> >All drugs that are dangerous should be illegal. Marijuana is a drug that is dangerous. Therefore, Marijuana should be illegal.
> The final clause does not actually follow from the rest of the logic
The final clause follows formally from the truth of the first two clauses. What you are complaining about is that the final clause is not true. But the question being asked of the study participants is not whether the argument is true, but whether the final clause follows if the first two are true. You are exhibiting exactly the behavior the study is testing: giving a wrong answer to a question of soundness by substituting for it a question of truth.
There is, perhaps, an argument to be made that "logical reasoning" in the sense being tested - being able to tell valid from invalid syllogisms - isn't all that pertinent in the real world. Is that what you're saying, though? I find it hard to tell.
> >Judge Wilson believes that if a living thing is not a person, then one has the right to end its life. She also believes that a fetus is a person. Therefore, Judge Wilson concludes that no one has the right to end the life of a fetus.
There is a logical problem with this argument, independent of any of the issues you bring up. Consider it divorced of context:
W believes: if an X is not Y, then it is a Z.
W believes: this particular X is Y.
W therefore believes: this particular X is not Z.
(Key: W = Wilson, X = living thing, Y = a person, Z = may-end-life.)
The problem is that just because (X & not Y --> Z), doesn't mean (X & Y --> not Z). In other words, thinking it's okay to end non-person's lives doesn't imply thinking it's _not_ okay to end person's lives. Concretely, for example, one might think killing in war is justified.
> The final clause does not actually follow from the rest of the logic
The final clause follows formally from the truth of the first two clauses. What you are complaining about is that the final clause is not true. But the question being asked of the study participants is not whether the argument is true, but whether the final clause follows if the first two are true. You are exhibiting exactly the behavior the study is testing: giving a wrong answer to a question of soundness by substituting for it a question of truth.
There is, perhaps, an argument to be made that "logical reasoning" in the sense being tested - being able to tell valid from invalid syllogisms - isn't all that pertinent in the real world. Is that what you're saying, though? I find it hard to tell.
> >Judge Wilson believes that if a living thing is not a person, then one has the right to end its life. She also believes that a fetus is a person. Therefore, Judge Wilson concludes that no one has the right to end the life of a fetus.
There is a logical problem with this argument, independent of any of the issues you bring up. Consider it divorced of context:
(Key: W = Wilson, X = living thing, Y = a person, Z = may-end-life.)The problem is that just because (X & not Y --> Z), doesn't mean (X & Y --> not Z). In other words, thinking it's okay to end non-person's lives doesn't imply thinking it's _not_ okay to end person's lives. Concretely, for example, one might think killing in war is justified.