204 Unit 4 Applied critical thinking
5 Examination practice
Answer the three questions again with
a time limit of 10–15 minutes each. If
you wish you may also revise your earlier
answers now that you have studied the
commentary:a Show that you understand the structure
of the argument. You should identify
the main conclusion and the reasoning
given to support it.
b Critically evaluate the argument. You
should identify any assumptions, flaws
and weaknesses and assess their effect
on the strength of the reasoning.
c ‘Animals that show high levels of
intelligence deserve to be treated
like humans.’Write your own argument to support or
challenge this claim.Answers and comments are on pages 325–26.1 Explain briefly why it may be relevant to the
evaluation of the argument in ‘Walk this
way!’ to know its source.
2 To what extent would you say the author of
‘Walk this way!’ argues scientifically?
3 Which of the following sentences
expresses an assumption that is implicit
in paragraph 3 of the argument? (Give
reasons for your answer.)A Acts that have no benefit must be
done for fun if they are done at all.
B Foraging for food is not a cultural
activity.
C It is wrong to train captive dolphins
to perform tricks.
D Captive dolphins must enjoy
performing tricks.
4 Briefly explain the meaning of the word
‘anthropomorphic’, with the help of a
dictionary if you wish. How might the
concept of anthropomorphism be used
to challenge the argument in the WDC
article?End-of-chapter assignments