Logic

Question 1

Philosophy and Logic

The burden of proof for an asserted claim is on whom?

Answer 1

The individual who made the claim

Question 2

Philosophy and Logic

What is the definition of Occam’s razor?

Answer 2

“Entities should not be multiplied without necessity.”

I.e. don’t unnecessarily add explanations for events or make extra assumptions when a single explanation makes more sense.

Example: any conspiracy theory that seeks to explain some event via external agents and/or secret plots without providing any information that has a much simpler solution.

Question 3

Philosophy and Logic

What is the opposite of Occam’s razor?

Answer 3

Occam’s broom

(the process in which inconvenient facts are whisked under the rug by intellectually dishonest players)

Question 4

Philosophy and Logic

In loose terms, you can think of logic as the science/study of __________.

Answer 4

In loose terms, you can think of logic as the science/study of reasoning.

Question 5

Philosophy and Logic

What are basic beliefs and properly basic beliefs?

Answer 5

Basic beliefs - Beliefs justified by other beliefs

Properly basic beliefs - Beliefs that are taken as axiomatic or evident to the senses

Question 6

Philosophy and Logic

What is the basic disagreement between scepticism, foundationalism, and coherentism as epistemic methods regarding how one should justify their beliefs?

Answer 6

Scepticism - justified beliefs are based on other beliefs, eventually terminating in a set of unjustified beliefs. (I.e., at a certain point, our beliefs are unjustifiable.)

Foundationalism - justified beliefs are based on other beliefs, eventually terminating in a set of properly basic beliefs (i.e., beliefs that are justified but not by other beliefs).

Coherentism - justified beliefs are based on other beliefs; at some point, the beliefs loop back on themselves. (I.e., a belief is justified if it is coherent with all or most other held beliefs that are true.)

Question 7

Philosophy and Logic

True/False.

Logic has a lot to tell us about the fundamental truth of what the universe is and all its characteristics.

Answer 7

False.

Logic is the tool of reasoning we use to assess our observations and beliefs;

it does not inherently make any claims about anything.

Question 8

Philosophy and Logic

To _______ is to draw conclusions from premises.

Answer 8

To infer is to draw conclusions from premises.

Question 9

Philosophy and Logic

An argument is a collection of statements, of which one is a(n) _________ and the rest are _________.

Answer 9

An argument is a collection of statements, of which one is a conclusion and the rest are premises.

Question 10

Philosophy and Logic

What is deductive logic?

Answer 10

Logic in which the truth of the premises necessitates the truth of the conclusion

Question 11

Philosophy and Logic

What is inductive logic?

Answer 11

Logic in which the truth of the premises makes likely the truth of the conclusion

Question 12

Philosophy and Logic

Simply put, deduction is making an inference based on what?

Answer 12

Widely accepted facts and/or premises

Question 13

Philosophy and Logic

Simply put, induction is making an inference based on what?

Answer 13

Past observances

Question 14

Philosophy and Logic

Simply put, abduction is making an inference based on what?

Answer 14

What you already know

Question 15

Which of the forms of inference (deductive, inductive, or abductive) is demonstrated in the examples below?

Sherlock Holmes looks at the evidence at a crime scene and concludes that the chef is most likely to have poisoned the food.

A physician looks at a patient’s signs and symptoms and writes up a differential with a working diagnosis.

Answer 15

Abductive

(combining all the observations into a somewhat likely conclusion)

Question 16

Which of the forms of inference (deductive, inductive, or abductive) is demonstrated in the examples below?

A sandwhich is meat between two slices of bread. A hotdog is meat between two slices of bread. Therefore, a hotdog is a sandwhich.

I have a 10 AM dentist appointment. It takes 35 minutes to get to the dentist’s office. I should leave at 9:25 AM.

Answer 16

Deductive

(reasoning from premises to a conclusion)

Question 17

Which of the forms of inference (deductive, inductive, or abductive) is demonstrated in the examples below?

