| Check each of the following arguments to be sure that it contains no hidden premises and, if it is a complex argument, that all parts are expressed. Revise each, as necessary, to make the expression complete. Then evaluate the argument and decide whether it is sound. Explain your judgment.
. Having great wealth is a worthy goal because it is difficult to attain and many famous people have pursued it.
a. Low grades on a college transcript are a handicap in the job market, so teachers who grade harshly are doing students a disservice.
b. The Bible can’t be relevant to today’s problems; it was written many centuries ago and is filled with archaic phrasing.
c. It is dishonest to pretend to have knowledge one does not have, so plagiarism is more virtue than vice.
d. The credit card habit promotes careless spending, particularly among young people. Therefore, credit card companies should not be permitted to issue credit cards to anyone under age 21.
e. No one who ever attended this college achieved distinction after graduation. Marvin attends this college. Therefore, Marvin will not achieve distinction after graduation.
f. Drug dealing should not be a crime because it does not directly harm others or force them to harm themselves.
g. A mature person is self-directing, so parents who make all their children’s decisions for them are doing their offspring a disservice.
h. There’s no point in attending Professor Drone’s class; all he does is lecture in a boring monotone.
i. Power must be evil because it can corrupt people.
j. If the theory of evolution is true, as scientific evidence overwhelmingly suggests, a human being is nothing more than an ape.
k. Rock musicians are contributing to the decline of language by singing in a slurred, mumbling manner.
l. If emphasis on error paralyzes effort, this college is paying my English professor to make it impossible for me to learn English.
m. Nuclear power is a threat to world peace. Nuclear energy stations generate nuclear power. So nuclear energy stations are a threat to world peace.
n. Lew Fairman is the best candidate for governor because he is in favor of the death penalty.
o. All religious authorities are concerned about the dangers of nuclear war. All politicians are concerned about the dangers of nuclear war. Therefore, all politicians are religious authorities.
p. The government should undertake a comprehensive censorship program because censorship eliminates undesirable books and films from the market.
q. If the Social Security system is further weakened, the elderly will have to fear poverty. Therefore, if the Social Security system is not further weakened, the elderly will not have to fear poverty.
r. Challenging other people’s opinions is a sign of intolerance, so debating courses have no place on a college campus.
s. It’s ridiculous to think that there will be fewer deaths if we ban handguns. Handguns don’t kill people; people kill people.
t. The antiabortionists say that the fetus is human, but they have not proved it. Therefore, they have no reasonable basis for opposing abortion.
u. We must either defeat communism or be defeated by it. To be defeated by communism is unthinkable. Therefore, we must defeat communism.
v. There is no way that anyone can ever deserve to live better than her or his neighbors, so capitalism is an immoral economic system.
w. If an expectant mother drinks, smokes, takes drugs, or fails to get proper rest, she may damage her unborn child. Therefore, if an expectant mother does these things and her child is born with a defect or ailment that can be traced to them, the mother should face criminal charges.
x. Custom is a form of folk wisdom. In some parts of the world, it is customary for “bride buyers” to buy (or sometimes kidnap) young women from their parents and sell them to men looking for wives. Even though we might find this practice distasteful, it would be morally wrong for us to object to others’ practicing it. |
