ap lang fallacies

Question 1

fallacies of presumption

Answer 1

arguments based on faulty/unprovable assumptions
- distorting the facts
- post hoc ergo propter hoc
- hasty generalization
unrepresentative sample
fallacy of exclusion
- slippery slope
- straw man
- many questions
- ignoring the question
- begging the question
- false dichotomy
- red herring
- complex cause

Question 2

distorting the facts

Answer 2

misleading interpretation of data statistics or other facts

Question 3

post hoc ergo propter hoc

Answer 3

Since that event followed this one, that event must have been caused by this one
- tempting error because temporal sequence appears to be integral to causality

Question 4

many questions

Answer 4

Ask you a question that presupposes something that has not been proven or accepted by all the people involved often

used rhetorically to limit to direct replies to those that serve the questioner’s agenda

Question 4

hasty generalization

Answer 4

Argument in which someone makes a broad claim based on too small of a sample size

Question 5

unrepresentative sample

Answer 5

Variant of hasty generalization
speaker makes a conclusion from a sample that is not only too small but not representative of the whole

Question 6

fallacy of exclusion

Answer 6

final error of hasty generalization
speaker excludes a specific group or person that would otherwise invalidate their claim

Question 7

slippery slope

Answer 7

Posits the inevitability of the worst possible outcome from an initial action
- “if we force public elementary school pupils to wear uniforms eventually we will require middle school students to wear uniforms if we require middle school students who wear uniforms high school requirements aren’t far off eventually even cause students who attend state-funded public universities will be forced to wear uniforms”

Question 8

straw man

Answer 8

Speaker distorts an opposing point of view before attacking that distorted position
- for example the debate over a drink machine centers around cost and choice opponents of the new drink machines bring up their location as an important issue the insignificant point has little relevance to the actual issues

Question 9

ignoring the question

Answer 9

When a question is set up so that the argument is shifted to new ground or an appeal is made to some emotional attitude having nothing to do with the logic of the case
- “you should talk about the apartheid philosophy in Africa. do you know what Americans did to the Indians?”

Question 10

begging the question

Answer 10

Demonstrates a conclusion by means of premises that assume that conclusion
- for example this handwriting is hard to read because it is nearly illegible

Question 11

false dichotomy

Answer 11

When a speaker presents a false choice of two options in the audience hoping to manipulate it into choosing the preferred option

Question 12

red herring

Answer 12

Speaker attempts to shift attention away from an important issue by introducing a new issue that has no logical connection to the discussion at hand

Question 13

complex cause

Answer 13

speaker seeks to claim that one cause is responsible for an outcome even though many causes are likely to have contributed to it

Question 14

fallacies of relevance

Answer 14

argument is made using information or points that may seem important but actually don’t have anything to do with the topic at hand
- quoque
- genetic gallacy
- poisoning the well
- appeal to ignorance
- appeal to fear
- appeal to authority
- appeal to pity
- ad populum
- ad hominem

Question 15

quoque

Answer 15

when one tries to rebut a claim by pointing out a similar error or shortcoming present in the person who made the initial claim
- “how can the police take it me for speeding I see cops speeding all the time”

Question 16

genetic fallacy

Answer 16

claiming that argument is invalid bc it originated from a tainted or suspect source rather than attacking the quality of the argument

Question 17

poisoning the well

Answer 17

At first information about a target is preemptively presented to the to an audience with the intention of discrediting or ridiculing everything that the target person is about to say

Question 18

appeal to ignorance

Answer 18

Argument that relies on the audience’s lack of knowledge about a subject
- “no one can prove the loch ness monster doesn’t exist so it must exist”

Question 19

appeal to fear

Answer 19

Relies on frightening the audience into an emot

Question 20

appeal to authority
(ad verecundiam)

Answer 20

can be fallacy in three ways:
- The authority is not an expert in the field being discussed
- the authority is being misrepresented
- analysis of the authorities claim is misleading

Question 21

appeal to pity

Answer 21

Relies on the speaker appealing to the sympathy of the audience

Question 22

ad populum

Answer 22

bandwagon

Question 23

ad hominem

Answer 23

mudslinging

Question 24

fallacies of ambiguity

Answer 24

using imprecise language to deceive people
- ambiguous terms
- division
- composition
- non sequitur
- equivocation

Question 25

ambiguous terms

Answer 25

Speaker relies on terms of ambiguous meaning

Question 26

division

Answer 26

reverse of composition
argues that an individual member of a group must possess the characteristics of the whole group

Question 27

composition

Answer 27

reverse of division
argues that a group must possess the characteristics of an individual

Question 28

non sequitur

Answer 28

(It does not follow)
argument in which the conclusion does not follow from its premises
- for example Tom does not drink or smoke so he ought to make a good husband

Question 29

equivocation

Answer 29

Telling part of the truth while deliberately hiding the entire truth

Question 30

emotional fallacies

Answer 30

• slippery slope
• false dilemma
• ap populum

Question 31

ethical fallacies

Answer 31

• appeal to authority
• moral equivalence
• ad hominem

Question 32

moral eq