21.

‘Utilitarians believe that the right action is that which produces the most happiness.’
Which of the following claims is incompatible with the utilitarian view?

• The right thing to do is to make the consequences of our actions as good as possible

• The right thing to do is to do our duty, whatever the consequences.

• The right thing to do is to act on a rule which, if followed widely, produces the most happiness

• The right thing to do is to act on a rule which, if followed widely, produces the most happiness

‘Senthil goes to Ambala for the first time in his life. On the way from the railway station to his hotel, he sees twelve people, all of them male. He concludes that there are no women in Ambala. As a matter of fact, there are many thousands of women in Ambala.’
Which of the following best describes Senthil’s error?

• Senthil was misled by irrelevant details.

• Senthil generalized on the basis of insufficient evidence

• Senthil was biased against women

• Senthil was biased against women

‘It took many centuries before the countries of Europe could resolve their internal problems of violence and corruption to become the stable nation-states they are. Therefore, it will take many centuries for India to achieve internal stability.’
Assuming that the factual claims in the argument above are true, what must be assumed in order for the
conclusion to follow?

• Countries everywhere must follow the same paths towards stability

• India is gradually progressing towards internal stability

• India can learn how to achieve stability by studying Europe’s example

• India can learn how to achieve stability by studying Europe’s example

Which one of the following statements is best described as an assertion of opinion rather than an assertion of fact?

• Brazil, China and India are now among the largest emitters of greenhouse gases

• Scientists agree that human activity is an important cause of climate change

• The Indian government’s policy on climate change is misguided

• The Indian government’s policy on climate change is misguided

(A) The number of people migrating into Bengaluru has increased significantly in recent years.
(B) This is because Bengaluru provides more economic opportunities than the towns and villages from
which these migrants come.
(C) This sudden influx of migrants has made the city less pleasant to live in.
(D) The success of the government’s rural employment guarantee act might have the effect of stemming
some rural-urban migration.
Which one of the above statements is best described as an assertion of opinion rather than an assertion
of fact?

• A

• B

• C

• C

Which one of the following statements, if true, is best described as an assertion of opinion rather than an assertion of fact?

• Mumbai is larger than Pune

• Mumbai is smaller than Pune

• Mumbai is more cultured than Pune

• Mumbai is more cultured than Pune

Statement 1: Some aeroplanes are balloons.
Statement 2: Some balloons are rockets.
Conclusions:
(a) Some aeroplanes are rockets (b) Some rockets are tables
(c) All the rockets are balloons (d) All the balloons are aeroplanes.
Assuming the statements 1 and 2 are true, which conclusions follow:

• Only (b) and (d)

• Only (a) and (c)

• Only (d)

• Only (d)

Statement 1: All whales are fish.
Statement 2: some fish are not amphibians.
Statement 3: All whales are amphibians.
Statement 4: Some amphibians are not fish.
Conclusions:
(a) Some fish are amphibians (b) Some amphibians are fish
(c) Only whales are both fish and amphibians (d) All amphibians are fish.

• Only (a) and (b)

• Only (c)

• Only (d)

• Only (d)

Statement 1: All libraries are laboratories.
Statement 2: No laboratories are hostels.

Conclusions:
(a) All laboratories are libraries (b) Some hostels are libraries
(c) Some libraries are hostels (d) No library is a hostel
Assuming that statements 1 and 2 are true, which conclusions follow?

• Only (a) and (b)

• Only (b) and (c)

• Only (c) and (d)

• Only (c) and (d)

‘Instead of being concerned with what actually happens in practice….(economics) is increasingly preoccupied with developing pseudo-mathematical formulas. These provide models of behavior which never quite fit what actually happens, in a way which resembles the physical sciences gone wrong: instead of equations describing reality, economics produces equations describing ideal conditions and theoretical clarity of a type which never occurs in practice’.

Which of the following best summarizes the argument of this paragraph?

• Economics ought to be more like the physical sciences

• Theoretical clarity is undesirable in economics

• The physical sciences are wrong to emphasise mathematic formulae.

• The physical sciences are wrong to emphasise mathematic formulae.