Chapter 11 Practice Quiz

. It is likely that health information in public circulation might be distorted or misleading when ________.

that information has been drawn from a wide spectrum of views, including those of dissenting experts

the media responsible for circulating that information is extremely credible and has a proven track record of accuracy

no relevant experts are cited or consulted in the report being circulated

all experts support the same opinion

. It is helpful to identify the key parts of an ethical argument in order to ________.

better examine the internal structure of the ethical argument

more explicitly reflect on the acceptability of its premises

consider whether the conclusion follows from its premises

all of the above

. Suppose a lawyer were to argue the following: "If the accused committed the crime, then his blood would be in the bedroom; his blood is in the bedroom; so he must have committed the crime." That lawyer ________.

has committed the fallacy of affirming the consequent

has applied the valid reasoning of affirming the antecedent

has committed the fallacy of modus tollens

is begging the question regarding the guilt of the accused

. All of the statements below are types of standard ethical claims, except the following: ________.

"One should never perform action X"

"One should adopt a policy that would achieve consequence Y"

"Smith has never performed action X"

"One should be courageous"

. An ethical theory that is based on rights and duties evaluates an action based on ________.

a universal standard of duty that prohibits or requires an action apart from its consequences

the character state of an agent

the consequences of the action under consideration

whether the action has the effect of maximizing human dignity

. If an ethical argument concludes that we ought not to do X because it has undesirable consequences, then that argument most probably comes from ________.

the virtue ethics tradition of ethical thought

the deontological tradition of ethical thought

the subjectivist tradition of ethical thought

the consequentialist tradition of ethical thought

. If an ethical argument concludes that we ought to do X because it will manifest good character, then that argument most probably comes from ________.

the virtue ethics tradition of ethical thought

the deontological tradition of ethical thought

the subjectivist tradition of ethical thought

the consequentialist tradition of ethical thought

. If we assume that simply because A is followed by B, then A must have caused B, we commit the fallacy known as ________.

begging the question

appeal to tradition

affirming the consequent

post hoc, ergo propter hoc

. When health experts disagree about a health claim, we ________.

have a good reason to reject the claim

are permitted to think whatever we already believe about the claim

have a good reason to doubt the claim

have no evidence in support of the claim

. When health experts disagree, but you need to make a decision about your health, you should ________.

stop listening to so-called "experts."

proportion your belief to the evidence

accept the evidence which tends to confirm your prior beliefs about the claim

suspend judgement

. Causal reasoning provides conclusions that are necessary and universal.

TRUE

FALSE

. When there is significant disagreement among experts about a health issue, there is no basis for a non-expert to assess their respective conclusions.

TRUE

FALSE

. To claim that a particular remedy is effective just because everyone believes it is to commit the fallacy of appeal to popularity.

TRUE

FALSE

. In a courtroom setting it is not unusual for disputes about the conclusiveness of evidence to give rise to inductive arguments such as inference to the best explanation.

TRUE

FALSE

. The law classifies prohibited actions into categories that are never suited for the use of deductively valid arguments.

TRUE

FALSE

. Many criminal codes use categorical language to classify criminal offenses and their consequent punishments.

TRUE

FALSE

. In an ethical argument, a descriptive premise describes some condition or circumstance in the world that provides a link between an ethical principle and the conclusion of the argument.

TRUE

FALSE

. The concept of human rights derives from the ethical tradition known as deontology.

TRUE

FALSE

. The fact that a large proportion of people in a society think that a practice is ethically wrong is good reason to infer that it is, indeed, ethically wrong.

TRUE

FALSE

. In Canada, most newspaper reporters are well trained in evaluating health care advice.

TRUE

FALSE

. The tradition which grounds ethical arguments in rights and duties is referred to as deontology.

TRUE

FALSE

. The most basic skill when it comes to thinking critically about your health is the ability to engage in reasoning about causation.

TRUE

FALSE

. Very few significant health claims are answers to questions about causation.

TRUE

FALSE

. In evaluating health claims which take the form of causal explanations, we must be careful not to be misled by coincidence.

TRUE

FALSE

. We can take health claims found in the news at face value.

TRUE

FALSE

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