Critical Thinking Q3

What is an informal relevance fallacy? A. A mistake in reasoning where the premise is not relevant to the issue in question. B. A mistake in reasoning where the conclusion reached is irrelevant. C. A mistake of formal reasoning where the antecedent presumes the consequent. D. A mistake of logic where the truth is conditional and never universal.

A

Which formal fallacy is exemplified by this syllogism: All Chameleons are lizards. All Geckos are lizards. Therefore, all Chameleons are Geckos. A. Undistributed Middle B. Denying the Antecedent C. Affirming the Consequent D. Affirming the Disjunct

A

Which informal fallacy is exemplified by the following premise and conclusion: "I thought the cup of coffee I had at WCU this morning was lousy, and that just goes to show you that all of the food and drink options at WCU are horrible!" A. Hasty generalization B. Small sample C. Lonely fact D. Argument by Anecdote

A

Which is the best description of Informal Fallacies? A. Errors of relevance, generalization, or clarity which are unrelated to logical form. B. A pattern of reasoning rendered unsound by a flaw in rhetorical syntax. C. A fallacy that is not formally expressed and is communicated in colloquial language. D. Mistakes in reasoning that occur because of a flawed deductive reasoning pattern.

A

Who is the mathematical logician, known by his pseudonym as the author of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, who was interested in increasing understanding by treating it as a game, and became famous for wonderful examples of nonsense verse, such as 'Jabberwocky' from Through the Looking-Glass? A. Charles Lutwidge Dodgson B. Augustus DeMorgan C. Rudolf Carnap D. John Venn

A

One of the formal fallacies is known as Confusing Contraries and Contradictories. What is the difference between the two? A. Contraries are opposites in meaning and Contradictories are opposites in expression. B. Contradictories mark claims that are the exact opposite of one another and never have the same truth-value, while Contraries are two claims that cannot both be true but can both be false. C. Contraries are complementary premises which can be juxtaposed but not integrated and Contradictories are complimentary consequents which cannot be combined but are always concomitant. D. Contradictories mark claims that are the somewhat opposed to one another and may have the same truth-value, while Contraries are two claims that are arguably both true and false.

B

We reason fallaciously when we mistake explanations for arguments, a type of formal fallacy labeled as: A. Mistaking premises for conclusions B. Confusing explanations with excuses C. Combining formal and informal logic D. Misusing antecedents and consequents

B

Which informal fallacy is exemplified by the following premise and conclusion: "The rights of the minority are just as important as the rights of the majority, for the majority's rights have no greater value than those of the minority." A. Argument from Outrage B. Begging the Question C. Misplacing the Burden of Truth D. Appeal to Pity

B

Which is the best description of Formal fallacy? A. A fallacy that is formally expressed and is communicated in official language. B. A mistake in reasoning that occurs because of a flawed deductive reasoning pattern. C. A pattern of reasoning rendered unsound by a flaw in logical structure. D. An error of relevance, generalization, or clarity that is unrelated to logical form.

B

Which kind of thinking error correctly describes a fallacy? A. An illogical error of factual memory where an evidential truth is omitted from the premises B. A logical error of reasoning where a non-evidential form of persuasion supports a conclusion C. A reasonable error of grammar where unclear terms of evidence create a confusing conclusion D. A rhetorical error of thinking where an emotional form of persuasion

B

Which of the following correctly describes a Formal fallacy labeled as Affirming the Disjunct? A. If P, then q. Not p. Therefore, not q. If Dr. Walter eats cheesburgers, then he will remain chubby. Dr. Walter doesn't eat cheeseburgers. So, he will not remain chubby B. Either p or q. And p. Thus, not q. Either Dr. Walter eats cheeseburgers or he remains chubby. He ate cheeseburgers. As a result, he will not remain chubby C. If p, then q. And q. Therefore, p. If Dr. Walter eats cheeseburgers, then he will remain chubby. Dr. Walter remains chubby. Therefore, he ate cheeseburgers. D. Is p, then q. Therefore, if q, then p. If Dr. Walter eats cheeseburgers, then he will remain chubby. So, if he remains chubby, he will eat cheeseburgers

B

Which of the following is an example of a post hoc ergo propter hoc fallacy (correlation/causation)? A. Sarah earned C's in her first two college courses and, because of that, it is clear that she will never earn A's in college. B. All people who earned college degrees in the early 20th century went on to have successful and lucrative professional lives. Thus, college degrees create success and wealth. C. You are wrong about the importance of college because the Admission counselor told you about it and he knows nothing about higher education curriculum. D. I learned in physics that the human body is made of cells, all cells are made of molecules, and all molecules are made of atoms. Then I learned that atoms are 99.9999996% empty space. So, there is literally nothing to a human being.

