The Monash Critical Thinking Study

Calling any state totalitarian is misleading: it implies total state control of all aspects of life. The real world contains no political entity exercising literally total control over even one such aspect. This is because any system of control is inefficient, and, therefore, its degree of control is partial.

Which one of the following most accurately expresses the main conclusion of this argument?

A. No state can be called totalitarian without inviting a mistaken belief.
B. To be totalitarian, a state must totally control society.
C. The degree of control exercised by a state is necessarily partial.
D. Systems of control are inevitably inefficient.

Example 1. Identifying conclusions.
Initial responses: A 45%, B 10% C 45%. After discussion:A 80%, B 5% C 5%

Example 2. Argument structure.

English and the Australian language Mbarbaram both use the word "dog" for canines. These two languages are unrelated, and since speakers of the two languages only came in contact with one another long after the word "dog" was first used in this way in either language, neither language could have borrowed the word from the other. Thus this case shows that sometimes when languages share words that are similar in sound and meaning the similarity is due neither to language relatedness nor to borrowing.

The argument requires that which one of the following be assumed?

A. English and Mbarbaram share no words other than "dog."
B. Usually when two languages share a word, those languages are related to each other.
C. There is no third language from which both English and Mbarbaram borrowed the word "dog."
D. If two unrelated languages share a word, speakers of those two languages must have come in contact with one another at some time.

Example 3. Identifying assumptions.
Initial responses: C 70%, B 30%, D 5%. After discussion:C 90%, B 5%

It has been claimed that an action is morally good only if it benefits another person and was performed with that intention; whereas an action that harms another person is morally bad if such harm was intended or if reasonable forethought would have shown that the action was likely to cause harm.

Which one of the following judgements most closely conforms to the principle cited above?

A. Pamela wrote a letter attempting to cause trouble between Edward and his friend: this action of Pamela's was morally bad, even though the letter, in fact, had an effect directly opposite from the one intended.
B. In order to secure a promotion, Jeffrey devoted his own time to resolving a backlog of medical benefits claims. Jeffrey's action was morally good since it enabled Sarah's claim to be processed in time for her to receive much-needed treatment.
C. Intending to help her elderly neighbour by clearing his walkway after a snowstorm, Teresa inadvertently left ice on his steps; because of this exposed ice, her neighbour had a bad fall, thus showing that morally good actions can have bad consequences.
D. Jonathan agreed to watch his three-year-old niece while she played but, becoming engrossed in conversation, did not see her run into the street where she was hit by a bicycle. Even though he intended no harm, Jonathan's action was morally bad.

Example 4. Assessing generalisations.
Initial response: A 54%, C 8%, D 38%. After discussion: A 23%,D 77%.

A fundamental illusion in robotics is the belief that improvements in robots will liberate humanity from "hazardous and demeaning work." Engineers are designing only those types of robots that can be properly maintained with the least expensive, least skilled human labour possible. Therefore, robots will not eliminate demeaning work--only substitute one type of demeaning work for another.

The reasoning in the argument is most vulnerable to the criticism that it

A. ignores the consideration that in a competitive business environment some jobs might be eliminated if robots are not used in the manufacturing process
B. assumes what it sets out to prove, that robots create demeaning work
C. equivocates with respect to the term 'demeaning'
D. fails to address the possibility that the amount of demeaning work eliminated by robots might be significantly greater than the amount they create

Example 5. Identifying fallacies.
Initial responses: D 75%, C 25%. After discussion: D 90% , C 10%