Chapter 01
What is Critical Thinking, Anyway?
Short Answer Questions
1. Determine whether the following passage is (or contains) an argument.
Will a beverage begin to cool more quickly in the freezer or in the regular part of the
refrigerator? Well, of course it’ll cool faster in the freezer! There are lots of people who don’t
understand anything at all about physics and who think things may begin to cool faster in
the fridge. But they’re sadly mistaken.
Argument: Clearly, our speaker has an opinion on the subject, but no argument is given.
2. Determine whether the following passage is (or contains) an argument.
It’s true that you can use your television set to tell when a tornado is approaching. The
reason is that tornadoes make an electrical disturbance in the 55 megahertz range, which is
close to the band assigned to channel 2. If you know how to do it, you can get your set to
pick up the current given off by the twister. So your television set can be your warning
device that tells you when to dive for the cellar.
—Adapted from Cecil Adams, The Straight Dope
This passage might be taken as an explanation, but it is also an argument, since it is clearly
designed to convince us that its main point is correct.
,3. Determine whether the following passage is (or contains) an argument.
Some of these guys who do Elvis Presley imitations actually pay more for their outfits than
Elvis paid for his! Anybody who would spend thousands just so he can spend a few minutes
not fooling anybody into thinking he’s Elvis is nuts.
No argument. No connection is made between the cost of the outfits and the psychological
deficiencies of Elvis impersonators.
,4. Determine whether the following passage is (or contains) an argument.
"The argument advanced at a recent government hearing—that because we will not be
dependent on plutonium for more than a few hundred years it ‘will not be an important
problem indefinitely’—entirely misses the point. Though we may rely on plutonium for only
a relatively brief period, the plutonium produced during that period may be with us
indefinitely, and it may jeopardize the lives of many times the number of generations that
profit from its use."
—Ronald M. Green, "International Justice and Environmental Responsibility"
Argument.
5. Determine whether the following passage is (or contains) an argument.
"Gene splicing is the most awesome and powerful skill acquired by man since the splitting
of the atom. If pursued humanistically, its potential to serve humanity is enormous. We will
use it to synthesize expensive natural products—interferon, substances such as insulin, and
human endorphins that serve as natural painkillers. We will be able to create a second
‘green revolution’ in agriculture to produce new high-yield, disease-resistant, self-fertilizing
crops. Gene splicing has the potential to synthesize new substances we can substitute for
oil, coal, and other raw materials—keys to a self-sustaining society."
—John Naisbitt, Megatrends
Argument.
6. Determine whether the following passage is (or contains) an argument.
Computers will never be able to converse intelligently through speech. A simple example
proves that this is so. The sentences "How do you recognize speech?" and "How do you
wreck a nice beach?" sound just the same when they are spoken, but they mean something
different. A computer could not distinguish the two.
Argument.
, 7. Determine whether the following passage is (or contains) an argument.
You’d better not pet that dog. She looks friendly, but she’s been known to bite.
Argument.
8. Determine whether the following passage is (or contains) an argument.
It is obvious why some men have trouble understanding why women become upset over
pornography. Pornography depicts women as servants or slaves, and men cannot conceive
of themselves in this role.
Argument.
9. Determine whether the following passage is (or contains) an argument.
I don’t care how well Thompson played last week. If he misses practice one more time, he’s
not going to play in the tournament, and that’s that.
No argument. The speaker is only making a firm claim, not supporting it with reasons.
10. Determine whether the following passage is (or contains) an argument.
Except maybe for finance and business law, schools of business really don’t have very much
of their own subject matter to teach to students. All the rest is really mathematics,
psychology, English, speech, and other standard subjects that business schools call by other
names.
Argument.
What is Critical Thinking, Anyway?
Short Answer Questions
1. Determine whether the following passage is (or contains) an argument.
Will a beverage begin to cool more quickly in the freezer or in the regular part of the
refrigerator? Well, of course it’ll cool faster in the freezer! There are lots of people who don’t
understand anything at all about physics and who think things may begin to cool faster in
the fridge. But they’re sadly mistaken.
Argument: Clearly, our speaker has an opinion on the subject, but no argument is given.
2. Determine whether the following passage is (or contains) an argument.
It’s true that you can use your television set to tell when a tornado is approaching. The
reason is that tornadoes make an electrical disturbance in the 55 megahertz range, which is
close to the band assigned to channel 2. If you know how to do it, you can get your set to
pick up the current given off by the twister. So your television set can be your warning
device that tells you when to dive for the cellar.
—Adapted from Cecil Adams, The Straight Dope
This passage might be taken as an explanation, but it is also an argument, since it is clearly
designed to convince us that its main point is correct.
,3. Determine whether the following passage is (or contains) an argument.
Some of these guys who do Elvis Presley imitations actually pay more for their outfits than
Elvis paid for his! Anybody who would spend thousands just so he can spend a few minutes
not fooling anybody into thinking he’s Elvis is nuts.
No argument. No connection is made between the cost of the outfits and the psychological
deficiencies of Elvis impersonators.
,4. Determine whether the following passage is (or contains) an argument.
"The argument advanced at a recent government hearing—that because we will not be
dependent on plutonium for more than a few hundred years it ‘will not be an important
problem indefinitely’—entirely misses the point. Though we may rely on plutonium for only
a relatively brief period, the plutonium produced during that period may be with us
indefinitely, and it may jeopardize the lives of many times the number of generations that
profit from its use."
—Ronald M. Green, "International Justice and Environmental Responsibility"
Argument.
5. Determine whether the following passage is (or contains) an argument.
"Gene splicing is the most awesome and powerful skill acquired by man since the splitting
of the atom. If pursued humanistically, its potential to serve humanity is enormous. We will
use it to synthesize expensive natural products—interferon, substances such as insulin, and
human endorphins that serve as natural painkillers. We will be able to create a second
‘green revolution’ in agriculture to produce new high-yield, disease-resistant, self-fertilizing
crops. Gene splicing has the potential to synthesize new substances we can substitute for
oil, coal, and other raw materials—keys to a self-sustaining society."
—John Naisbitt, Megatrends
Argument.
6. Determine whether the following passage is (or contains) an argument.
Computers will never be able to converse intelligently through speech. A simple example
proves that this is so. The sentences "How do you recognize speech?" and "How do you
wreck a nice beach?" sound just the same when they are spoken, but they mean something
different. A computer could not distinguish the two.
Argument.
, 7. Determine whether the following passage is (or contains) an argument.
You’d better not pet that dog. She looks friendly, but she’s been known to bite.
Argument.
8. Determine whether the following passage is (or contains) an argument.
It is obvious why some men have trouble understanding why women become upset over
pornography. Pornography depicts women as servants or slaves, and men cannot conceive
of themselves in this role.
Argument.
9. Determine whether the following passage is (or contains) an argument.
I don’t care how well Thompson played last week. If he misses practice one more time, he’s
not going to play in the tournament, and that’s that.
No argument. The speaker is only making a firm claim, not supporting it with reasons.
10. Determine whether the following passage is (or contains) an argument.
Except maybe for finance and business law, schools of business really don’t have very much
of their own subject matter to teach to students. All the rest is really mathematics,
psychology, English, speech, and other standard subjects that business schools call by other
names.
Argument.
