  If so, what is the medieval name for this syllogism?

8 points

16. What is the figure, mood, and give an example of Felapton. 

3 points

For 19-21, apply the six traditional rules for checking syllogisms to validate or invalidate the following syllogisms.

Write Valid or Invalid, and write out the rule violated if invalid.

17.  All sharks are fish.  Some pelagic whitetips are fish.  Therefore some sharks are pelagic whitetips.

3 points

18.  Some zebras are albinos.  No zebras are pachyderms.  Therefore some albinos are pachyderms.

3 points

19.  Some conditions caused by viruses are not dangerous.  All cancers are dangerous.  Therefore some cancers are not conditions caused by viruses.

3 points

20. Explain why the following argument is valid or invalid.

Some non-potsmokers are athletes, because no potsmokers are persons in perfect

physical condition, and some people in perfect physical condition

are not nonathletes.

4 points

21. Translate the following argument into standard form.

  Name the mood and figure of its standard-form translation.

  Test its validity using a Venn diagram. If it is valid, give its traditional

  name.

  If it is invalid, name a rule that it violates.

. . . because intense heat is nothing else but a particular kind of painful

sensation; and pain cannot exist but in a perceiving being; it follows that

no intense heat can really exist in an unperceiving corporeal substance.

—George Berkeley, Three Dialogues Between Hylas and Philonous,

in Opposition to Sceptics and Atheists, 1713

8 points

22. Name a valid syllogism exhibited by the following diagram.  Give a standard form example of it.

4 points

Sentential Logic

23.  Which of the following is a valid argument?

A.  If Pb exceeds U238 by less than 5%, then post-Jurassic vulcanism is responsible.  Pb exceeds U238 by 10%, therefore post-Jurassic volcanism is not responsible.

B. If Pb exceeds U238 by less than 5%, then post-Jurassic vulcanism is responsible, and post-Jurassic volcanism is responsible, so Pb exceeds U238 by less than 5%.

C. If Pb exceeds U238 by less than 5%, then post-Jurassic vulcanism is responsible.  But post-Jurassic volcanism is not responsible, thus Pb does not exceed U238 by less than 5%.

D. Pb exceeds U238 by less than 5%, therefore Pb does not exceed U238 by less than 5%.

3 points

24.  Which of the following is an invalid argument?

A.  If light is composed only of waves, then light cannot travel across empty space.  But light is composed only of waves, therefore light cannot travel across empty space.

B.  If light is composed only of particles, then light cannot exhibit diffraction patterns; and light is composed only of particles, so light cannot exhibit diffraction patterns.

C.  If light is composed only of waves, then light cannot travel across empty space.  But light can travel across empty space.  Therefore light is not composed only of waves.

D.  If light is composed only of particles, then light cannot exhibit diffraction patterns; and light is not composed only of particles, therefore light can exhibit diffraction patterns.

3 points

25.  Which of the following is invalid deductively but might be part of a useful inductive argument.

A.  If light is composed only of waves, then light cannot travel across empty space.  But light is composed only of waves, therefore light cannot travel across empty space.

B.  If light is composed only of particles, then light cannot exhibit diffraction patterns; and light can exhibit diffraction patterns, so light cannot be composed only of particles.

C.  If light is composed only of waves, then light cannot travel across empty space.  So suppose light cannot travel across empty space.  In that case light is composed only of waves.

D.  If light is composed only of particles, then light is composed only of waves. 

3 points

26.  Explain briefly the difference between modus tollens and affirming the consequent.  How are they both used in modern science? 

3 points

Extra Credit  (5 points)

Construct a valid deductive argument with two true premises and a false conclusion.

 
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