Your six coworkers all order the same sandwich. You conclude that the sandwhich must be good.

You see tanks and soldiers line up on either side of a border between two fairly hostile countries. You conclude war is likely to break out soon.

Answer 17

Inductive

(using observations to draw a likely conclusion)

Question 18

Philosophy and Logic

Identify which of the forms of logic is highlighted by the following statements:

I am a man.

Men are mortal.

Therefore, I am a mortal.

Answer 18

Deductive logic

(based on the premises, the conclusion is certain)

Question 19

Philosophy and Logic

Identify which of the forms of logic is highlighted by the following statements:

The Indian and Pakistani armies are amassing on either side of the India-Pakistan border.

Therefore, there is a war coming.

Answer 19

Inductive logic

(based on the premises, the conclusion is likely)

Question 20

Philosophy and Logic

Identify which of the forms of logic is highlighted by the following statements:

A teenage, otherwise-healthy patient is thirsty, hungry, and has an elevated fasting plasma glucose.

They probably have type 1 diabetes mellitus.

Answer 20

Abductive logic

(based on our incomplete observations, the conclusion is our best guess [warranting further examination])

Question 21

Philosophy and Logic

__________ logic starts with a theory which is used to reach observations and a conclusion.

__________ logic starts with information which is used to reach a theory.

Answer 21

Inductive logic starts with a theory which is used to reach observations and a conclusion.

Deductive logic starts with information which is used to reach a theory.

Question 22

Philosophy and Logic

Describe deductive, inductive, and abductive logic in terms of certainty of conclusion.

Answer 22

Deductive - guaranteed true

Inductive - probably true (generalizations from examples)

Abductive - best guess

Question 23

Philosophy and Logic

What is a syllogism?

Answer 23

A form of deductive reasoning consisting of a major premise, a minor premise, and a conclusion;

e.g., all humans are mortal (the major premise), I am a human (the minor premise), therefore, I am mortal (the conclusion).

Question 24

Philosophy and Logic

In analyzing a syllogism, what questions should be asked?

Answer 24

1. Are the premises true?
2. Does the conclusion follow from the premises?

Question 25

Philosophy and Logic

What does it mean for a syllogism to be factually correct?

Answer 25

If all of its premises are true

Question 26

Philosophy and Logic

What does it mean for a syllogism to be valid?

Answer 26

If its conclusion follows from its premises

Question 27

Philosophy and Logic

What does it mean for a syllogism to be sound?

Answer 27

If it is both factually correct and valid

Question 28

Philosophy and Logic

To say that an argument is valid is to say that if the ________ were true, then the ________ would necessarily also be true.

Answer 28

To say that an argument is valid is to say that if the premises were true, then the conclusion would necessarily also be true.

Question 29

Philosophy and Logic

What are the three axiomatic laws of thought that make up the basis for rational discourse?

Answer 29

1. Identity
2. Non-contradiction
3. Excluded middle

Question 30

Philosophy and Logic

Describe the law of identity (one of the three axiomatic laws of thought that make up the basis for rational discourse).

Answer 30

‘Whatever is, is.’

(a = a)

(In practice, don’t equivocate. A word must have a finite number of definitions. You can’t unilaterally redfine a word to no longer mean what the original discourse was addressing.)

Question 31

Philosophy and Logic

Describe the law of non-contradiction (one of the three axiomatic laws of thought that make up the basis for rational discourse).

Answer 31

‘Nothing can both be and not be’

(The following two statements cannot both be true and are mutually exclusive: A = B; A ≠ B) [(as a tautology, A = B or A ≠ B)]

• (In essence, two or more contradictory statements cannot both be true in the same sense at the same time. Some things are true, and some things are false.*
• To reject this premise is to declare it false, thus using the law of noncontradiction and nullifying your argument)*

Question 32

Philosophy and Logic

Describe the law of excluded middle (one of the three axiomatic laws of thought that make up the basis for rational discourse).

