PHIL 120: Chapter 3B Reading Guide

Vaughn, Doing Ethics — Chapter 3: Moral Arguments, Fallacies, and Cognitive Biases

📖 Required Reading for this Module: Vaughn, Doing Ethics, pp. 55–68. Complete only this reading for this module; the rest of the chapter is covered in the paired module.
Instructions

This reading guide is designed to help you understand and answer the Review Questions for Module 3B. This assessment also verifies your active reading of the assigned pages. For each question below, please follow these steps:

Step 1: Navigate to the exact page and paragraph indicated. Locate the sentence using the provided beginning words and type the entire sentence verbatim into the first box.
Step 2: Answer the question based on your reading (no outside research needed or permitted) in your own words in the second box. (Page hints are provided in the answer boxes to help you locate the core answer).
⚡ Auto-Save Enabled: Your answers are automatically saved to this browser as you type. This guide is not submitted — use it to prepare for your module quiz. Use Export Answers to save a backup text copy, or Print to PDF to keep a personal record.

Review Question 1

On p. 55, (the paragraph beginning "Arguments, as you will recall, are made up of statements..."), find the sentence beginning with the words: "A moral statement is a statement affirming that..."

Type the entire sentence verbatim here to identify the evidence:

What is a moral statement, and what words signal one?

Review Question 2

On p. 56, (the paragraph beginning "Why must we have at least one premise that is a moral statement?"), find the sentence beginning with the words: "We cannot infer a moral statement..."

Type the entire sentence verbatim here to identify the evidence:

Why must a moral argument have at least one moral premise?

Review Question 3

On p. 58, (the paragraph beginning "If we want to test a universal generalization such as "All dogs have tails"..."), find the sentence beginning with the words: "Usually the best approach is to use..."

Type the entire sentence verbatim here to identify the evidence:

What is the best approach for evaluating moral premises?

Review Question 4

On p. 60, (the paragraph beginning "Begging the question is the fallacy of arguing in a circle..."), find the sentence beginning with the words: "Begging the question is the fallacy of..."

Type the entire sentence verbatim here to identify the evidence:

What is the fallacy of begging the question?

Review Question 5

On p. 62, (the paragraph beginning "The slippery slope fallacy is the use of dubious premises to argue that doing a particular action will inevitably lead to other actions..."), find the sentence beginning with the words: "The slippery slope fallacy is the use of..."

Type the entire sentence verbatim here to identify the evidence:

What is the slippery slope fallacy, and when is such an argument legitimate?

Review Question 6

On p. 63, (the paragraph beginning "Unfortunately, the straw man fallacy is rampant in debates about moral issues..."), find the sentence beginning with the words: "It amounts to misrepresenting someone's claim..."

Type the entire sentence verbatim here to identify the evidence:

What is the straw man fallacy?

Review Question 7

On p. 64, (the paragraph beginning "To pay attention only to evidence that confirms our beliefs while ignoring opposing evidence..."), find the sentence beginning with the words: "To pay attention only to evidence that confirms our beliefs..."

Type the entire sentence verbatim here to identify the evidence:

What is confirmation bias?

Review Question 8

On p. 65, (the paragraph beginning "Motivated reasoning is reasoning for the purpose of supporting a predetermined conclusion..."), find the sentence beginning with the words: "Motivated reasoning is reasoning for the purpose of..."

Type the entire sentence verbatim here to identify the evidence:

What is motivated reasoning, and how does it differ from confirmation bias?

Review Question 9

On pp. 66-67, (the paragraph beginning "A common view about ethics is that arguing about morality is unproductive..."), find the sentence beginning with the words: "A claim to be proved..."

Type the entire sentence verbatim here to identify the evidence:

What is the first essential element of a good moral essay or conversation?

Review Question 10

On p. 67, (the paragraph beginning "In any good essay or conversation about moral issues, presenting an argument is not enough..."), find the sentence beginning with the words: "There must be space or time to consider..."

Type the entire sentence verbatim here to identify the evidence:

Why must a good moral essay consider alternative views and objections?