Chapter 3 Self-Check Questions

. Which of the following is a universal claim?

Some dogs have long hair.

Most oil spills kill wildlife.

All universal claims have the form 'All Xs have feature Y.'

Philosopher David Hume was Scottish.

. Which of the following is a universal claim?

Lying is always wrong.

Manatees give birth to live young.

Stealing is sometimes wrong.

Mammals tend to give birth to live young, but there are exceptions.

. A counterexample is [pick the best answer]

An explanation of some general problems with a universal claim.

A specific case that illustrates why we should think a universal claim is true.

A universal claim that can be used to show that another universal claim is false.

A specific case that is supposed to show a universal claim is false.

. Identify the features an example would need to have to be a counterexample to this claim: no mammals lay eggs

To find a counterexample, you'd need a specific example of something that's a mammal and does lay eggs.

To find a counterexample, you'd need a specific example of something that's a mammal but doesn't lay eggs.

To find a counterexample, you'd need a specific example of something that's not a mammal but lays eggs.

. Identify the features an example would need to have to be a counterexample to this claim: all metal can be magnetized.

To find a counterexample, you'd need a specific example of something that's a metal that can be magnetized.

To find a counterexample, you'd need a specific example of something that's not a metal but can be magnetized.

To find a counterexample, you'd need a specific example of something that's a metal but can't be magnetized.

. Identify the features an example would need to have to be a counterexample to this claim: stealing is always wrong.

To find a counterexample, you'd need a specific example of something that's not stealing but is wrong.

To find a counterexample, you'd need a specific example of something that's not stealing and is not wrong.

To find a counterexample, you'd need a specific example of something that's stealing but not wrong.

. Identify the features an example would need to have to be a counterexample to this claim: it's always wrong to hurt your friends

To find a counterexample, you'd need a specific example of a situation where someone would be hurting their friends but it wouldn't be wrong.

To find a counterexample, you'd need a specific example of a situation where someone would not be hurting their friends, but it would be wrong.

To find a counterexample, you'd need a specific example of a situation where someone would be hurting their friends and it would be wrong.

. Identify the features an example would need to have to be a counterexample to this claim: Non-human animals aren't self-aware.

To find a counterexample, you'd need a specific example of something that's a non-human animal and not self-aware.

To find a counterexample, you'd need a specific example of something that's not self-aware but not a non-human animal.

To find a counterexample, you'd need a specific example of something that's a non-human animal but is self-aware.

. A good counterexample needs to be broadly accessible. This means that:

It needs to be an example that people who agree with your point of view would understand.

It needs to be an example that nearly everyone in the target audience could understand, given the description you've provided.

It needs to be an example that is general enough that everyone in the target audience could fill in the details in their own way to get their own unique example.

. A good counterexample needs to be uncontroversial. This means that:

It needs to be an example that doesn't discuss any issues that someone might have strong feelings about.

It needs to be an example that some people who agree with your point of view would agree with, even if others who have different perspectives might disagree.

It needs to be an example about which (nearly) everyone in your target audience can agree with your judgment.

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