Answer 32

‘Propositions are either true or they are false.’

(Proposition A = true (or) Proposition A = false)

• (In essence, a given proposition cannot be partially true.*
• In addition, it cannot be true ‘for you’ alone or true ‘for me’ alone.)*

Question 33

Philosophy and Logic

A person says, ‘diversity is our strength.’

He also says, ‘diversity is dangerous.’

These two statements together seem to break which law of thought?

Answer 33

The law of non-contradiction

Correction:

Person 1 says, ‘diversity of thought is our strength in that it brings new ideas to the table and helps up identify our blindspots and avoid echo chambers.’

He also says, ‘diversity of culture and preferences is dangerous in that it may decrease group cohesion and productivity.’

Question 34

Philosophy and Logic

Person 1 says, ‘do you believe that taxes are a headache?’

Person 2 says, ‘yes.’

Person 1 says, ‘wow, so you believe pain killers will make your taxes go away.’

Person 1 is violating which law of thought?​

Answer 34

The law of identity

Person 1 is equivocating and dishonestly using headache to mean both ‘annoyance’ and also ‘literal head pain.’

Question 35

Philosophy and Logic

I tell you, ‘the door is not unlocked, but that doesn’t imply that it is locked.’

This is a violation of which law of thought?

Answer 35

The law of excluded middle

The proposition that a door is unlocked is a direct contradiction to the door being locked. So, if the door is not unlocked, that by definition implies that it is locked.

Question 36

Philosophy and Logic

What philosophical perspective argues that whatever option of action brings the maximum amount of ‘happiness’ or ‘well-being’ to the world of conscious individuals is the most morally correct option?

Answer 36

Utilitarianism

Question 37

Philosophy and Logic

What philosophical perspective follows a careful, logical line of moral reasoning to argue that we have a duty to respect the rights of individuals and follow this as a rule in how we approach our own goals?

Answer 37

Deontology

Question 38

Philosophy and Logic

What is a ‘red herring’ in conversation?

Answer 38

A comment that throws the conversation off course and derails the logical flow

Question 39

Philosophy and Logic

What fallacy is represented by the argument that ‘the truth is always somewhere in the middle?’

Answer 39

The ‘middle ground fallacy’

(an argument to moderation)

Question 40

Philosophy and Logic

What is a false dichotomy?

Answer 40

An assertion that a particular situation or problem has two mutually exclusive modes or solutions and ignoring a potential third option.

Question 41

Philosophy and Logic

What does reductio ad absurdum mean?

Answer 41

The form of argument that attempts to establish a claim by showing that the opposite scenario would lead to absurdity or contradiction

‘The slippery slope fallacy’

E.g. the Earth cannot be flat; otherwise, we would find people falling off the edge.

E.g. fast food consumption leads to obesity. Obesity leads to heart attacks. Therefore, fast food consumption leads to heart attacks.

Question 42

Philosophy and Logic

What fallacy refers to a person asserting that a problem should be downplayed because it is not as bad as it is could be?

(E.g. why worry about LGBT issues when climate change is so much bigger? Why worry about the marketing problems in your company when you should just be glad you have a marketing department, remembering that some companies don’t?)

Answer 42

The fallacy of relative privation

Question 43

Philosophy and Logic

Give a few examples of the fallacy ‘begging the question’ (i.e., circular reasoning in which the conclusion is assumed in the premise, often by leading with a bit of slight of hand in which a shaky premise which hasn’t been confirmed is assumed to be true).

(Note: this is different from the colloquial usage which is typically used to mean that one’s statement raises or calls for a certain question.)

Answer 43

“Since I am not lying, it follows that I am telling the truth.”

“The word of God as found in the Bible is perfect. How do I know this? Because it says so in the Bible, which is the perfect word of God.”

“If such actions were not illegal, they wouldn’t be against the law.”

