Comm 9 CH 10
Neighbor: Your daughter was just arrested for drunk driving. Mom: That's impossible. My daughter would never do such a thing. Neighbor: I just heard it on my scanner. I have it recorded. Do you want to hear the playback? Mom: No, because it's a lie.
A priori
Teacher A: We have to write these Student Learning Outcomes now.Teacher B: Why?Teacher A: Because the dean said so.Teacher B: Why did the dean say that?Teacher A: Because they're due soon.Teacher B: But why do we have to write them at all?Teacher A: Because the dean said so.
Arguing in a circle
Abortion is wrong because abortion is murder.
Begging the question
Ronald Reagan: If you've seen one redwood [tree], you've seen them all.
Composition
In the movie, The Great Debaters, the following syllogism was exposed by the Wiley College Debate Coach during try outs. Which fallacy from your reading best typifies the error made by the student in question:All unemployed people are starving.The student sitting there is unemployed.Therefore, the student sitting there must be starving.
Division
Negative Debater: Did you read any evidence to support your claim that Iran plans to build nuclear weapons? Affirmative Debater: Have you read any evidence that Iran is NOT going to manufacture nuclear weapons? Negative Debater: No. Affirmative Debater: Well, then, until you do, our argument stands. Iran is a dangerous nation with nuclear aspirations. Negative Debater: Oh, O.K.
Fallacy of Shifting the Burden of Proof
Please identify the fallacy in the following exchange:Jim: Wanna buy this MP3 player?June: What kind is it?Jim: It's a big one, holds 3 megs.June: Who makes it?Jim: It's brand new. Guy just gave it
Fallacy of ignoring the issue
He must be a good Muslim because he just walked into that Mosque at prayer time.
Fallacy of sign
Socialized medicine works in Canada; therefore, the same exact program should work in the United States. Type:Multiple Choice
False Analogy
He's not a liar. You can tell because he has really nice white teeth.
False Sign
Jim: My septic tank is leaching into my well water. I have been sick off and on for the past year. June: That's terrible. Jim: Yeah, but it's no big deal. I just think of all those people from Love Canal, who died of cancer from all the toxic waste. I can't really complain about a few ailments here and there. I ain't going to die or anything. June: Well, you could die. Don't you think you should do something. Jim: Naw. I ain't gunna do nothing, unless I start growing an extra eye or getting cancer or something. Lot's a people have way worse problems.
False consolation
Give me liberty or give me death.
False dilemma
Juan: Who makes that cell phone?Salesman: It don't need batteries. It be solarized.Juan: What's the brand and model?Salesman: It works even under water.Juan: What cell phone network does it use?Salesman: It slides open with just two fingers?
Ignoring the issue
When did you stop smoking crack?
Loaded question
The housing crisis was caused by bad coffee in the break rooms of all the major mortgage companies. If they would have had good coffee, none of this would have ever happened.
Mistaken causation
Colonel: We implemented the troop surge in Iraq. Shortly afterwards the violence decreased. Obviously, the surge worked. Lieutenant: Where is the proof it was the surge? Couldn't the final separation of violent factions into separate enclaves within Baghdad be the real reason. The people who hate each other are for the first time far apart from each other. That process finished up at about the same time as the surge. Colonel: All I know is we increased troops by 20,000, and the violence went down. It don't take a rocket scientist to figure out what caused what. What is it with you young officers? You think too much. Surge, then less violence. What else do you need to know? Lieutenant: Oh maybe why and how the surge is decreasing violence. Maybe like some evidence and facts.
Post hoc ergo propter hoc
If we pass legislation that erodes civil liberties, such as the USA Patriot Act, we might as well rip up the whole Constitution because all of our civil liberties will be gone soon after.
Slippery slope
Mark: Lebron James should have been the MVP of the NBA for the 2007-08 season. He had the best stats. Kobe Bryant, who received the MVP, didn't even come close.Joe: Kobe has many attributes that maybe defy stats, such as passes that set up an assist or drawing a triple team that allows a teammate to get open.Mark: I suppose you would agree with Chris Bosh being the MVP. His stats were almost identical to Kobe's.Joe: Chris Bosh was not even in the MVP discussion. How can you even make that argument? That's ridiculous.
Straw person
Please identify the fallacy in the following statement:If you have seen one, you have seen them all.
The fallacy of composition
Cheerleader: For homecoming, we're going to steal the cowbell from the Wolverines. Football Player: We do that every year, and someone always gets hurt. Tell me why it's worth an injury? Cheerleader: We've always done it. It's a tradition. Football Player: They just wait for us to show up, and then there's a big fight. Every year. Seems like a stupid tradition. Cheerleader: It's the way it was when my parents went to this High School. Football Player: Sounds like we need new traditions.
Tradition
