RLGN 105 Midterm/Exam #1 questions with verified
answers
Absolute Truth Ans✓✓✓ something that is true at all times and at all places,
whether we believe it or not
Ad Hominem Ans✓✓✓ o Person A makes claim X.
o Person B makes an attack on person A.
o Therefore A's claim is false.
Anthropocentric Ans✓✓✓ idea that humanity is most valuable
Appeal to (false or misleading) Authority Ans✓✓✓ o Person A is (claimed to be)
an authority on subject S.
o Person A makes claim C about subject S.
o Therefore, C is true.
Appeal to Ignorance Ans✓✓✓ o There is no evidence against P. Therefore, P.
o There is no evidence for p. Therefore, not-p.
Atheism Ans✓✓✓ only reality exists in the natural realm
Bandwagon Ans✓✓✓ o Person P is pressured by his/her peers or threatened
with rejection.
o Therefore, person P claims the proposed X whether convinced or not.
, Characteristics of a Critical Thinker Ans✓✓✓ - Constantly evaluate their own
attitudes, values, and opinions (seek to ensure their opinion is reasonable,
logically sounds, not based on emotion alone)
- Understand that having a right to an opinion does not mean that every opinion
is right, including their own
- Don't pretend to know what they don't know (honest w/ themselves, admit their
shortcomings and ignorance to others)
- Don't blindly adhere to tradition (don't hold cherished viewpoints if they are
shown to have been developed from faulty reasoning or emotion), don't
automatically reject competing opinion until the evidence is fully examined, are
willing to (re)examine and revise their viewpoint if evidence seems to warrant it
- Resist, refuse to use manipulation (don't succumb to appeals of self-indulgence,
impulsiveness, instant gratification and refuse to use these tactics on others)
- Seek clarification on terms (don't allow others to use ambiguous terms w/ out
having defined, nor use terms w/out careful definition)
- Explore many sides of an issue
- Base their opinions based on evidence
- Eager to learn from experience of others
- Look for common logical fallacies
- Avoid barriers that impede critical thinking (ex: human limitations, use of
language, use of faulty argumentation and logic **some barriers are
unintentional while others are**)
Conventional Relativism Ans✓✓✓ Morality is a factor dependent upon social
convention (51% morality)
Cultural Relativism Ans✓✓✓ Since cultures vary in their moral beliefs, it follows
that no universal moral principles exist.
answers
Absolute Truth Ans✓✓✓ something that is true at all times and at all places,
whether we believe it or not
Ad Hominem Ans✓✓✓ o Person A makes claim X.
o Person B makes an attack on person A.
o Therefore A's claim is false.
Anthropocentric Ans✓✓✓ idea that humanity is most valuable
Appeal to (false or misleading) Authority Ans✓✓✓ o Person A is (claimed to be)
an authority on subject S.
o Person A makes claim C about subject S.
o Therefore, C is true.
Appeal to Ignorance Ans✓✓✓ o There is no evidence against P. Therefore, P.
o There is no evidence for p. Therefore, not-p.
Atheism Ans✓✓✓ only reality exists in the natural realm
Bandwagon Ans✓✓✓ o Person P is pressured by his/her peers or threatened
with rejection.
o Therefore, person P claims the proposed X whether convinced or not.
, Characteristics of a Critical Thinker Ans✓✓✓ - Constantly evaluate their own
attitudes, values, and opinions (seek to ensure their opinion is reasonable,
logically sounds, not based on emotion alone)
- Understand that having a right to an opinion does not mean that every opinion
is right, including their own
- Don't pretend to know what they don't know (honest w/ themselves, admit their
shortcomings and ignorance to others)
- Don't blindly adhere to tradition (don't hold cherished viewpoints if they are
shown to have been developed from faulty reasoning or emotion), don't
automatically reject competing opinion until the evidence is fully examined, are
willing to (re)examine and revise their viewpoint if evidence seems to warrant it
- Resist, refuse to use manipulation (don't succumb to appeals of self-indulgence,
impulsiveness, instant gratification and refuse to use these tactics on others)
- Seek clarification on terms (don't allow others to use ambiguous terms w/ out
having defined, nor use terms w/out careful definition)
- Explore many sides of an issue
- Base their opinions based on evidence
- Eager to learn from experience of others
- Look for common logical fallacies
- Avoid barriers that impede critical thinking (ex: human limitations, use of
language, use of faulty argumentation and logic **some barriers are
unintentional while others are**)
Conventional Relativism Ans✓✓✓ Morality is a factor dependent upon social
convention (51% morality)
Cultural Relativism Ans✓✓✓ Since cultures vary in their moral beliefs, it follows
that no universal moral principles exist.