Question 44

Philosophy and Logic

What is the Post hoc fallacy?

Answer 44

An argument in which one event is asserted to be the cause of a later event simply by virtue of having happened earlier.

Question 45

Philosophy and Logic

What is ‘special pleading?’

Answer 45

The presentation of an argument that mentions or emphasizes only favorable aspects of the question at issue.

(i.e. an argument that ignores all unfavorable evidence)

Question 46

Philosophy and Logic

What is an infinite regression in regards to an argument?

Answer 46

An argument that continually justifies itself upon deeper and deeper layers of the same argument

• (Ex. 1 - everything that exists had to have been created by a creator. — So who created the creator? Who created the creator who made the first creator? And so on.*
• Ex. 2 - the homunculus theory of mind: the ghost in our machinery is just like a little being who inspects our thoughts, memories, emotions, and other neural processes as they come and go. — So does the ghost in the machine have a small being inside of it too? Who looks in his head? And who looks in that little guy’s head? And so on.)*

Question 47

Philosophy and Logic

Generally speaking, what are ethos, logos, and pathos?

Answer 47

Methods of persuasion

Question 48

Philosophy and Logic

Describe ethos as a method of persuasion.

Answer 48

Ethos is to convince an audience of the author’s credibility or character.

Question 49

Philosophy and Logic

Describe pathos as a method of persuasion.

Answer 49

Pathos is to persuade an audience by appealing to their emotions.

Question 50

Philosophy and Logic

Describe logos as a method of persuasion.

Answer 50

Logos is to convince an audience by use of logic or reason.

Question 51

Philosophy and Logic

What is the difference between formal and informal fallacies?

Answer 51

Formal fallacies are errors that can be seen within the argument’s form. Every formal fallacy is a non sequitur.

Informal fallacies occur when the conclusion is not supported by the provided premises.

Question 52

Philosophy and Logic

What are the four formal fallacies?

BRQPS

Answer 52

Bad reason f.

Quantification f.

Propositional f.

Syllogystic f.

Question 53

Philosophy and Logic

The following is an example of which formal fallacy?

Ostriches cannot fly, therefore they are not birds​.

Answer 53

Bad reason f.

The reason A given for argument B is bad, therefore conclusion B is not valid.

Ostriches cannot fly but are still birds.

Question 54

Philosophy and Logic

The following are examples of which formal fallacy?

Financial experts agree that everyone should invest in technology stocks.

All dogs hate some cats.

Answer 54

Quantification f.

The reason A quantifers are different from the conclusion B quantifiers.

Financial experts are likely not all in agreement.

That all dogs hate some cats is unverifiable.

Question 55

Philosophy and Logic

The following are examples of which formal fallacy?

William Shatner is Captain Kirk or he is in Miss Congeniality. William Shatner is in Miss Congeniality. Therefore he is not Captain Kirk.

I am going to bed or reading a book. I feel really tired tonight, so I will go to bed. So, I cannot read.​

Answer 55

Propositional f.

In order for a compound proposition to have a true value, each component proposition must also be true.​

William Shatner can be both Captain Kirk and in Miss Congeniality.

I can read a book and go to bed.

Question 56

Philosophy and Logic

The following are examples of which formal fallacy?

All sharks are fish. All salmon are fish. Therefore all salmon are sharks.

No philosophers are elephants. All elephants are mammals. Therefore no philosophers are mammals.​

Answer 56

Syllogystic f.

This occurs with a reference to something general, and then makes a conclusion about something more specific.

Both salmon and sharks can be fish without being one another.

Both elephants and philosophers can be mammals while simultaneously not being one another.

Question 57

Philosophy and Logic

The following are examples of which informal fallacy?

Bill claims that this was an accident, but we know Bill to be a liar, so we can’t take his word for it.

Susan is an avid hunter, therefore she cannot possibly support gun control.

