A journey through the landscape of philosophy
Exercises in the Art of Thinking Well

1. Write and label the symbolic forms for modus ponens, modus tollens, and disjunctive syllogism.

 
2. Now write and label two deductively valid examples for each of the logical laws above.

3. Do any of your examples suffer from soundness issues? If so, explain in what way(s).

 
4. Write and label, in symbolic form, the fallacies of affirming the consequent and denying the antecedent.
5. Give an example of each fallacy listed below. Do not use examples from the Text or class discussion.

a. Ad Hominem:
b. Begging the Question:
c. Equivocation:
d. Appeal to Popularity:
e. Argument from Ignorance:
f. Post Hoc (i.e. Faulty Cause):
g. Slippery Slope:
h. Naturalistic Fallacy:
i. False Dilemma:
j. Affirming the Consequent:
k. Denying the Antecedent:
6. Define the term “category-mistake” and give two examples of such a mistake.
For bonus points _Carefully read the short selection from Plato’s Theaetetus in the text and answer Discussion question 2 on p.46 (no need to actually watch the movie referenced in the question).
Carefully read the selection Is the Sex of the Knower Epistemologically Significant? and explain the term epistemological relativism as she has stated it. Do you agree with her assessment that the gender of the knower is epistemologically significant? Why or why not?
Carefully read Daniel Dennett’s essay Where Am I? and answer Discussion Question 1 on p.119.
Carefully read Gilbert Ryle’s essay The Concept of Mind: Descartes’ Myth and explain what he means by the term category mistake. Give four original examples of a category mistake (“original” meaning not examples given on wikipedia or by Ryle).