Questions: Consider the following example of the logical fallacy of appeal to ignorance. Complete parts (a) through (c). Decades of searching has not revealed life on other planets, so life in the universe must be confined to Earth a. Identify the premise and conclusion of the argument. Choose the correct answer below A. Premise: Life in the universe may not be confined to Earth. Conclusion: Decades of searching has not revealed life on other planets. B. Premise: Life in the universe must be confined to Earth. Conclusion: Decades of searching has not revealed life on other planets. C. Premise: Decades of searching has not revealed life on other planets. Conclusion: Life in the universe may not be confined to Earth. D. Premise: Decades of searching has not revealed life on other planets. Conclusion: Life in the universe must be confined to Earth. b. Briefly describe how appeal to ignorance occurs in the argument. A. The conclusion is stated based on a lack of evidence about the truth of the premise B. The premise directs attention away from the conclusion. C. The conclusion is stated as if it were caused by the premise D. The conclusion is stated as if it were the only possible conclusion

The answer is D

This option incorrectly identifies the premise and conclusion. The premise is not about the possibility of life not being confined to Earth.

This option also incorrectly identifies the premise and conclusion. The premise is not that life must be confined to Earth.

This option incorrectly identifies the conclusion. The conclusion is not about the possibility of life not being confined to Earth.

This option correctly identifies the premise and conclusion. The premise is that decades of searching have not revealed life on other planets, and the conclusion drawn from this is that life in the universe must be confined to Earth.

The answer is A

This option correctly describes the appeal to ignorance fallacy. The argument concludes that life must be confined to Earth based on the lack of evidence for life elsewhere, which is a classic example of this fallacy.

This option is incorrect because the premise does not direct attention away from the conclusion; rather, it directly leads to the conclusion.

This option is incorrect because it does not accurately describe the fallacy. The fallacy is not about causation but about drawing a conclusion from a lack of evidence.

This option is incorrect because it does not fully capture the nature of the appeal to ignorance fallacy. The fallacy is about concluding something based on the absence of evidence, not necessarily about it being the only possible conclusion.