Philosphy exam

Critical Thinking (Bassham et al.)

1. Inductive Generalizations

   • Strong Inductive Generalization: Evidence strongly supports the conclusion (e.g., representative sample, large data set).

   • Hasty Generalization: Conclusion based on insufficient or biased evidence.

2. Statistical Arguments

   • Strong Statistical Argument: Probability is above 51%.

   • Weak Statistical Argument: Probability is below 51%.

3. Arguments from Analogy

   • Strong Analogy: Similarities between items are relevant to the conclusion.

   • Weak Analogy: Similarities are superficial or irrelevant.

4. Nine Fallacies of Insufficient Evidence

   • Inappropriate Appeal to Authority: Relying on a non-expert's opinion.

   • Appeal to Ignorance: Assuming something is true because it hasn’t been proven false.

   • False Alternatives: Presenting a false dichotomy (e.g., "You're with us or against us").

   • Loaded Question: Asking a question that presupposes guilt or another assumption.

   • Questionable Cause: Assuming causation without sufficient evidence.

   • Hasty Generalization: Drawing conclusions from limited evidence.

   • Slippery Slope: Assuming one action will inevitably lead to worse outcomes.

   • Weak Analogy: Comparing things that aren’t similar in relevant ways.

   • Inconsistency: Contradictory claims or positions.

The Righteous Mind (Haidt)

-Give a basic definition of the following positions in moral psychology:

Rationalism :Ideal is to become a moral agent making decisions through reason .   

Empiricism: The mind is a blank slate at birth and we acquire moral intuitions through experiences. 

Nativism: We are born with moral intuitions.  

-If Jacobs’s HT corresponds to the art_ of reasoning, Haidt’s RM corresponds to the science_____ of reasoning.

-Who is the philosopher representative of rationalism, for Haidt? Plato (emphasis on reasoning and duty). Haidt does not agree. 

-Who is the philosopher representative of empiricism, for Haidt? David Hume (moral feelings drive reasoning).

-Who is the scientist representative of nativism, for Haidt? Charels Darwin 

-Hume: “Reason is, and ought only to be the slave__ of the passions_____.”

-What did Haidt’s own experiment, recounted in Chapter 1, add to our understanding of what Schweder’s experiments reveal? (The “second thing” @ p. 25). 

Social class has a more efect than western vs non western on moral judgment. 

-Who is our system 2 moral reasoning meant to convince? 

Ourselves and others 

-Contrary to popular assumptions, there are two types of cognition. What are they? 

Intuition vs reasoning  

Intuition os not rational it is already cognition 

-According to the diagram at p. 55, how might our moral intuitions, judgments, and reasoning actually be led to change? 

Our elephant swings in motion with other people. Our beliefs only change when we discuss with others. Social intuitionist model 

- Emptahy_ is the antidote to self-righteousness (p. 58).

-What is the “mere exposure effect”? 

Familiarity leads to attraction. 

-Give a one-sentence definition of confirmation bias. 

When we believes something we seek out evidence that confirms what we already believe 

-What does Haidt mean when he writes that “Our politics is groupish, not selfish” (p. 100)? 

Displaying membership of a team 

-Fill in the acronym:

Western 

Educated

Industrialized

Rich

Democratic

-Of innateness, in Chapter 7, it is suggested that the five moral foundations are like the (what) of the chapters of a book? 

First draft 

-What is the biological/evolutionary foundation of the Care/Harm foundation? 

Caring for children 

-Who (which group) does the American left tend to associate with the Care/Harm foundation?  

Innocent victims 

-Who (which group) does the American right tend to associate with the Care/Harm foundation?  

Those who have sacrificed for the group

-Why does the reality of altruism make sense, from the standpoint of biological evolution?  

Helping others without expecting anything in return. Reciprocal altruism 

-On the American left, Fairness is understood or interpreted to mean equality. On the right, it is understood or interpreted to mean proportionality_______. 

-What’s the “original trigger” of the Loyalty/Betrayal foundation (p. 163)?  

Anything that tells you is a team player or a trader. 

-T/F: In nature, hierarchical structures of authority are inherently unjust. Leaders of the group always exploit their underlings or subjects without providing anything in return. 

-Be able to recognize examples of how the Sanctity Foundation appears positively among the contemporary American right and (perhaps more difficult) the American left.  

Right: Human body, loyalty to nation 

Left: Environment and body health (organic fruit) 

-What’s the genetic claim that Haidt makes about the brains of liberals and conservatives?  

L: greater pleasure to new experiences  

R: Stronger sensitivity to danger 

-What kind of “heroism” narrative characterizes the contemporary American left?  

Heroism of liberation  

-What kind of “heroism” narrative characterizes the contemporary American right?  

Heroism of defense

-Give a one-sentence definition of social capital (Chapter 12).   

The idea is that all other capitals are equal but the group that has a better connection will do better

-What’s the downside to emphasizing our differences, over and above what a group shares in common? (What does Haidt argue?)  

Turtle inside of ourselves instead of hive 

Short Answer:

-Why won’t (some) atheists sell their souls (p. 44f)?  

According to our moral foundation, sanctity and deverbration I am worth more than 2 dollars. 

-What does Haidt call his own model of the origins of our moral reasoning? Why?  

Social intuitionism. The elephant directs the rider.

-What’s the difference between “can” and “must”? How does this relate to self-interest in reasoning (pp. 98-99)?  

When we dont want to believe something looking for something that says you dont have to. When you want to believe something you ask can I and look for anyreaon two. 

-What can the ethics of community and the ethics of divinity teach those whose moral matrix is the ethics of autonomy?  

Community: group loyalty, social bonds, and interdependence.  

Divinity: sacredness and should not be degraded 

-Explain what Haidt means when he coins the term moral capital (Chapter 12).   

Where all other things are equal the group that holds each other accountable morally will outperform the one that doesn't, 

-Identify 3 positive features among the contemporary left and right (3 for each).  

Left: 

•  care for innocent victims 

• Care for nature 

• Care for physical health 

• Removing corporate superorganisms 

Right: 

• Defense   

• Loyalty  

• Reward based on achievement or sacrifice  

• Cost of a p

-What’s wrong with unregulated markets?  

Corporate superorganisms take over and have nor incentive to stop.  

-What’s right about free (unregulated)  markets?  

Cheaper prices and competition drives innovation and quality. 

-What are some indirect changes that could be made in society to help foster a shift from  Manichaeism in our political thinking toward a more complementary (yin-and-yang) perspective?   

Trying to reduce the polarization of the two political sides. Productive conversation. Those you express decent with your own party and allow for that conservation. Have a hobby that brings together from different perspective and backgrounds 

-According to what we’ve read and discussed in class this semester, what does it mean to reason well?   

To reason well to consider all possibility and 

-Why should we seek to reason across difference? 

It promotes productive conservation.