What obstacle to critical thinking is involved in the following claim? Tim, you shouldn’t claim that it’s reasonable to believe that there might be life somewhere else in the universe, since we can’t ever really know anything to true. 

A group of statements in which some of them (the premises) are intended to support another of them (the conclusion) is known as a(n)…

Which of the following is not a feature of an argument “in standard form”?  

Which of the following sentences or sentence fragments is likely to be a conclusion?

If the following passage contains an argument, identify the conclusion of the argument: I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Which of the following is not a statement? 

If the following contains an argument, identify the conclusion: Rats that have been raised in environments with a variety of toys and puzzles have bigger, healthier brains than the brains of rats raised in more barren environments.  It seems, then, that the brains of humans will be bigger and healthier if humans are placed in intellectually stimulating environments.

Identify the claim that is not a premise in the argument:There must be someone else in these woods.  This is true because there was clearly someone in this cabin recently since there was warm water in the teakettle and because there was wood still smoldering in the fireplace. But the person couldn’t have been Tim because Tim has been with me the whole time. 

Does the following contain an argument? If so, what is the conclusion? If minds are identical to brains—that is, if one’s mind is nothing but a brain—androids could never have minds because they wouldn’t have brains. Clearly, a mind is nothing but a brain, so it’s impossible for androids to have minds.

During the historical period from which this test’s assigned readings come, changes included: