Chapter 4 - Informal Fallacies

Question 1

A mistake in reasoning that occurs in ordinary language and is different from error in the form or structure of arguments.

Answer 1

Informal fallacy

Question 2

Fallacies that occur whenever irrelevant premises are offered in support of a conclusion.

Answer 2

Fallacies of relevance

Question 3

When a claim is rejected or judged to be false based alleged character flaws of the person making the claim. A second common form occurs whenever someone’s statement or reasoning is attacked by way of a stereotype, such as racial, sexual, or religious stereotype. A third form involved the use of circumstances of a person’s life to reject his claims.

Answer 3

Argument against the person

Question 4

A variety of the ad hominem fallacy that is distinguished by the specific attempt of one person to avoid the issue at hand by claiming the other person is a hypocrite.

Answer 4

Tu quoque

Question 5

The avoidance of objective evidence in favor of an emotional response defeats the goal of a rational investigation of truth. The tactic appeals to people’s desire to belong to a group.

Answer 5

Appeal to the people

Question 6

A specific kind of emotional plea that relies solely on a sense of pity for support.

Answer 6

Appeal to pity

Question 7

A threat of harmful consequences (physical or otherwise) used to force acceptance of a course of action that would otherwise be unacceptable.

Answer 7

Appeal to force

Question 8

An argument built on a position of ignorance claims either that (1) a statement must be true because it has not been proven to be false or (2) a statement must be false because it has not been proven to be true.

Answer 8

Appeal to ignorance

Question 9

When premises seem to lead logically to one conclusion are used instead to support an unexpected conclusion.

Answer 9

Missing the point

Question 10

An argument that relies on the opinions of people who have no expertise, training, or knowledge relevant to the issue at hand.

Answer 10

Appeal to an unqualified authority

Question 11

What are the fallacies from 1. Argument against the person (ad hominem) to … 8. Appeal to an unqualified authority called?

Answer 11

[Summary of] Fallacies of Relevance

Question 12

Arguments that assume the truth of some unproved or questionable claim.

Answer 12

Fallacies of unwarranted assumption

Question 13

An argument that assumes as evidence in the premises the very thing that it attempts to prove in the conclusion.

Answer 13

Begging the question

Question 14

A single question that actually contains multiple, hidden parts.

Answer 14

Complex question

Question 15

An argument that uses a non-representative sample as support for a statistical claim about an entire population.

Answer 15

Biased sample

Question 16

When a generalization is inappropriately applied to the case at hand.

Answer 16

Accident

Question 17

A generalization created on the basis of a few instances.

Answer 17

Hasty generalization

Question 18

A claim that appears to be statistically significant but is not.

Answer 18

Misleading precision

Question 19

A fallacy that occurs when it is assumed that only two choices are possible, when in fact others exist.

Answer 19

False dichotomy

Question 20

A fallacy that occurs when two choices are asserted, each leading to an unwanted result, but there is a failure to acknowledge that other possibilities exist.

Answer 20

False dilemma

Question 21

A fallacy that occurs when a causal connection is assumed to exist between two events when none actually exists.

Answer 21

False cause

Question 22

A fallacy that results from the accidental or chance connection between two events.

Answer 22

Coincidence

Question 23

A fallacy involving either a short term or long term pattern that is noticed after the fact.

Answer 23

Post hoc fallacy

Question 24

A mistake that occurs when someone thinks that one event causes another, when in fact both events are the result of a common cause.

Answer 24

Common cause fallacy

Question 25

An argument that attempts to make a final event the inevitable outcome of an initial act.

Answer 25

Slippery slope

Question 26

A fallacy that occurs when the meaning of terms or phrases are changed(intentionally or unintentionally) within the argument, or when our attention is purposely (or accidentally) diverted from the issue at hand.

Answer 26

Fallacy of ambiguity or diversion

Question 27

The intentional or unintentional use of different meanings of words or phrases in an argument.

Answer 27

Equivocation

Question 28

Ambiguity that arises when a poorly constructed statement muddles the intended meaning.

Answer 28

Amphibole

Question 29

The mistaken transfer of an attribute of the individual parts of an object to the object as a whole.

Answer 29

Composition

Question 30

The mistaken transfer of an attribute of an object as a whole to its individual parts.

Answer 30

Division

Question 31

A fallacy that occurs when attention is purposely (or accidentally) diverted from the issue at hand.

Answer 31

Emphasis

Question 32

A fallacy that occurs when someone’s written or spoken words are taken out of context. It purposely distorts the original argument to create a new, weak argument that can be easily refuted (a straw man that is easily knocked down).

Answer 32

Straw man

Question 33

A fallacy that occurs when someone completely ignores an opponent’s position and changes the subject, diverting the discussion in a new direction.

Answer 33

Red herring

Question 34

A logical error that occurs in the form or structure of an argument; it is restricted to deductive arguments.

Answer 34

Formal fallacy