Week 15 Quiz

In a moral argument, what is a value premise?

Select one.

• A premise that says what is good, right, or required, supported by reasons and principles
• A premise that says what the situation is, supported by evidence that could show it true or false
• A premise the analyst supplies and marks (supplied) because the arguer left it unstated
• The claim the premises are offered to support, written on its own line after So

The illustrative running question in standard form: P1: During finals week many students need a quiet, safe place to study late at night. P2: The library is the only quiet, safe, well-lit study space on campus large enough to meet that need. P3 (supplied): The campus should provide study space students need during finals when it can do so at modest cost. P4: Keeping the library open overnight for the five nights of finals week costs about 1,600 dollars in staff wages. So, C: The campus library should stay open around the clock during finals week. Which premise is the value premise?

Select one.

• The premise about what many students need late at night during finals week
• The premise that puts a dollar figure on keeping the building open overnight
• The supplied premise about what the campus should provide at modest cost
• The premise that the library is the only space on campus large enough to meet the need

An illustrative club of 5 members wins a 600-dollar prize. Its sign-in log shows 20, 10, 10, 5, and 5 hours. If the club splits the prize by hours worked, how many dollars does the member who logged 20 hours receive?

Select one.

• 60 dollars
• 240 dollars
• 120 dollars
• 12 dollars

Two students both accept that the campus should provide study space students need at modest cost, and both accept that the campus should not provide a service that helps students harm themselves. They still disagree about whether an open library adds all-night studying or only moves it to a less safe place. What kind of disagreement is this?

Select one.

• A value disagreement, because the conclusion uses the word should
• A disagreement about validity, because one of their arguments must be invalid
• No real disagreement at all, because both students already accept the same two value premises
• A factual disagreement, because evidence about where students study could settle it

An illustrative volunteer says, "I promised the team I would be honest about the plan, and I keep my promises even when the truth is awkward." Which ethical framework is this reason drawn from?

Select one.

• The duty-based framework, which judges an act by whether it keeps duties or rules
• The consequence-based framework, which judges an act by its outcomes for everyone affected
• The character-based framework, which judges an act by what a person of good character would do
• No framework, because a reason about a promise is only a personal opinion

Which of these is a standard objection to the consequence-based framework?

Select one.

• Duties can conflict with one another, and keeping a rule can sometimes lead to a bad outcome
• It can give little specific guidance in a hard case
• Outcomes are hard to predict, and it can seem to allow harming a few for a gain to many
• It looks at the whole person and their judgment over time

Which statement is a steelman of the illustrative objection to keeping the library open around the clock during finals week?

Select one.

• They want the library to be a dorm where students sleep instead of study
• Overnight hours encourage all-night studying, losing sleep can hurt exam performance, and the campus should not help students harm themselves
• They do not care whether students pass their exams, as long as the building closes at night
• Students who study late are lazy and should have finished their work during the day

True or false: If you state the objection to your argument at its strongest, in terms its holders would accept, you have agreed with it.

True or false.

• True
• False

An illustrative newsletter claims: "Students who used the library overnight last year earned higher grades, so overnight hours raise grades." Which test from the course synthesis fits this claim best?

Select one.

• A Venn diagram, because the claim compares two groups of students
• The value-and-fact split, because the claim is about library policy
• The source check, because the claim appears in a campus newsletter written by students
• The confounding check, because the claim says one thing causes another

In the map of the illustrative running question, P1, P2, and P3 are linked and support C, P4 supports P3's modest cost condition, and the objection is an arrow marked against pointing at C. How is the reply drawn?

Select one.

• As an arrow marked against pointing at the objection
• As a fourth box linked with P1, P2, and P3 supporting C
• As an arrow marked against pointing at P4
• As an arrow from P4 pointing at C