Ethics—Midterm Exam UPDATED
QUESTIONS AND CORRECT ANSWERS
The fallacy of drawing a conclusion about an entire group of people or things based on an
undersized sample of the group is known as - CORRECT ANSWER hasty
generalization
In an argument, the supporting statements are known as ______; the statement being
supported is known as the ______. - CORRECT ANSWER premises; conclusion
A statement asserting that a state of affairs is actual (true or false) without assigning a moral
value to it is a - CORRECT ANSWER nonmoral statement
What is the implied premise in the following moral argument?
Argument: The war did not increase the amount of happiness in the world. So the war was
morally wrong. - CORRECT ANSWER If a war does not increase the amount of
happiness in the world, it must be considered morally wrong
What is the fallacy used in the following passage known as?
Passage: No one can prove that a fetus is not a person from the moment of conception. So a
fetus must be accorded full moral rights as soon as it is conceived. - CORRECT
ANSWER appeal to ignorance
A statement is - CORRECT ANSWER an assertion that something is or is not the case
What is the fallacy used in the following passage known as?
Passage: If same-sex marriage is legalized, young people will assume that being gay is
socially acceptable, and that will lead them to give into the temptation to become gay
themselves. And being gay can ruin their lives. Therefore, same-sex marriage should not be
legalized. - CORRECT ANSWER slippery slope
, These words—because, given that, due to the fact that, and for the reason that—are -
CORRECT ANSWER premise indicators
What is the fallacy used in the following passage known as?
Passage: Liberals believe in abortion on demand, which means that killing a baby is
permissible any time at all. At conception, in the second trimester, at infancy—any of these
would be appropriate times to kill a baby, says the liberal. - CORRECT
ANSWER straw man
A strong inductive argument with true premises is said to be - CORRECT
ANSWER cogent
The fallacy of assigning two different meanings to the same term in an argument is known as
- CORRECT ANSWER equivocation
A moral statement is a - CORRECT ANSWER statement affirming that an action is
right or wrong or that a person (or one's motive or character) is good or bad
In a valid argument, if the premises are true, then the - CORRECT
ANSWER conclusion absolutely has to be true
What is a possible counterexample to the following moral principle?
Moral principle: Lying is always wrong. - CORRECT ANSWER In some cases, if
lying can save a person's life, then lying would not be morally wrong.
In this argument—"(1) Premarital sex is morally permissible because (2) it makes people
happy"—statement 1 is the ______; statement 2 is the ______. - CORRECT
ANSWER conclusion; premise
Deductive arguments are - CORRECT ANSWER supposed to give logically conclusive
support to their conclusions
QUESTIONS AND CORRECT ANSWERS
The fallacy of drawing a conclusion about an entire group of people or things based on an
undersized sample of the group is known as - CORRECT ANSWER hasty
generalization
In an argument, the supporting statements are known as ______; the statement being
supported is known as the ______. - CORRECT ANSWER premises; conclusion
A statement asserting that a state of affairs is actual (true or false) without assigning a moral
value to it is a - CORRECT ANSWER nonmoral statement
What is the implied premise in the following moral argument?
Argument: The war did not increase the amount of happiness in the world. So the war was
morally wrong. - CORRECT ANSWER If a war does not increase the amount of
happiness in the world, it must be considered morally wrong
What is the fallacy used in the following passage known as?
Passage: No one can prove that a fetus is not a person from the moment of conception. So a
fetus must be accorded full moral rights as soon as it is conceived. - CORRECT
ANSWER appeal to ignorance
A statement is - CORRECT ANSWER an assertion that something is or is not the case
What is the fallacy used in the following passage known as?
Passage: If same-sex marriage is legalized, young people will assume that being gay is
socially acceptable, and that will lead them to give into the temptation to become gay
themselves. And being gay can ruin their lives. Therefore, same-sex marriage should not be
legalized. - CORRECT ANSWER slippery slope
, These words—because, given that, due to the fact that, and for the reason that—are -
CORRECT ANSWER premise indicators
What is the fallacy used in the following passage known as?
Passage: Liberals believe in abortion on demand, which means that killing a baby is
permissible any time at all. At conception, in the second trimester, at infancy—any of these
would be appropriate times to kill a baby, says the liberal. - CORRECT
ANSWER straw man
A strong inductive argument with true premises is said to be - CORRECT
ANSWER cogent
The fallacy of assigning two different meanings to the same term in an argument is known as
- CORRECT ANSWER equivocation
A moral statement is a - CORRECT ANSWER statement affirming that an action is
right or wrong or that a person (or one's motive or character) is good or bad
In a valid argument, if the premises are true, then the - CORRECT
ANSWER conclusion absolutely has to be true
What is a possible counterexample to the following moral principle?
Moral principle: Lying is always wrong. - CORRECT ANSWER In some cases, if
lying can save a person's life, then lying would not be morally wrong.
In this argument—"(1) Premarital sex is morally permissible because (2) it makes people
happy"—statement 1 is the ______; statement 2 is the ______. - CORRECT
ANSWER conclusion; premise
Deductive arguments are - CORRECT ANSWER supposed to give logically conclusive
support to their conclusions