Answer 57

Ad hominem f.

This fallacy is associated with trying to undermine the opponent’s arguments by personal attacks, through attacking their character or skill level, etc. The ad hominem attack uses an accepted fact about a person to undermine their credibility despite the lack of causal connection between the two parts of the argument.

Bill being a liar doesn’t mean his claim is false.

Susan being a hunter doesn’t mean she doesn’t suport any gun control.

Question 58

Philosophy and Logic

The following are examples of which informal fallacy?

Bill Clinton’s “I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky.”

I know John very well. He would never do ‘x’.

Answer 58

Ambiguity f.

The use of a double meaning or an unclear descriptive applied to mislead or misrepresent the truth. Then changing the meaning of the terms later.​

Clinton likely used the term ‘sexual relations’ loosely to leave out oral sex.

‘I know John very well’ is a vague, unverifiable claim.

Question 59

Philosophy and Logic

The following are examples of which informal fallacy?

Leanne thinks smoking does not affect life expectancy since her grandmother smoked for 4 decades and lived to be 87.

I have never seen a happy marriage. Getting married is a bad idea.​

Answer 59

Anecdotal f.

The anecdotal fallacy uses a personal experience or an isolated example instead of a sound argument.​

Leanne’s mother is not a large or representative sample of normal smoking effects on the population.

Your experience is not a large or representative sample of marriage on the population.

Question 60

Philosophy and Logic

The following are examples of which informal fallacy?

If the Pope says that an aspect of doctrine is true, then it should be added to the creed, since he is infallible.

The mayor said that the crime rate is down. The statistics claiming otherwise must be erroneous.

Answer 60

Appeal to authority f.

The argument that if one credible source believes something that it must be true.

No human is infallble.

The mayor may be wrong, and she has an incentive to downplay crime under her watch.

Question 61

Philosophy and Logic

True/False.

Any citation to an authority figure in an argument is a fallacy.

Answer 61

False.

Any citation to an irrelevant authority figure in an argument is a fallacy (the opinion of authorities can still hold some weight, even if the fact that they argue a certain position does not make it necessarily true).

Question 62

Philosophy and Logic

The following are examples of which informal fallacy?

Sarah did not want to eat liverwurst for dinner, but he mother told her to think of all the starving children in the world who do not have food at all.

A cereal commercial shows kids enjoying their breakfast with a happy mom in the background.

Answer 62

Appeal to emotion f.

Makes a claim based on sympathy or empathetic instead of just or logical grounds.

How Sarah feels or thinks about starving children has no impact on whether or not she should eat hur liverwurst.

Almost every commercial is an appeal to emotion in which you see individuals happier because of a product.

Question 63

Philosophy and Logic

The following are examples of which informal fallacy?

“John was well within his rights to avenge his wife after he witnessed her being brutally murdered. Killing the murderer was the natural response.”

Product packaging that claims ‘natural’ ingredients.

Answer 63

Appeal to nature f.

That just because something is natural that it is therefore valid, justified, or inevitable.​

Whether or not killing a murderer is the natural response, something being natural does not make it necessarily moral or right.

There are many naturally occurring poisons which would be harmful if ingested.

Question 64

Philosophy and Logic

The following are examples of which informal fallacy?

A recent study shows 8 out of 10 doctors say that acupuncture is an effective therapy. 8 out of 10 doctors can’t be wrong!

Everyone else is going to attend a four-year university, so I am going to do the same instead of taking classes at a local community college.

Answer 64

Bandwagon f.

The popularity of something as a means of validating it.

The number of individuals who do something or agree with something has no bearing on the decision to an action or the truth of an assertion.

Question 65

Philosophy and Logic

The following are examples of which informal fallacy?

Opium is known to put people to sleep because it contains soporific properties.

Stocks are the best investment since every other investment is an inferior option.

Answer 65

Begging the question f.

Circular arguments in which the conclusion is included in the premise of the argument.

