Inquizitive - Chapter 3: Fallacies

Match each fallacy to the corresponding argument pattern.

Accident: All S are P. Therefore, this S is P (except this S isn't in the same category as the other Ss). Division: The whole object has a certain property, so the part must have it too. Equivocation: A conclusion is true based on a word that switches meaning the argument Appeal to emotion: A conclusion is true on the basis of emotional language alone. Post Hoc: A came before B, so A caused B.

Which of the following statements accurately describe the fallacy of equivocation?

Accurately Describes the Fallacy of Equivocation: Equivocation is based on using a word or phrase with two different meanings. A certain word (or phrase) is used at least twice in the argument: once in a premise and again in either another premise or the conclusion. Does Not Accurately Describe Equivocation uses a proposition as a premise in an argument intended to support that same proposition. Equivocation is the fallacy of asking a question that assumes something that has yet to be proven.

Examine the argument below. Medication X has been accused of causing very harmful side effects. However, a scientific study in a reputable medical journal concluded that it does not cause those side effects. But then I read the first page of the study where the scientists who did it disclosed that the pharmaceutical company that makes Medication X paid them to do the study. So I conclude that the study is worthless and Medication X does have those harmful side effects. Which of the following statements accurately describe this argument? Keep in mind that you don't know the content of the article in the medical journal describing the study. However, you can still judge the argument as it is stated here.

Accurately describes the argument: The speaker is committing the ad hominem fallacy. The speaker is committing the fallacy of appeal to ignorance. Does not accurately describe the arguement: The pharmaceutical company is committing the fallacy of appeal to majority. The speaker is committing the fallacy of composition.

Which of the following statements accurately describe the fallacy of appeal to ignorance?

Accurately describes the fallacy of appeal to ignorance: Appeal to ignorance is the fallacy of saying that a conclusion must be true because it has not been disproven. Recognizing appeal to ignorance as a fallacy means that the burden of proof is on the person who makes a positive claim. The reason appeal to ignorance is a fallacy is that it shows a state of ignorance: ignorance of evidence for the conclusion as well as ignorance of evidence against it. Does not accurately describe the fallacy of appeal to ignorance: Recognizing appeal to ignorance as a fallacy means that any person who hasn't been proven guilty has been proven innocent.

Which of the following statement accurately describe the fallacy of false dichotomy?

Accurately describes the fallacy: False dichotomy is the fallacy of falsely assuming that there are only two possibilities when other possibilities exist. The fallacy of false dichotomy often has the simple pattern: "It isn't this. So it must be that." To prove that the fallacy of false dichotomy is being committed, one needs to identify what possibility (or possibilities are left out by the argument. Does Not Accurately Describe the Fallacy: Any argument that begins by positing two alternatives commits the fallacy of false dichotomy.

Match each fallacy to the corresponding argument pattern

Ad Hominem: attacking the messenger instead of refuting the message Appeal to ignorance: It is true because you haven't proven it is false Subjectivism: I feel it, so it must be true Begging the question: using a conclusion to prove itself Hasty generalization: One or a few Ss are P. Therefore, all Ss are P

Match each of the following fallacies of relevance to the argument that commits it

Appeal to emotion: This candidate would be a horrible senator. Our country faces terrifying threats, both domestically and internationally. People are trying to tear down our country from within. And foreign nations threaten to invade us. Don't vote for this candidate. Appeal to majority: SMOOTH has the best skincare products out of all the skincare brands out there. They have over 50,000 reviews, and almost three quarters of those reviews are positive. Appeal to force: Take it from me as your graduate advisor: The position you take in your dissertation is false because the committee will never recommend you for jobs if you don't change it. Ad hominem: He is advocating for school vouchers so that people can send their kids to charter schools or private schools instead of public schools. But he's a multimillionaire, so he can't have good reasons for saying this. Subjectivism: It was wrong of her to say that because I found it very offensive.

Match each of the following fallacies of presumption or diversion to the argument that commits it.

Appeal to ignorance: "Math is the most important subject for young people to learn.""Why do you say that?""Why is it not true?" Begging the question: He is a terrible soccer player. He doesn't play the sport well at all. Missing the point: Vitamint, our fresh new vitamin supplement, will greatly improve your health. Medical research has shown how important vitamins are for health. That is why experts have defined the Required Daily Allowance of vitamins, and if you don't meet the minimum, you can get ill in a number of ways. Equivocation: The rule says I need to salute my superiors. But I'm superior to you in my knowledge of how to do this job, so you should salute me.

