Fallacies

Question 1

Example of the denying the antecedent

Answer 1

If I have cable, then I have seen a naked lady.
I don’t have cable.
Therefore, I have never seen a naked lady.

Question 2

Ad Hominem- (abusive

Answer 2

Attacking the person rather than the argument itself when the attack is irrelevant to the argument the person is making.

Question 3

Example of Ad Hominem Abusive

Answer 3

My opponent suggests that lowering taxes will be a good idea – this is coming from a woman who eats a pint of Ben and Jerry’s each night!

Question 4

Ad hominem circumstantial

Answer 4

Suggesting that the person who is making the argument is biased or predisposed to take a particular stance and therefore the argument is necessarily invalid.

Question 5

Example ad hominem circumstantial

Answer 5

Of course your minister says he believes in God. He would be unemployed otherwise.

Question 6

Ad hominem Tu quoque

Answer 6

Claiming the argument is flawed by pointing out that the one making the argument is not acting consistently with the claims of the argument (hypocrisy)

Question 7

Example of ad hominem Tu quoque

Answer 7

Helga: you should not be eating that… It has been scientifically proven that eating fat burgers are no good for your health.
Hugh: you eat fat burgers all the time so that can’t be true.

Question 8

Ad populum

Answer 8

An idea must be true simply because it is widely held.

Question 9

Example of ad populum

Answer 9

Most people believe in a god or a higher power.

Therefore, God or at least a higher power must exist.

Question 10

Ad consequentiam

Answer 10

Idea is true or false because the consequences of it being true or false are desirable or undesirable. The desirability is not related to the truth value of the idea.

Question 11

Example of ad consequentiam

Answer 11

If there is objective morality, then good moral behavior will be rewarded after death. I want to be rewarded; therefore, morality must be objective.

Question 12

Hasty Generalization

Answer 12

Drawing a conclusion based on a small sample size rather than looking at statistics that are much more in line with the typical or average situation.

Question 13

Example of hasty generalization

Answer 13

Four out of five dentists recommend Happy Glossy Smiley toothpaste brand. Therefore, it must be great.

Question 14

Slothful induction

Answer 14

The proper conclusion of an inductive argument is denied despite the evidence to the contrary.

Question 15

Example of Slothful Induction

Answer 15

Hugo has had twelve accidents in the last six months, yet he insists that it is just a coincidence and that it is not his fault.

Question 16

Fallacy of causation

Answer 16

Correlation does not result in causation

Question 17

Example of fallacy of causation / post hoc ergo propter hoc

Answer 17

Immigration to Alberta from Ontario increased. Soon after, the welfare rolls increased. Therefore, the increased immigration caused the increased welfare rolls.

Question 18

Fallacy of fallacies

Answer 18

Concluding that the truth value of an argument is false based on the fact that the argument contains a fallacy.

Question 19

Example of fallacy of fallacies

Answer 19

Ivan: you cannot borrow my car because it turns into a pumpkin at night
Zoe: if you really think that, you’re an idiot
Ivan: that is an ad hominem, therefore I can’t be an idiot
Zoe: I bed to differ

Question 20

Formal fallacy

Answer 20

Something is wrong with the structure of the argument

Question 21

Dialectical fallacy

Answer 21

Something is wrong with the content of the argument

Question 22

Slippery slope

Answer 22

Some event must inevitably follow another without any rational argument

Question 23

Example of slippery slope

Answer 23

We cannot unlock the child from the closet bc if we do, she will want to roam the house. If we let her roam the house, she will want to roam the neighborhood. If she wants to do that, she will get picked up by a stranger in a van, who will sell her in a sex slavery ring in some other country. Therefore, we should keep her locked up in the closet.

Question 24

Red herring

Answer 24

An irrelevant topic is presented in order to divert attention from original issue.

Question 25

Example of Red Herring

Answer 25

Mike: it is morally wrong to cheat on your spouse, why would you do that?
Ken: but what is morality exactly?
Mike: it’s a code of conduct shared by cultures.
Ken: but who created this code?…

Question 26

Affirming the Consequent

Answer 26

Error in formal logic where if the consequent is said to be true, the antecedent is said to be true, as a result.

Question 27

Denying the antecedent

Answer 27

Formal fallacy of inferring the inverse from the original statement. (If P, then Q. Not P. )

Question 28

Example of Affirming the Consequent

Answer 28

If taxes have been lowered, I will have more money to spend.
I have more money to spend.
Therefore, taxes must have been lowered.

Question 29

Fallacy of Composition

Answer 29

infers that something is true of the whole form the fact that it is true of some part of the whole

Question 30

Example of Fallacy of Composition

Answer 30

Hydrogen is not wet. Oxygen is not wet. Therefore, water (H2O) is not wet.

Question 31

Fallacy of Division

Answer 31

when one reasons logically that something true for the whole must also be true of all or some of its parts

Question 32

Example of Fallacy of Division

Answer 32

His house is about half the size of most homes in the neighborhood, therefore his doors must all be about 3.5 feet high.