Argumentation and Persuasion -- Logical Fallacies

Question 1

What is a logical fallacy?

Answer 1

Defect in an argument which causes it to be invalid or unsound

Question 2

What are the fallacies of pathos?

Answer 2

Appeal to pity, appeal to ignorance, appeal to traditional wisdom

Question 3

Appeal to pity (ad misericordium)

Answer 3

Using a statement designed to arouse pity rather than propose a logical argument

Question 4

example of appeal to pity

Answer 4

if you don’t give me an A i’ll be grounded

Question 5

appeal to ignorance (ad ignorantium)

Answer 5

concludes a proposition is true because it has not been proven false or that it is false because it has not been proven true

Question 6

example of appeal to ignorance

Answer 6

ghosts must exist because no one has proven that they do not exist

Question 7

appeal to traditional wisdom

Answer 7

appeal based on previous actions or precedent (we’ve always done it this way)

Question 8

example of appeal to traditional wisdom

Answer 8

the city of eugen has kept its urban growth boundary at 6 miles for the past 30 years that has been good enough for 1/3 of a century why should we change it now if it aint broke don’t fix it.

Question 9

what are the fallacies of ethos

Answer 9

plain folks, ad hominem, ad populum, false authority

Question 10

plain folks

Answer 10

an appeal trying to win support by appearing to be just like the audience, common man

Question 11

plain folks example

Answer 11

i know tuition are a bad idea I pay tuition too

Question 12

ad hominem

Answer 12

against the man (mud slinging/name calling) appeal attacking a person or group, not the issue

Question 13

example ad hominem

Answer 13

john is a communist what does he know about how to take care of children, Look whos talking

Question 14

ad populum

Answer 14

to the people, concludes a proposition to be true because many people believe it

Question 15

ad populum example

Answer 15

85% of consumers purchase PC’s rather than macs all those people can’t be wrong

Question 16

false authority

Answer 16

citing an expert on one subject as expert on another

Question 17

false authority example

Answer 17

kevin bacon and michael jordan selling underwear

Question 18

What are the fallacies of relevance?

Answer 18

Double standard, straw man, red herring, oversimplification, false analogy, glittering generality, Equivocation, false dilemma,

Question 19

double standard

Answer 19

two comparable items are evaluated according to different standards

Question 20

double standard example

Answer 20

I know we will hire any man who gets over a 70% on a screening test for hiring post office employees but women should have to get because they often quit the job to take care of children.

Question 21

Straw man

Answer 21

selecting to refute opponents weakest argument or concocting tenuous opposing arguments

Question 22

straw man example

Answer 22

Senator jones says that we should not fund the attack submarine program. I disagree entirely I can’t understand why he wants to leave us defenseless likes that

Question 23

Red herring

Answer 23

diverting attention from important issues by selecting irrelevant issue to discuss

Question 24

Red herring example

Answer 24

we admit that the measure is popular but we also urge to note that there are so many bond issues on this ballot that the whole thing is getting rediculous

Question 25

Oversimplification

Answer 25

describing or denying complexity of an issue

Question 26

Oversimplification example

Answer 26

Murder is wrong. Our problems could be solved by lowering taxes

Question 27

False analogy

Answer 27

Comparing two items that do not deserve comparison (opposite of double standard)

Question 28

example of false analogy

Answer 28

Education is like candy a small amount tastes sweet but eat too much and your teeth will rot out likewise more than 2 years of education is bad for a student

Question 29

Glittering generality

Answer 29

emotionally appealing word or images closely associated with highly valued concepts and beliefs (the words mean different things to different people)

Question 30

Example of glittering generality

Answer 30

Freedom, patriotism

Question 31

Equivocation

Answer 31

Using an ambiguous word/phrase/idea and changing its meaning

Question 32

Equivocation example

Answer 32

A feather is light, what is light cannot be dark, therefore a feather cannot be dark. You say you are for change but your opinions change so much I can’t keep up.

Question 33

False dilemma

Answer 33

Stating two choices as only alternatives

Question 34

False dilemma example

Answer 34

America: love it or leave it. you’re either for us or against us, you are part of the solution or you are part of the problem.

Question 35

Nonsequitor Fallacies

Answer 35

Nonsequitor, Post Hoc, Hasty generalization, Begging the question, slippery slope

Question 36

Nonsequitor

Answer 36

It does not follow conclusion is not a logical result of facts

Question 37

Nonsequitor example

Answer 37

if you loved me youd buy me a ham sandwhich. Youve been on a plane for 3 hours you must be hungry

Question 38

Post hoc (Ergo propter hoc)

Answer 38

After this implying that because one event follows another the first caused the second (Chronology and causality)

Question 39

Post hoc example

Answer 39

Jane gets a rather large wart on her finger based on a story her father told her she cuts a potato in half rubs it on the wart and then buries it under the light of a full moon over the next few months her wart shrinks and vanishes jane writes to tell her father how right he was about the cure.

Question 40

Hasty generalization

Answer 40

Drawing conclusions based on insufficient or unrepresentative evidence leads to stereotype.

Question 41

Hasty generalization example

Answer 41

Men are jerks

Question 42

Begging the question

Answer 42

Premise is identical with the conclusion

Question 43

Begging the question example

Answer 43

Free trade will be good for this country. The reason is patently clear. Isn’t it obvious that unrestricted commercial relations will give this nation the benefits of an unimpeded flow of goods between countries.

Question 44

Slippery slope

Answer 44

One step will eventually lead to an undesirable second or third or fourth

Question 45

Slippery slope example

Answer 45

If we legalize marijuana the next thing you know we’ll legalize heroin, LSD, and crack cocaine.