Match each fallacy to the argument that most blatantly commits it.

Begging the Question: Socialism (government ownership of industries) is better than capitalism because socialism means that the government owns and runs all the big industries instead of private owners. Appeal to Majority: You should tell the customer that we've finished their job (even though we haven't) because all the other companies we compete with do the same thing. Ad Hominem: Thomas Jefferson and George Washington were slaveholders. Therefore, the basic ideas and arguments they used to create the U.S. system of government must be racist and false. Post Hoc: I don't need a flu vaccine. The last two winters I drank this special tea and I didn't get the flu. So the tea protects me against the flu. Diversion: Girlfriend: Why would you say that to me? It was cruel and you knew it would hurt me.Boyfriend: It depends on what it means to be hurt. You're allowing yourself to get hurt, and what it means to be hurt varies from person to person. Slippery Slope: Mark smokes weed. Next thing you know he'll be on heroin, and he'll end up being a drug addict with no future.

Match each of the following fallacies to the argument that commits it.

Begging the question: Parent to child: "You need to do what I tell you to do."Child: "Why?"Parent: "Because what I say goes." Straw Man: You say that eyeshadow enhances beauty by emphasizing eyes, the most entrancing part of the face. But eye makeup can be harmful. I know some people who have used false eyelashes and over time it ended up pulling out all their eyelashes. Appeal to ignorance: I know I'm right about this rule because the internet is down right now so we can't look it up. Red herring: You're asking whether or not I harassed women on my staff. Let's talk about what really matters. My term as governor has been good for the economy. Business is booming.

Which of the following arguments commit the fallacy of accident

Commits the fallacy of accident: Car crashes are dangerous. So there is no way I'm going on those bumper cars at the amusement park. The earth's gravity pulls every object with mass down toward the Earth. Therefore, that bird is going to fall from the sky. Does not commit the fallacy of accident: I went for a walk yesterday and then I got sick. Walking is bad for me. Kennedy did not donate money at the American Cancer Society event last month. That means she doesn't care about cancer patients.

Match each inductive fallacy to the argument that most blatantly commits it.

Composition: The house has a very large master bedroom. Therefore, the house as a whole must be very large Accident: Freedom is a good thing. So I should be free to smack you upside the head. Post Hoc: Did you see that video of the pro basketball player touching the microphones after his last game? Yeah! That must've been the reason he got coronavirus! False Dichotomy: My dad said he listened to Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata," and he didn't like it. Either my dad lied, or he listened to the wrong song.

The fallacy of diversion means changing the subject from the conclusion you're supposed to be proving to a different conclusion or issue. There are various kinds of diversion. Match each of the following types of diversion to the corresponding example.

Red Herring: You say affirmative action is bad because it often places students in more competitive colleges than they are prepared to handle. You're wrong about that because ... Let's talk about what we're going to do this weekend. Straw Man: You're wrong to support defunding the police (meaning redirecting some of police funding, as well as some of police responsibilities, to social workers). If there were no police, who is going to come when you call 911 because someone's breaking into your home? Missing the point: The United States should make all higher education free, and you are wrong that this would be too expensive. Learning is important and improves one's life.

Match each fallacy to the corresponding argument pattern

Slippery Slope: This is a bad idea because it will lead to a certain result, which will lead to an even worse result, which will lead to an even worse result, etc. (Except not all of these causal steps are based on evidence.) Composition: A part of a whole has certain property, so the whole must have it too. Appeal to authority: A respected person says it, so it's true. False Dichotomy: A is false, so B must be true (except other possibilities besides A and B exist). Diversion: It's true because I have evidence for this other different conclusion. Appeal to majority: A lot of people say it; therefore, it's probably true

Examine the following argument. Then, fill in the blanks to identify its conclusion, its premises, and what fallacy it commits. I really like my ceramic mug that I bought from the Artist's Touch store and how unique it is. I was searching their website for another one recently and was surprised to find out that Artist's Touch is part of Dinomo Corporation, which has many companies all over the world. So, Artist's Touch mugs must be sold in many different countries.

