EXERCISE

 

STATEMENT

So what is a statement? The term is used in many different ways: “His statement was false.” “Senator, could we have a statement?” “Those orange shoes really make a statement.” We will be using it in a more specific manner: A statement—sometimes called a proposition—is a claim that is true or false; that is, a statement has a truth value. A statement is expressed in a sentence, but not all sentences are statements. (“Please close the door” and “Did you enjoy the play?” are both perfectly decent and honorable sentences, but they are not statements, since they make no claims and are neither true nor false.)

 

For the following, tell which are statements and which are not statements.

1. Please close the door.

2. If you don’t close the door, the dog will get out.

3. Read Chapter 3 before the next class.

4. Why is the sky blue?

5. Mushrooms are the summer homes of elves.

6. Go to hell!

7. I did see an extraterrestrial.

8. Don’t rush! Think through each question before answering.

9. Let’s go Mets! Let’s go Mets!

10. The Mets will definitely win the World Series next year.

11. Who was the Republican vice presidential candidate in 1964?

12. Eat your vegetables.

13. The 2010 Winter Olympics were held in Vancouver.

14. The 2010 Winter Olympics were held in Miami.

15. What is your favorite ice cream flavor?

16. Earth is the only place in the entire universe where life exists.

17. Why are there no penguins in Lake Erie?

18. There was a conspiracy to kill President Kennedy.

19. Joe believes there was a conspiracy to kill President Kennedy.

20. I believe there was a conspiracy to kill President Kennedy.

21. Sal loves Sharon.

22. I love you.

23. Either there will be a reduction in air pollution or we will suffer severe global warming.

24. I hope we can reduce air pollution significantly during the next decade.

25. Add more chocolate chips to the cookie dough.

26. The cookies will taste better if you add more chocolate chips.

27. These cookies taste awful.

28. Did you make these cookies?

29. Our Sun is one of the smallest stars in this galaxy.

30. Drive carefully, and watch out for ice patches and potholes.

31. The Loch Ness Monster really exists, and is a descendant of the brachiosaurus.

32. Are there any clear photographs of the Loch Ness Monster?

33. Bill Clinton is the only U.S. president who has played the saxophone while in office.

34. Don’t play poker with penguins.

 

ARGUMENT

Arguments are made up of premises and conclusions. The conclusion is what the argument is trying to prove. Premises are the reasons given for the conclusion, the statements made in support of the conclusion. (The American spelling is “premise”; the British spelling is “premiss.”) It is not always easy to distinguish premises from conclusion. Sometimes the conclusion is at the beginning of the argument, sometimes at the end, and occasionally it is stuck in the middle. There are a few words or phrases that usually indicate premises and others that usually signal conclusions. Premises are often preceded by words such as since, due to the fact that, because. And conclusions are frequently signaled by such words as therefore, hence, it follows that, so, consequently. Attention to such words and phrases may be helpful, but they are not always used and are certainly not a perfect guide to premises and conclusions.

 

Exercise 2-2

Determine which of the following are arguments and which are not. (Don’t worry about whether the arguments are good or bad; just distinguish the arguments from the non-arguments.) Then for each of the arguments, state the conclusion.

1.     If the moon is made of green cheese, then there are mice on the moon. The moon is made of green cheese. Therefore, there are mice on the moon.
2.     I solemnly swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.
3.     Raspberry Surprise ice cream has big chunks of real fruit! What a combination! Rich ice cream withm delicious fruit; it’s my all-time favorite ice cream.
4.     Wheaties is a nutritious cereal. After all, Mary Lou Retton appeared in Wheaties advertisements, and Mary Lou Retton is certainly healthy; so Wheaties must be nutritious.
5.     Requirements for this course include three exams and two papers. You must pass at least two of the three exams in order to pass the course, and you must make a B or better on both papers in order to make a B or better in the course.
6.     Last summer Joe promised Sarah he would be faithful to her, and he cheated on her. Last spring hem made the same promise to Veronica, and he cheated. This past winter he promised to be faithful to
7.     Joan, but he ran around on her. And last fall he pledged to be faithful and true to Ann, and he broke that pledge. So now Joe is telling you that he’s going to be faithful to you; but listen, thatm man’s going to cheat on you.
8.     The team with the best pitching always wins the World Series. So the New York Mets will win the World Series, since the Mets have the best pitching.
9.     The Yankees won the World Series when they had the best pitching staff in baseball; the Dodgers won the World Series when they had superior pitching; and when the Cardinals won the World Series they had the best pitching. So the team with the best pitching staff wins the World Series.
10.   When you are cooking fettucine alfredo, be careful not to overcook the pasta. If the pasta is overcooked, it will stick together, and the sauce will not spread evenly over the pasta. Also, I recommend that you serve a green salad with the fettucine, and be sure to have plenty of red wine.
11.   All professors own private jets. My critical thinking teacher is a professor; therefore, she must own a private jet.
12.   Three reliable witnesses saw the defendant in New York just one hour before the murder took place in Los Angeles. There’s no way the defendant could be guilty of the murder. Besides, the defendant had no reason to kill the guy—they were good friends.
13.   You guys charged too much for fixing my car. It only needed new spark plugs, which are fairly inexpensive and are easy to install. So I don’t think I should have to pay this outrageous repair bill.
14.   All Cleveland Browns fans hate the Steelers. So Brenda must hate the Steelers, because Brenda is certainly a Cleveland Browns fan.