314 Answers to assignments
R Statistically it can be seen that crime
has been rising.IC The current soft approach to crime is
not working.C If the courts don’t get back to
zero-tolerance, we face defeat in the
war on crime.
4 Variable responses
5 This is a difficult passage, although it is
short. The author is plainly approving of
random stop-and-search powers for the
police, but does not say so in as many
words. It could therefore be said that this
is an argument with an implicit rather
than an explicit conclusion. Or you could
say it was not an argument for that reason.
There is another possible interpretation,
which is that the last sentence is the
conclusion. But what is it actually
saying? Why would opponents of the bill
be helping the guilty? This is an exercise
in interpretation, which is why it is a
more challenging task.2.9 Assumptions
1 a A is clearly assumed. C is possibly
implied, but it is not key to the
argument; not necessary. The
argument could still be sound if Raisa
did not like novels much either, but
just didn’t hate them. B is interesting.
It need not be assumed: Raisa may love
mountain-climbing, but hate reading
about it for one reason or another.
b A and C are both assumed, and
for similar reasons. To meet the
conditions Nashida would have had
to suffer as a result of the changes,
and have left for that reason. D is also
assumed because it would have to be
the case that Nashida was forced to
accept the changes, i.e. had no choice.
B does not have to be assumed becausereasons to support it, including the
intermediate conclusion that differing
fares are the only way the system can work.
Distracters: B is the intermediate
conclusion, and therefore a premise;
C and D are part of the introductory
information which provides the target
for the main argument; E is one of the
reasons which supports the intermediate
conclusion.
3 The correct selection is A. The actual
sentence that states the conclusion is
‘This is nonsense,’ but when you are
asked to express the conclusion, you
obviously need to say what ‘This’ is.
‘This’ refers to the target claim, ‘We must
be carnivores,’ as A correctly includes.
Distracters: B would be a premise, if it
were correctly interpreted. The actual
claim in the passage is that these foods
are the natural diet of our closest relatives
in the animal kingdom; C and D are
premises; E is implied in the introductory
sentence.2.8 Reasons
1 This is open to debate. Some linguists and
logicians flatly deny that an argument can
have a question as its conclusion, unless it
is a question which is obviously rhetorical,
and has the meaning of a statement. But
this question really looks like a genuine
one: it is not saying either that the Red
Sox can win or that they can’t. So this is
a chance for students to develop their
own philosophical arguments. One line
of reasoning you might consider is that
the text gives a reason for asking the
question. However, does that make it an
argument or an explanation? Good luck!
2 Variable responses
3 Grammatically the premises are
not declarative sentences. One is an
imperative, the other a rhetorical
question. In standard form the argument
could be (e.g.):