Fallacies of Presumption Examples

Question 1

“The evidence for evolution is simply overwhelming. Evidence from genetics, from paleontology, and from anatomy, all support the fact that all organisms share a common ancestor”

Answer 1

Question-begging epithet

No argument, claims evidence supports him but doesn’t give examples

Question 2

“Life is abundant on earth; almost every possible environment is filled with living organisms. So it is reasonable to conclude that life in space is also quite common.”

Answer 2

Hasty generalization

Earth is one example, you would have to sample thousands of planets to see if it’s usually true.

Question 3

“Science is all about what is observable and testable. That’s why creation cannot be considered as science; you cannot observe the past. Clearly, evolution is the scientific position.”

Answer 3

Special pleading

Exempting his own position from the same criteria he used to dismiss the creation position. Double standard.

Question 4

“If you are going to make an argument for creation, you have to use real, mainstream journals, not creationist ones.

Answer 4

No true Scotsman fallacy and special pleading

The term “real” implies creationist journals do not count, defining “journals” in a biased way.
Exempting himself from having to do the same by arguing for evolution without evolution journals.

Question 5

“To deny that evolution takes place would be like denying the existence of gravity.”

Answer 5

False analogy

Gravity is observable, testable, and repeatable in the present, unlike particles-to-people evolution.

Question 6

People just don’t come back to life. Go check out a cemetery. So it just isn’t possible for Jesus to have been raised from the dead.

Answer 6

Sweeping generalization

Assuming there are no exceptions.

Question 7

“We allowed the students to discuss alternatives to evolution this year and the science test scores were below normal. Do you see what allowing creationist ideas into the classroom does.”

Answer 7

False cause fallacy-post hoc ergo propter hoc

Lower test scores after the event doesn’t mean the event caused them.

Question 8

“We don’t know if birds evolved from the ground up or from the trees down.”

Answer 8

Bifurcation fallacy

Third option, they were created

Question 9

God may exists. But we must do science as if he does not. Otherwise, we would never know if we are studying the natural world, or a miracle. Science would come to a standstill.

Answer 9

Slippery slope

That assumes science would come to a stand still if we studied a miracle.

Question 10

“What is the probability that life could arise by chance? It must be 100% because we are here, after all.”

Answer 10

Begging the question

Since the way we got here is the very claim at issue, the arguer assumed what he is attempting to prove.