B

Which of the following is an example of an ad populum fallacy (appeal to the people)? A. Either you love Citizen Kane or you are a person that hates great movies. B. Gone with the Wind (1939) is the greatest movie of all time because it sold more tickets than any other movie and, therefore, was supported by more people than any other movie in history. C. No one should watch the movies directed by Roman Polanski because he is accused of being a pedophile. D. Every movie ever made is constructed of frames of still images, and so, all movies are simply still images.

B

Which of the following is one of the four kinds of Informal Fallacies? A. Fallacies of Assumption B. Fallacies of Presumption C. Fallacies of Commission D. Fallacies of Omission

B

Which type of fallacy is exemplified by this statement? "All college students are either good at writing or good at speaking." A. Hasty generalization B. False dilemma C. Appeal to emotion D. Red Herring

B

What is a straw man fallacy? A. One that attempts to dismiss a claim by attacking the person who made it. B. One that attempts to dismiss a claim by associating it to a person we don't like. C. One that attempts to dismiss a claim by misrepresenting it. D. One that attempts to dismiss a claim by misplacing the burden of truth.

C

Which of the following arguments is NOT an example of an Appeal to Emotion fallacy? A. Appeal to Envy B. Apple Polishing C. Onion Peeling D. Guilt Tripping

C

Which of the following is NOT one of the ways in which fallacies occur? A. incorrect inferences B. using irrelevant premises C. converting opinions into premises D. using unclear terms E. confusing emotion with evidence

C

Which of the following is one of the four common Formal Fallacies? A. Contravention of Premises B. Confusing the Conclusion C. Commutation of Conditionals D. Converting the Pseudo-Rhetorical

C

Which of the following is the best example of a Biased Sample informal fallacy? A. Telling the truth all the time is impossible. That's why we know that both candidates are lying. B. Everyone in my family thinks neither of the two candidates is truthful. That's why it is clear that neither of the candidates has the support of the American people. C. Texas Republicans believe that both candidates are lying. That proves that both candidates are not trusted by Americans. D. No politician tells the truth. Therefore, both of the current candidates are most certainly lying.

C

Which term expresses the rhetorical technique of attacking the person rather than the argument or claim? A. Hyperbole B. Aphorism C. Ad hominem D. Anecdote

C

Which type of fallacy is exemplified by this statement? "You can't base your decision on the argument that Dr. Walter is making. After all, he is overweight and looks kind of silly!" A. straw man B. red herring C. ad hominem D. post hoc ergo propter hoc

C

What introductory phrase best indicates the use of the Bandwagon fallacy? A. Common practice shows that... B. My lawyer says that... C. Logic demonstrates that... D. Everyone thinks and feels that...

D

Which of the following correctly describes a Formal fallacy labeled as Denying the Antecedent? A. If p, then q. And q. Therefore, p. If Dirk Nowitzki plays, then the Mavs will win. The Mavs won. Therefore, Dirk played. B. Either p or q. And p. Thus, not q. Either Dirk Nowitzki will play or the Mavs will win. Dirk played. Therefore, the Mavs lost C. If p, then q. Therefore, is q, then p. If Dirk Nowitzki plays, then the Mavs will win. Therefore, is the Mavs win, Dirk played D. If p, then q. Not p. Therefore, not q. If Dirk Notitzki plays, then the Mavs will win. Dirk didn't play. Therefore, the Mavs lost

D

Which of the following is the best definition of the fallacy of language known as the Gambler's Fallacy? A. A rational and logical error that occurs when we forget that an independent premise does not compel a dependent conclusion. B. A normal but costly error that occurs when we forget that one independent event has no effect on all events in the future. C. A rare but enticing mistake that occurs when we forget to take probabilities into account. D. A common and seductive mistake that occurs when we forget that history has no effect on independent events.

D