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

Finding the value premise

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

  1. Which of these is a descriptive claim?

    • The river ought to be fenced off to protect residents
    • The river flooded three streets after heavy rain
    • The riverside fences are ugly and should be removed

  2. Which of these is a value claim?

    • The school has exactly four hundred enrolled pupils
    • The hot lunch costs two pounds for each pupil
    • Every child should be offered a hot school lunch

  3. Adding more descriptive facts removes the need for a value premise when justifying a moral should in the arguments studied here.

    Circle one:   True   False

  4. A solar plan would save money compared with the alternative. All other effects are equal. Therefore the town ought to choose the solar plan. Which value premise completes this argument?

    • If other effects are equal, councils never need to compare purchase costs
    • If other effects are equal, we ought to choose the cheaper option
    • If other effects are equal, saving money proves that every policy is fair

  5. A student finds a value premise in an argument and says, 'That proves the conclusion follows.' What check is still needed?

    • Check that every premise contains should before accepting any conclusion
    • Check only whether the value premise matches what most people already believe
    • Check whether the conclusion follows from all the premises together

  6. Assume a poll correctly reports that 70% of residents approve of a proposed road. Taken on its own, what does this support?

    • It supports a claim about approval, not a final moral verdict
    • It proves the road is morally right, regardless of its other effects
    • It proves those opposing the road have made mistakes about the facts

  7. Value: If a wall is the only feasible way to prevent serious flood harm, the town ought to build it. Fact: This wall is the only feasible way to prevent that harm. Which premises support the conclusion that the town ought to build this wall?

    • Only the fact: it can justify the moral conclusion without any rule
    • Only the value: it establishes that this particular wall will work
    • Both: one states the moral rule and one says its condition holds

  8. A critic accepts that a policy cuts costs and waiting times but rejects the premise 'We ought to adopt every policy that cuts both.' What kind of disagreement remains?

    • They disagree about the value premise guiding the decision
    • They disagree about whether the policy reduces both costs and waits
    • They agree on every premise, so there is no disagreement to explain
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Answer key

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

Finding the value premise W1-mt_cvgg2UNDzv-s1

  1. The river flooded three streets after heavy rain · The flooding claim reports an event that could be checked. The other claims recommend action or judge appearance.
  2. Every child should be offered a hot school lunch · The hot-lunch recommendation says what ought to happen. The pupil count and price are descriptive claims that could be checked.
  3. False · More descriptive information may improve the decision, but it does not supply the value connecting that information to what ought to be done.
  4. If other effects are equal, we ought to choose the cheaper option · The conditional value connects lower cost and equal other effects to choosing solar. It does not claim that saving money matters most in every decision.
  5. Check whether the conclusion follows from all the premises together · A value premise can supply a needed moral link, but its presence alone does not make an argument valid. The premises together must support the conclusion.
  6. It supports a claim about approval, not a final moral verdict · The result describes residents' attitudes. Using that approval to justify a moral decision requires a value premise; approval alone does not settle it.
  7. Both: one states the moral rule and one says its condition holds · The conditional value supplies the moral link. The descriptive premise says its condition holds for this wall. Together they support the conclusion.
  8. They disagree about the value premise guiding the decision · The critic accepts the descriptive premise but rejects the rule about what ought to be adopted. The remaining disagreement concerns that value premise.
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