The aim of this assignment is to test your knowledge on the critical reasoning concepts of different types of arguments and different kinds of writing. There are nine questions. Answer all questions. Each question counts 2% The total mark is 18%.
- Read the following passages carefully and identify the type of argument in each text. Remember, we discussed four types of arguments, namely empirical, value, deductive and inductive arguments:
- Hepatitis C is on the rise in the prison population in South Africa. The spreading of the disease is most likely the result of inmates sharing needles. (Adapted from W. Teays, Second thoughts: critical thinking for a diverse society, McGraw-Hill, New York, 2003, p.245)
- Empirical argument
Yes, this answer is correct. This is an empirical argument because it asserts that some empirically determinable facts apply. The correctness or otherwise of the premises can be verified or falsified by appealing to factual evidence. Note that the argument does not assert a judgement of taste or a moral claim about right or wrong, good or bad.
- Value argument
No, this is not the correct answer because the argument does not assert a judgement of taste or a moral claim about right or wrong, good or bad.
- The death penalty is cruel, unworthy of a civilised society, and morally wrong.
- Empirical argument
No, this is not the correct answer because the argument does not assert that some empirically determinable facts apply. The correctness or otherwise of the premises cannot be verified or falsified by appealing to factual evidence.
- Value argument
Yes, this answer is correct because the argument asserts a moral claim about right or wrong, good or bad. The truth or correctness of the premises of this value argument depends on argumentation and on substantiated reasons in support of its claim.
- The act of abortion is wrong. A foetus is a sentient being. Every sentient being deserves to live. Thus, the killing of a foetus is wrong.
- Deductive argument
Yes, this is the correct answer because the conclusion follows logically from the premises.
- Inductive argument
No, this is not the correct answer because in this instance nothing is inferred beyond the contents of the argument’s premises. In other words, no inductive leap has occurred.
- Capital punishment is cruel. What is more, capital punishment is unworthy of a civilised society. Therefore, capital punishment is morally wrong.
- Deductive argument
No, this is not the correct answer because the conclusion does not follow logically from the premises.
- Inductive argument
Yes, this is the correct answer because the conclusion inferred something beyond the contents of the premises. An inductive leap occurred
Read the following passages carefully and identify the kind of writing in each text. Remember, we discussed four kinds of writing, namely argumentative, descriptive, comparative and narrative writing.
- The day may come when the rest of the animal creation may acquire those rights which never could have been withholden from them but by the hand of tyranny. The French have already discovered that the blackness of the skin is no reason why a human being should be abandoned without redress to the caprice of a tormentor. It may one day come to be recognized that the number of the legs, the villosity of the skin, or the termination of the os sacrum are reasons equally insufficient for abandoning a sensitive being to the same fate. What else is it that should trace the insuperable line? Is it the faculty of reason, or perhaps the faculty of discourse? But a full-grown horse or dog is beyond comparison a more rational, as well as a more conversable animal, than an infant of a day or a week or even a month, old. But suppose they were otherwise, what would it avail? The question is not, Can they reason? nor Can they talk? But, Can they suffer?
(J. Bentham,1970, Introduction to the principles of morals and legislation, Athlone, London, p. 368)
- Argumentative writing
Yes, this answer is correct. The author does not tell a story, nor does he compare or describe things. The author is engaged in an argument in favour of animal rights.
- Descriptive writing
No, this answer is not correct. The author does not describe events but is engaged with an argument in favour of animal rights.
- Comparative writing
No, this answer is not correct. The author does not compare issues, but he is involved with an argument in favour of animal rights.
- Narrative writing
No, this answer is not correct. The author does not tell a story but is engaged with an argument in favour of animal rights.
- Men will curse as they kill, yet accomplish deeds of self-sacrifice, giving their lives for others; poets will write with their pens dipped in blood, yet will write not of death but of life eternal; strong and courteous friendships will be born, to endure in the face of enmity and destruction. And so persistent is this urge to the ideal, above all in the presence of great disaster, that mankind, the wilful destroyer of beauty, must immediately strive to create new beauties, lest it perish from a sense of its own desolation; and this urge touched the Celtic soul of Mary.
