Question

PHILOSOPHY 105 CRITICAL REASONING

Section 2: The six sentences below are out of any kind of rational ordering. They are torn mercilessly from an article and paraphrased*, and I mixed them up. Make them make sense by putting them in a logical order. Just write the letter of the sentence in the correct blank. (1 point each, 6 total)

First _______

Second_____

Third_______

Fourth______

Fifth_______

Sixth ______

a) They especially looked at the Fundamental Attribution Error (FAE), which is a cognitive bias [Chapter 1 – KB] that occurs when people ascribe behavior to personality and character traits instead of to situational factors.

b) The prevalence of conspiracy theories in contemporary society motivated researchers to study beliefs in conspiracies carefully.

c) For example, if Hortense doesn’t wave to Algernon, then Algernon might conclude that she is unfriendly (character trait) instead of just being preoccupied (situational).

d) From their work, we can draw a second conclusion that being believing conspiracy theories is a failure of critical reasoning.

e) The researchers concluded that because of the influence of the FAE and lack of trust, “susceptibility to conspiracy theories isn’t a matter of objectively evaluating evidence.”

f) Researchers found that people who are prone to believing conspiracy theories are prone to both the FAE and also have a lack of trust in people and the world around them.

Answer 1

1. b) The prevalence of conspiracy theories in contemporary society motivated researchers to study beliefs in conspiracies carefully.

2. f) Researchers found that people who are prone to believing conspiracy theories are prone to both the FAE and also have a lack of trust in people and the world around them.

3. a) They especially looked at the Fundamental Attribution Error (FAE), which is a cognitive bias [Chapter 1 – KB] that occurs when people ascribe behavior to personality and character traits instead of to situational factors.

4. c) For example, if Hortense doesn’t wave to Algernon, then Algernon might conclude that she is unfriendly (character trait) instead of just being preoccupied (situational).

5. e) The researchers concluded that because of the influence of the FAE and lack of trust, “susceptibility to conspiracy theories isn’t a matter of objectively evaluating evidence.”

6. d) From their work, we can draw a second conclusion that being believing conspiracy theories is a failure of critical reasoning.