5 question

Unless specified in the question, there are no limits on the answers to the discussion questions. A reasonable answer will likely take a few paragraphs depending on the question and the related tasks.

1. One-move checkmate problem:

White: K-g4; Pawns c4, e5; B-h7; R-e8; Black: K-e4; N-d4; Pawn f5; R-f8; Black moved its pawn from f7 to f5. White must now reply with a one-move checkmate on black. Which move is it? Explain why it is the correct move and use the checkmate criteria in "Check and Checkmate" in module # 10 on chess to justify your answer. (Note: White pawns move north and black pawns move south.)

2. In the story "Red-Headed League", identify three important clues used by Sherlock Holmes to uncover the bank robbery plot. State the clue and the deduction each in one concise and clear sentence. Formulate Holmes' reasoning in these three pairs of clues and deductions in terms of Modus ponens or Modus tollens or Disjunctive forms of deduction.

Clarification:

Make sure not to switch your clue and deduction when you analyze Holmes' reasoning. Remember, the clue is the premise or reason or the observation and the deduction is the conclusion Holmes draws from the premise, reason, or observation.

If you do modus ponens for Holmes' deductions, then the clue must go into the "if..." part and the deduction or conclusion must go into the "then..." part. You then affirm the clue in the second premise and then affirm the deduction in the conclusion.

For example, "If Helen Stoner had a railway return ticket in her hand (clue), then she arrived by train (deduction or conlusion)." Helen Stoner had a railway return ticket in her hand. So, she arrived by train.

If you do modus tollens for Holmes' deductions, then the deduction or conclusion which is disproved goes into the "if..." part and the clue which would support that deduction or conclusion goes into the "then...." part. You then deny the clue in the second premise and then deny the deduction in the conclusion.

For example, "If the gypsies had killed Julia Stoner (deduction or conlcusion to be disproved), then they would have been able to enter her room through the window or the door (clue which would support the deduction or conclusion)." They could not have entered her room through the window or the door. So, the gypsies had not killed Julia Stoner.

Disjunctive syllogism format:

1) Either Drebber died voluntarily or he was murdered.

2) Drebber did not die voluntarily.

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C: Drebber was murdered.

3. King Vikram & the Vampire: Story # 2

"When the three youths saw her come back to life like that, they went mad with love, and fought with one another to possess her.

One said: "I brought her to life by my magic spell. She is my wife."

The second said: "She came to life because of my journey to the sacred river. She is my wife."

The third said: "I kept her ashes. That is why she came to life. She is my dear wife.""

After relating this story, the vampire said "O King, you are able to decide their dispute. Tell me. Whose wife should she be? If you know and say what is false, then your head will split."

King Vikram's Answer:

"The man who painfully found the magic spell and brought her back to life, he did only what a father ought to do. He is not her husband. And the man who went to dip her bones in the sacred river, he did only what a son ought to do. He is not her husband. But the man who slept with her ashes and lived a hard life in the cemetery, he did what a lover ought to do. He deserves to be her husband."

Task: Probe Vikram's answer with essential questions. Don't forget to question his assumptions! (Note that "assumption" is used in a specific sense in critical thinking module # 4. It means "unstated reason"). You must identify Vikram's answer and reasons before you can identify his unstated reasons or assumptions. Quote relevant details from the story in your answers.

4. In Module # 14 "Critical Thinking and Song" (at the very beginning of the page after Pete Seeger's song) listen to "Little Boxes" (sung by Pete Seeger and Malvina Reynolds) and "I Don't Mind Failing in This World" sung by Malvina Reynolds. In "Critical Thinking and Poetry", listen to "Richard Cory" by Edwin Arlington Robinson (read by Tom O'Bedlam) & Richard Cory - song by Simon & Garfunkel. What are the main messages of these songs? How do these messages express critical thinking? What essential questions do you have on the messages of these two songs?

5. In Module # 13 "Critical Thinking and Song", listen to the song "Bracero" sung by Phil Ochs and the song "Deportees", composed by Woody Guthrie, sung by Lance Canales & the Flood. In Module 13: "Immigration in a Global World", watch the video clips "Native American Shuts Down Immigration Protest"; Noam Chomsky: "Chomsky Discusses Donald Trump" & "Chomsky on American Identity"; "Forgotten Voices: The Story of the Bracero Program"; "How Immigration Became Illegal": "Democracy Now" Interview with immigration studies scholar Aviva Chomsky; Article: Aviva Chomsky "Is Trump an Aberration? The Dark History of the “Nation of Immigrants”

What do these songs, video clips, and articles help you to understand about the issue of illegal immigration and the plight of undocumented migrants in the US? What essential questions do you have on these sources and their points of view on the immigration issues in the US?