Fallacies

Question 1

ad hominem

Answer 1

a fallacy that attacks the person rather than dealing with the real issue in dispute

Question 2

undefined terms

Answer 2

terms that people don’t generally agree on, and each individual has their own way of understanding

Question 3

slippery slope

Answer 3

a fallacy which assumes that taking a first step will lead to subsequent steps that cannot be prevented

Question 4

two wrongs make a right

Answer 4

arguing that doing something morally wrong is justified because someone else has done the same (or similar) thing.

Question 5

loaded question

Answer 5

asking a question that has an assumption built into it so that it can’t be answered without appearing guilty

Question 6

appeal to ignorance

Answer 6

based on the assumption that whatever has not been proven false must be true

Question 7

argument from omniscience

Answer 7

arguer would need it to know about everyone’s beliefs or disbeliefs or about their knowledge.

Question 8

appeal to tradition

Answer 8

a proposal that something should continue because it has traditionally existed or been done that way

Question 9

argument from authority

Answer 9

concludes something is true because a presumed expert or witness has said that it is

Question 10

appeal to group pressure

Answer 10

use group pressure to force someone to do/believe

Question 11

appeal to fear

Answer 11

attempt to frighten one into an action or into accepting a belief

Question 12

circular reasoning

Answer 12

a fallacy in which the writer repeats the claim as a way to provide evidence

Question 13

false dilemma

Answer 13

occurs when it is suggested that only two alternatives exist even though there may be others

Question 14

false causal relationship

Answer 14

conclusion does not follow from premises

Question 15

red herring

Answer 15

introduces an irrelevant issue to divert attention from the subject under discussion

Question 16

straw man

Answer 16

a deliberately poor or oversimplified example in order to ridicule and refute an idea.

Question 17

false cause

Answer 17

mistakenly assumes that because one event follows another, the first event is the cause of the second

Question 18

false analogy

Answer 18

when two cases are not sufficiently parallel to lead readers to accept a claim of connection between them.

Question 19

appeal to spite

Answer 19

argument is made through exploiting people’s bitterness or spite towards an opposing party

Question 20

affirming the consequent

Answer 20

If A then B.
Not B.
Therefore, A.

Question 21

equivocation

Answer 21

intentionally use vague language

Question 22

denying the antecedent

Answer 22

If A, then B.
Not A.
Therefore, B.

Question 23

hasty generalization

Answer 23

jumps to a general conclusion on the basis of insufficient evidence

Question 24

fallacy of composition

Answer 24

what is true for the individual, or part, must necessarily be true for the group, or the whole

Question 25

fallacy of division

Answer 25

assuming that what is true of the whole is automatically true of the part

Question 26

post hoc ergo propter hoc

Answer 26

improperly assuming that a sequence in time implies a cause and effect