Reasoning

Logic and Fallacies

1,716 Questions

Understand the fundamentals of propositional logic, logical inference rules, and paradoxes. This set includes identifying logical fallacies, including those found in classical Nyaya logic. Strong grasp of these concepts is crucial for scoring well in the reasoning sections of competitive tests.

Propositional logic modelsLogical inference rulesTypes of logical fallaciesParadoxes and contingent truthsNyaya logic concepts

Logic and Fallacies Questions

Multiple choice

What is a Hypothesis?

  1. a tentative explanation for observations or a phenomenon

  2. Involves series of ordered steps

  3. A question

  4. An answer
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

A hypothesis is a testable, tentative explanation for an observation or phenomenon that can be supported or refuted through research.

Multiple choice

All are true about logic, except:

  1. logic can’t express everything

  2. logic is a rational agent with all of rationality

  3. logic needs knowledge representation

  4. logic cannot reason a correct conclusion
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Logic is a formal system, but it does not equate to a 'rational agent with all of rationality'. Rationality involves more than just logical deduction, including decision-making under uncertainty.

Multiple choice

An integrated explanation of numerous hypotheses is known as a:

  1. fact.

  2. law.

  3. control.

  4. theory.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

A scientific theory is a well-substantiated explanation of some aspect of the natural world that incorporates facts, laws, inferences, and tested hypotheses. Unlike a law, which describes what happens, a theory explains why it happens.

Multiple choice

In the scientific method, a hypothesis

  1. is a statement of fact

  2. makes a prediction that can be tested

  3. is usually proven to be correct

  4. can only be tested once
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

A hypothesis is a proposed explanation for a phenomenon that must be testable and falsifiable. It is not a proven fact, nor is it limited to being tested only once.

Multiple choice

Newton's book Principia described three laws of

  1. logic

  2. motion

  3. aritmetic

  4. mapmaking
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Newton's 'Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica' is the foundational text that established his three laws of motion and the law of universal gravitation.

Multiple choice

A scientific hypothesis can become a theory if ___

  1. the hypothesis can be tested at least once

  2. the entire scientific community accepts it

  3. hypothesis is tested and competing hypothesis r elimainated

  4. there are no other competing hypotheses
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

A hypothesis becomes a theory after it has been repeatedly tested, supported by evidence, and competing explanations have been ruled out. Acceptance by the community follows the evidence, not the other way around.

Multiple choice

What is the name of the logical fallacy that occurs when someone claims that a theory is true because it has not yet been proven false?

  1. The fallacy of affirming the consequent

  2. The fallacy of denying the antecedent

  3. The fallacy of appeal to ignorance

  4. The fallacy of circular reasoning
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

The fallacy of appeal to ignorance occurs when someone claims that a theory is true because it has not yet been proven false. This is a fallacy because the absence of evidence against a theory does not necessarily mean that the theory is true.

Multiple choice

What is the demarcation criterion proposed by the logical positivists?

  1. Verifiability

  2. Falsifiability

  3. Testability

  4. Replicability
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

The logical positivists proposed the verifiability criterion as a way to distinguish between science and non-science. According to this criterion, a statement is scientific only if it can be verified through empirical observation.

Multiple choice

What is the name of the problem that arises when a theory makes successful predictions but is not falsifiable?

  1. The problem of induction

  2. The problem of demarcation

  3. The problem of underdetermination

  4. The problem of confirmation
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

The problem of underdetermination arises when a theory makes successful predictions but is not falsifiable. This means that there are multiple theories that could potentially explain the same data, and there is no way to determine which theory is true.

Multiple choice

What is the main idea behind paraconsistent logic?

  1. It allows for contradictions to be true.

  2. It rejects the law of non-contradiction.

  3. It is a type of logic that is used in mathematics.

  4. It is a type of logic that is used in computer science.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

Paraconsistent logic is a type of logic that allows for contradictions to be true. This means that it is possible for a statement and its negation to both be true at the same time.

Multiple choice

What are some of the implications of dialetheism?

  1. It means that there is no such thing as truth.

  2. It means that everything is true.

  3. It means that logic is useless.

  4. It means that reality is fundamentally contradictory.
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

One of the implications of dialetheism is that reality is fundamentally contradictory. This is because dialetheism allows for contradictions to be true, which means that it is possible for things to be both true and false at the same time.