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Exercise Three -- KEY:

Below are views of the contexts described in Exercise Three.  As indicated, if your responses differ, that shouldn't surprise you.  Be sure that you can defend your responses in that case, though.  If you can't, talk with me.

1. Your initial response is appropriate and on-topic, but the argument would appear to be the wrong animal altogether.  Presumably your friend would like to hear some empirical evidence, perhaps poll data or evidence from the swing states, or something connected with the world.  Conceptual arguments delivered "from the armchair" don't get a purchase on what really matters to the issue in this case.

2.  Yes, it would be very appropriate.

3.  I suppose it depends on Jill, but in these circumstances, I think contrition might be better than contention.

4.  The friends were talking about Karl, the famous German philosopher and social critic, while Britt was talking about Groucho.  Not appropriate.

5.  Again, it probably depends on your teacher, but it would appear as though she is requesting an argument here.

6.  The philosophy professor is likely discussing justice and virtue in the abstract, as concepts, whether or not they are instantiated in the world.  If this is the case, the argument given by the student is likely not on point; however, it does raise important questions about whether we should trust our intuitions about justice if indeed we have never really encountered it.

7.  No.  Presumably you are being asked to defend your definition as a conceptual analysis, and this requires that you provide a conceptual and abstract case for it.  A straw poll doesn't determine the nature of concepts like this---they don't change their character with the varying whims of the people.

8.  Veer.  Don't be an idiot.

9.  Another tough call.  Sometimes arguments just don't work.  Sad but true.  I guess it would depend on how tired I was, and whether my knee hurt more than my head did from arguing with him up to that point.

10.  The argument is appropriate, but so too might have been an eye roll and a quick deletion.