Facts, Values and the Gap Between Them · seed 1 · A4, ink-friendly. The answer key prints on its own page for grown-ups.

Facts cannot prove a should

Personal & Social Development · Ethics & Philosophy · ages 16-18
Name ______________________   Date ____________

  1. Which of these is a factual claim?

    • The river should be fenced off
    • The river flooded three streets
    • Riverside fences are ugly

  2. Which of these is a value claim?

    • The school has 400 pupils
    • Lunch costs two pounds a day
    • Every child should get a hot lunch

  3. A long enough list of facts can prove a should all by itself.

    Circle one:   True   False

  4. Solar panels would save money, so the town should buy them. Which hidden value does the pushing?

    • Towns keep spending records
    • Saving money matters most here
    • Solar panels exist

  5. Why does the slide from is to should fail?

    • Facts are always wrong
    • Values are always wrong
    • No should follows from only is claims

  6. A poll finds most residents approve of the new road. What does that result settle?

    • What people approve of, not whether the road is right
    • That the road is definitely right
    • That opponents are mistaken

  7. Fact: rain raises the lake. Value: floods harm homes. Conclusion: the town should build a wall. Which pile does the real work?

    • The fact pile, since facts are checkable
    • Neither pile matters at all
    • The should pile, since only it can carry a should

  8. The policy cuts costs and waiting times, so we must adopt it. A critic says the case is incomplete. What is missing?

    • A value saying lower costs and waits matter most
    • More facts about the costs
    • A bigger poll of voters
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Answer key

For grown-ups. Fold this page away before handing over the rest.

Facts cannot prove a should W1-mt_cvgg2UNDzv-s1

  1. The river flooded three streets · Flooding three streets can be checked against records. The other lines judge or prescribe.
  2. Every child should get a hot lunch · Only the lunch line judges what should happen. The other two just report checkable facts.
  3. False · False. Piling up is claims never builds a should. The gap Hume spotted stays open whatever the count.
  4. Saving money matters most here · Strip that value away and only a saving remains, with no reason to act on it.
  5. No should follows from only is claims · The conclusion reaches further than its reasons. Without a value among the premises, the should hangs in the air.
  6. What people approve of, not whether the road is right · Approval numbers are facts about people. Rightness needs a value argument the poll never gives.
  7. The should pile, since only it can carry a should · The lake fact sets the scene, but the harm judgement is what earns the should in the ending.
  8. A value saying lower costs and waits matter most · Two facts point at must, but nothing connects them. Only a stated value can bridge that gap.
Worksheet · LightMySky