The conclusion is: Artist's Touch mugs are sold in many different countries The premises are: Artist's Touch sells mugs. Artist's Touch is part of Dinomo Corporation. Dinomo is multinational The fallacy is: division

Examine the argument below. Then, fill in the blanks to indicate its conclusion, its main premise, and the fallacy it commits. There's a party tomorrow at 10 p.m. My friend tells me I shouldn't go to it since I'll get behind on homework. But I'm not listening to her because she's a procrastinator.

The conclusion is: My friend is wrong that I shouldn't go to the party The premise is: She's a procrastinator The fallacy is: ad hominem

Examine the argument below. Then, fill in the blanks to identify its conclusion, its premise(s), and what fallacy it commits. Eggs are high in protein. Therefore, this cake, which has three eggs in it, is high in protein.

The conclusion is: This cake is high in protein. The premise(s) is/are: Eggs are high in protein, and this cake has three eggs in it. The fallacy is: composition

Examine the argument below. Then, fill in the blanks to identify its conclusion and what fallacy it commits. I have the day off. You should call in sick to work and go skiing with me. I haven't gotten to go skiing all winter, and I don't have anyone else to go with me. Think of all the nice things I've done for you. My life has been so hard lately. Just do this one thing for me.

The conclusion is: you should call in sick to work and go skiing with me The fallacy is: appeal to emotion

Below is a conversation between two friends. Examine the passage and fill in the blanks to indicate which fallacy one of the friends is committing, along with the argument's conclusion and premise. Jada: "Who do you think is going to win the NBA Finals this year?"Ted: "The Celtics."Jada: "Interesting pick. Why do you think that?"Ted: "They're my team. I can feel it."

The fallacy committed is subjectivism The conclusion is the Celtics will win the NBA Finals this year The premise is they're my team. I can feel it.

Consider the argument below. Fill in the blanks to indicate which inductive fallacy the argument most blatantly commits and to identify the argument's conclusion and premise. I started drinking a lot of water and then my skin cleared, so drinking more water made my skin clear.

The fallacy committed is: post hoc The conclusion is: Drinking more water made my skin clear The premise is: After I started drinking a lot of water, my skin cleared

Examine the argument below. Then, identify the implied overall conclusion and the fallacy being committed. You often hear people say that the French are rude to those who don't speak French. But France is a great country. The food, wine, and culture are amazing! Even street food in France tastes better than what many expensive restaurants here serve. The Louvre Museum has the Mona Lisa, Michelangelo's statues, and so much more. The cathedrals such as Notre Dame transport you to a whole different time period and way of thinking. I could go on and on.

The implied overall conclusion is: The French are not rude to those who don't speak French. The fallacy of presumption of diversion committed by argument is: missing the point.

Examine the following argument. Then, fill in the blanks below. We need to bomb the dictator's nuclear weapons facilities right now because it's extremely dangerous to allow a brutal dictator to have nuclear weapons.

This argument commits the fallacy of [false dichotomy], which is when one [excludes relevant possibilities].

Which of the following statements are true of the ad hominem fallacy?

True Statement: "Poisoning the well" means attacking a person's motives instead of responding to their reasoning. Accusing someone of hypocrisy instead of considering the evidence they give is a kind of ad hominem. Not A True Statement: An ad hominem fallacy occurs anytime one person verbally attacks another person. The crudest form of ad hominem—hurling insults—is called circumstantial ad hominem.

Which of the following are true of the fallacy of appeal to emotion?

True Statement: Inducing a strong emotion in one's audience is not necessarily a fallacy if good reasons are provided along with emotional appeal. Appeal to emotion is the attempt to get one's audience to commit the fallacy of subjectivism. Not a True Statement: The idiomatic expression "jumping on the bandwagon" best aligns with the fallacy of appeal to emotion. Appeal to emotion presupposes a large audience

Which of the following statements are true of the fallacy of subjectivism?

True Statement: Subjectivism is the fallacy of using one's own mere belief or feeling about an idea as evidence that the idea is true. A person who is in denial about an unpleasant fact is committing the fallacy of subjectivism. The following statement is an example of subjectivism: "I strongly believe in the basic value of honesty; therefore, the principle of honesty is true." Not a True Statement: If a conclusion starts with "I think" or "I feel," the argument probably commits the fallacy of subjectivism.

