Crossfire: Fundamentals of Reasoning

This test will cover Arguments from Analogy and Causal Arguments. Be able to:

Define:

analogy
cause
correlation
constant correlation
positive correlation
negative correlation
coincidence
common cause
post hoc/false cause fallacy


Identify

• arguments from analogy from mere analogies
• causal arguments
• post hoc/false cause fallacies

Evaluate

• Arguments from analogy, using the seven steps for evaluation
• Causal arguments, using the process of elimination strategy

Understand/explain

• that not every position can be defended by an argument from analogy.
• that offering a weak argument from analogy will do more harm than good.
• that we can't see causal relationships; we can only infer them.
• that a cause must precede the event in time
• that even a strong correlation is insufficient to prove causation
• that causal arguments can be manipulated to persuade an audience.
• the conditions under which there is no correlation between events
• that part of the significance of the correlation depends on the size of the sample
• four ways to explain a correlation
• that not all causal arguments contain the word cause
• list causal argument identifier words