Quiz Answers
1. Name the Five Steps to Critical Thinking.
-Know the Facts
-Remember the Principle of Contradiction
-Define your Terms
-Be Intellectually Humble
-Look for Different Perspectives
2. What is the distinction between ignorance and culpable ignorance?
-Everyone is ignorant, meaning that they do not know everything about an issue. To be guilty of culpable ignorance means to perform an action or state an opinion without knowing enough facts about the issue and knowing that you do not know enough facts about the issue.
3. What is the Principle of Contradiction? Who first realized this?
The Principle of Contradiction is, as first realized by Aristotle, is that someting cannot exist and not exist at the same time. Something cannot be and not-be at the same time in the same reference frame. An example is that a person cannot exist and not-exist at the same time.
4. The validity of a person's arguments depends on how they define their terms.
5. The most foolish mistake you can make is to be arrogant.
6. Give an example of how looking for different perspectives is important.
-There are many answers to this question. Here is one possible answer.
It is easy to fall into the belief that God doesn't exist because of all the evil in the world. It is true that there is much evil in the world, but this view alone is rather cynical, negative, and depressing. Another perspective is that God does exist because of all the beauty and goodness in the world. This perspective is positive and joyful. Combining these two perspectives helps us to create an informed belief on whether or not God exists.
7. What does it mean to be "intellectually humble"?
Intellectually humble means to admit one's mistakes and not to be arrogant. A humble person who admits their mistakes is likely to earn more respect than an arrogant person who dismisses all other perspectives on an issue.
8. What are the fundamental principles of logic according to Aristotle?
-Principle of Identity : A = A : A duck is a duck
-Principle of Excluded Middle: either A or not-A : Either the world is round or it is not round.
-Principle of Contradiction: not both A and not-A : Jesus could not have risen from the dead and not have risen from the dead. It is either one or the other, not both at the same time.
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