For the Celtic soul is the stronghold of dreams, of longings come down the dim paths of the ages; and within it there dwells a vague discontent, so that it must for ever go questing. And now as though drawn by some hidden attraction, as though stirred by some irresistible impulse, quite beyond the realms of her own understanding, Mary turned in all faith and all innocence to Stephen. (R. Hall, 1985, The well of loneliness, Virago, London, p. 286)
- Argumentative writing
No, this answer is correct. The author does not argue for or against a particular point of view but aims at unfolding a story.
- Descriptive writing
No, this answer is not correct. The author does not describe events but is engaged in telling a story.
- Comparative writing
No, this answer is not correct. The author does not compare issues, but she aims at unfolding a story.
- Narrative writing
Yes, this answer is correct. The text does not argue for or against a particular point of view. Rather, the text aims at unfolding a story.
- Parental deprivation refers to an absence of adequate care from and interaction with parents or parent-substitutes during the formative years. It can occur even in intact families where, for one reason or another, parents are unable (e.g. because of mental disorder) or unwilling to provide for the child’s needs for close and frequent human contact. Its most severe manifestations, however, are usually seen among abandoned or orphaned children who may either be institutionalized or placed in a succession of psychologically unwholesome foster homes.
[The] effects of parental deprivation can be extremely serious. Faulty development has often been observed in infants experiencing deprivation. Many studies have focussed on the role of the mother, but all such studies are essentially concerned with warmth and stimulation, whether it comes from the mother, the father, or institutional staff members. (J.C. Coleman et al, 1984, Abnormal psychology and modern life, Glenview, Ill, Scott, p.119)
- Argumentative writing
No, this answer is correct. The authors do not argue for or against a particular point of view but aim at describing the effects of parental deprivation.
- Descriptive writing
Yes, this answer is correct. The authors are describing the effects of parental deprivation.
- Comparative writing
No, this answer is not correct. The authors do not compare issues, but they are describing the effects of parental deprivation.
- Narrative writing
No, this answer is not correct. The text does not aim at unfolding a story, but aims at describing the effects of parental deprivation
- Underlying these two different approaches to the question of African philosophy are two different understandings of philosophy itself. The first emphasizes the universality of philosophical truth and even of philosophical method; the second stresses the fact that actual philosophy is always produced in a particular culture and language and develops particular sets of concepts to deal with particular intellectual problems that are felt to be important. (A. Shutte, 1993, Philosophy for Africa, UCT Press, Rondebosch, p.17)
- Argumentative writing
No, this answer is correct. The author does not argue for or against a particular point of view but compares two different approaches to the question of African philosophy by drawing out the differences between two different understandings of philosophy.
- Descriptive writing
No, this answer is not correct. The author does not describe events or phenomena but compares two different approaches to the question of African philosophy by drawing out the differences between two different understandings of philosophy.
- Comparative writing
Yes, this answer is correct. The author compares two different approaches to the question of African philosophy by drawing out the differences between two different understandings of philosophy.
- Narrative writing
No, this answer is correct. The text does not aim at unfolding a story. Rather the author compares two different approaches to the question of African philosophy by drawing out the differences between two different understandings of philosophy.
- "Another of the main tenets of quantum physics is the uncertainty principle, formulated by Werner Heisenberg in 1926. The uncertainty principle tells us that there are limits to our ability to simultaneously measure certain data, such as the position and velocity of a particle" (Stephen Hawking & Leonard Mlodinow, The Grand Design, 2010:70).
- Argumentative writing
No, this answer is not correct. The author does not argue for or against a particular point of view. Rather, the author describes the uncertainty principle as formulated by Werner Heisenberg.
- Descriptive writing
Yes, this answer is correct. The author describes the uncertainty principle as formulated by Werner Heisenberg.
- Comparative writing
No, this answer is not correct. The author does not compare issues, but he is describing the uncertainty principle as formulated by Werner Heisenberg.
- Narrative writing
No, this answer is not correct. The author does not tell a story but is describing the uncertainty principle as formulated by Werner Heisenberg.
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