Philosophy 131, Homework: Counterexamples

Remember, no handwritten homework will be accepted.

For each of the following conditionals, give an example that shows that the entire conditional is false. I prefer real to made up examples.

For example:
Conditional: If one does not like classical music, then that person is uncultured.
Counterexample: Maria is very cultured but doesn't like classical music because it causes her to have migraines.


1. If someone is successful, then they worked hard for their success.

2. All quadrilaterals are parallelograms.

3. Whenever someone makes you feel inferior, you consented to feeling that way. (a translation of "Nobody can make you feel inferior without your consent," said by Eleanor Roosevelt)

4. If someone believes that x is true, then x is true for them. (your counterexample needs to use a specific example for x)

5. All middle children live in the shadow of their siblings.

6. Whenever someone creates something, they should be proud.

7. If someone takes something that is not theirs, then they are a thief.

8. If you stop trying to do something, then you are a failure at it.

9. Whenever a group of people work together, the product is worse than what would have been produced by a single genius working alone.

10. All worthwhile knowledge is the product of inspiration.