NS4H Fall 2003 HE1 Study Guide

The following Informal Fallacies from Weird Things, and some additional critical thinking tools have been presented in class. We have discussed in class which of these will be emphasized at this point in the course and on the exam.

Begging the Question (tautology)
False Dilemma
Equivocation (2 word meanings)
Composition (parts --> whole)
Division (whole --> parts)
Genetic Fallacy
Hasty Generalization
Faulty Analogy
Appeal to Authority
Appeal to the Masses
Appeal to Tradition
Appeal to Ignorance
Appeal to Fear
Appeal to the Person (ad hominem)

Confirmational Bias (cherry picking)
Subjective Validation
Reconstructed Memories
Burden of Proof
Inductive & Deductive
Argument by Analogy

Do Hypotheses have "legs?"
Induction to Best Inference

Be familiar with the presentations given in class (Homeopathy and Chiropractic) and review the readings assigned for these from Hines and from Weird Things. Both of these topics have been integrated into the exam questions.

The exam will employ the Logic and Language material covered in Chapter 1 and only a very little from Chapter 2 of Moore. There are sixteen multiple-choice questions, followed by three short essay questions, which may have sub-parts.

Specifially, be ready to:

• Read an argument, identify the issue and write it as a question, identify the conclusion, then rewrite the argument in Standard Form.
• Recall any exercises we did, then supply hypotheses and arguments as directed.
• Analyze an argument, including any unstated premises or a missing conclusions. Establish if it is inductive or deductive, then explain if the argument succeeds or fails, and why. If the argument is inductive, you will have to evaluate the strength of the conclusion.
• Be prepared to carefully distiguish terms like issue, topic, belief, opinion, argument, view, and spin.
• Be prepared to distiguish between Normal Science, Pseudoscience, and the Paranormal. You may be asked to discuss the borderlands between these terms and construct arguments defending your choices.
• Be prepared to distinguish Induction from Deduction and explain how Induction to Best Inference figures into all this.
• There are some questions about the Informal Fallacies. The ones that could be on this exam are listed at the top of this Study Guide.
• Be prepared to recall How the World Works, as discussed in lecture.
• Don't forget about the chicken.
• Homeopathy and Chiropractic will make significant appearances on the exam.