Philosophy 235, 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 art museums, then that person is uncultured.
Counterexample: Ray Charles is very cultured but doesn't like art museums because he is blind.


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

2. All prime numbers are odd.

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. All happy people are people who are doing something they consider valuable to society.

5. All even-numbered movie sequels are better than odd-numbered sequels (in the same franchise).

6. Whenever someone accomplishes something, they should not be ashamed of that. (You can use "should" in your answer this time because I've used "should" in the conditional)

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. If something is easy, then it is not worth doing.

10. If you do not believe that some claim is true, then you believe that it is false.