macphearsome

This was for a take-home assignment in my first year "introduction to logic and critical thinking" class

Question) Evaluate the following list and describe what rule(s) of classification it breaks, if any.

Category: Furniture
Stained or Torn Furniture,
or
Furniture that is in good condition

Answer)
We will ignore the tempting conclusion that the list does not appear to be sorted based on essential attributes; one could choose to sort furniture based on its condition. The problem is that the list is not jointly exhaustive; that is, it does not cover all kinds of furniture. One could imagine furniture existing in any number of states that exclude it from being "in good condition" while not necessarily being "stained or torn." For example, "Furniture that is on fire" or "Furniture that was accidentally or maliciously filled with rusty nails"

Philosophy professors are popularly understood to reward humor very generously. I'm going to find out if that's true.

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"What if I want more than the pale facsimile of fulfillment brought by a parade of ever-fancier toys? To spend my life restlessly producing instead of sedately consuming? Is there an app for that?" - xkcd

Dino image from www.qwantz.com