Match each of the following inductive fallacies to the argument that commits it.

Hasty Generalization: I met a few engineers who are very well dressed so now I believe all engineers are very well dressed Appeal to authority: Richard Nixon is the best U.S president because my history teacher, who's awesome, says he is. Division: This class of students had the highest average ever on the final exam. Therefore, since I was in the class, I must have had a high score on the final Slippery Slope: If I let my brother spend his birthday money on whatever he wants now, that means he's going to spend all his future money on whatever he desires at the time even if it not at all necessary. Then, he'll end up a financially irresponsible adult.

For each of the following arguments, match it to the fallacy that it most blatantly commits.

Hasty Generalization: I tried a box of sushi from the gas station near my house and it was absolutely disgusting. All sushi tastes bad. Equivocation: Father: "You're too irresponsible to borrow my car."Son: "How can that be? I'm the most responsible person in the family. Whenever anything goes wrong, you always say I'm responsible for it." Composition: I saw a picture of the cat's tail, which is white with a black marking. Therefore, the cat's body must be mostly white with black markings. Appeal to authority: To lower crime in our neighborhood, we need more police patrolling the streets. The chief of police said so. Appeal to emotion: Nation A should invade Nation B. There are innocent women and children in Nation B who are being torn apart limb from limb and dying. With constant bombings and raids, these civilians are fearing for their lives every second of every day. They have no roof over their heads and barely any food. Can you even imagine what it is like to live like that?

Which inductive fallacy does the following reasoning process commit? My boyfriend (who is a basketball player) cheated on me. This just goes to show that all basketball players are cheaters.

Hasty generalization

Examine the following argument and identify which fallacy it commits. If you won't clean your room, then you're going to start leaving the trash around. Then, you're not going to want to wash the dishes and you'll just leave them in the sink. Then, you're not going to want to clean anything up and eventually the house will be infested with cockroaches. So, clean your room!

It commits the slippery slope fallacy.

For each of the following arguments, match it to the fallacy that it most blatantly commits

Division: This is a very expensive car. So, the car's battery that I need to replace is going to be very expensive Subjectivism: I believe that mythical creatures I've heard about are real. I grew up reading about them. I was always fascinated with mermaids, vampires, werewolves, dragons, and more. I love learning about them. So, I think they're real. False Dichotomy: The job I applied for didn't give me a call back yet. They haven't called right away, so they must not want to hire me. Appeal to ignorance: "The horses in the film were abused on set, and we need to fight for them because they don't have a voice." "How do you know that they were abused? Are there are any signs of that?" "Well you can't prove that they weren't abused because you can't speak for them or know what they're thinking, so yes, they're abused." Appeal to force: "You should drive me to San Francisco." "Why? That's a six hour drive from here." "If you don't, I won't be your friend anymore." Accident: The best way to solve a conflict with someone you care about is communication. So to solve the conflict with my mom, I should go talk to her right now while she's in the middle of an important meeting.

Which fallacy of presumption or diversion is committed by the following argument? Mark said he was very engaged on his date with Alli. Someone who is engaged should be planning their wedding, not dating other women. So, Mark should not go on a date with Jen.

Equivocation

Which of the following arguments are examples of the fallacy of appeal to force?

Example: Parent to child: "You need to go to sleep now. If you don't, I will take away your favorite toy." Manager to employee: Organizing a union at this company is not the right thing to do, because I will fire you if you try." Not an Example: Parent to child: "You need to go sleep now. If you don't you will be grumpy in the morning instead of happy." Manager to employee: "Organizing a union at this company is not the right thing to do because unions put in a lot of regulations about who can do what task, and your job will become a lot less varied and fun."

Examine the argument below. Dogs are not good for children. My child was attacked by a dog, and it was the most terrifying moment of my life. Put yourself in my place. Imagine choosing to allow your child to pet a dog and then having your child almost die from it. Don't allow your child to pet a dog. Identify which of the following fallacies, if any, are committed by this argument.

Fallacy committed by this argument: Appeal to emotion Hasty generalization Subjectivism Not a fallacy committed by this argument: Begging the question

The following argument commits the fallacy of post hoc: I poured cream in my coffee and then my coffee turned light brown instead of dark brown. So, the cream caused my coffee to change color.

False