Both are circular arguments. The assertions add no real evidence to back the claims.

Question 66

Philosophy and Logic

The following are examples of which informal fallacy?

Ellis: “I believe that fairies exists.”

Marty: “How can you prove it?

Ellis: “I don’t have to, if you can’t prove that fairies don’t exist.”

An employee claims harassment without proof, and argues that the employer cannot prove that she was not harassed.​

Answer 66

Burden of proof f.

Occurs when someone who is making a claim, puts the burden of proof on another party to disprove what they are claiming.

It is up to the individual making the claim to back it up and prove it.

Question 67

Philosophy and Logic

What fallacy is related to the fallacy of shifting the burden of proof and occurs when someone argues that a certain conclusion is true because there is no evidence against it?

Answer 67

Appeal to ignorance f.

Question 68

Philosophy and Logic

The following are examples of which informal fallacy?

Whatever is less dense than water will float, because such objects won’t sink in water.

Women should be able to have abortions, so abortion should be legal and easily available.

Answer 68

Circular reasoning f.

Occurs when the one reasoning begins with the claim with which they are trying to conclude.​

These statements just state the same assertion twice

Question 69

Philosophy and Logic

The following are examples of which informal fallacy?

Philosophy students are taught how to argue, but shouldn’t we teach them something more helpful? After all there are already a lot of arguments and conflicts in the world.

Claiming someone is unethical because they have a bad work ethic.

Answer 69

Equivocation f.

Uses misleading terms of more than one meaning without clarifying which definition is intended in the scenario.

Argue and argument have different meanings here than the connotations being ascribed.

The term unethical is very different from ethic as used in ‘work ethic.’

Question 70

Philosophy and Logic

The following are examples of which informal fallacy?

“Lucy, why do you call your children ‘kids?’ Don’t you see how offensive it is to liken your children to immature little goats?”

Calling someone (a straight person) who is happy and jolly ‘gay’ and insisting that only the old meaning of ‘gay’ is valid.

Answer 70

Etymological f.

Poses that a certain term’s original meaning applies to its colloquial and modern understanding in current circumstances.

‘Kid’ can refer to more than just baby goats.

‘Gay’ used to mean happy but is rarely used this way today.

Question 71

Philosophy and Logic

The following are examples of which informal fallacy?

Jenna thinks we should do yoga before work because it is natural and is said to relax you. Miles thinks we should also smoke pot before work for the same reasons.

Whenever it rains, the sky is cloudy. The sky is cloudy now, so it must be raining.

Answer 71

Fallacy f.

Based on false claims, but is logically coherent.

Do we know that yoga or pot are likely to relax us before work?

It is possible for the sky to be cloudy but not to be raining.​

Question 72

Philosophy and Logic

The following is an example of which informal fallacy?

Each part of this chair is cheap, so the whole chair for sale must be cheap.

Answer 72

Composition f.

Makes the assumption that the characteristics of the parts of something will apply to the whole.

The characteristics of the components do not necessarily decide the characteristic of the whole.

Question 73

Philosophy and Logic

The following is an example of which informal fallacy?

Healthy brains think. Healthy brains are comprised of nothing but brain cells. If healthy brains think, then the individual brain cells can think too.

Answer 73

Division f.

Makes the assumption that the characteristics of the whole must apply to all the parts.

The characteristics of the whole do not necessarily decide the characteristics of the components.

Question 74

Philosophy and Logic

The following is an example of which informal fallacy?

I eat bananas for a snack every day. One day I skipped my banana, and my car was broken into. I have not missed a day of banana-snacking since.

Answer 74

False cause f.

False cause refers to an argument where someone cites sequential events as evidence that the first event caused the second.

Your banana-snacking has no effect on a parked car’s safety.

Question 75

Philosophy and Logic

The following is an example of which informal fallacy?

John showed me this book that proved scientists have empirical evidence for the existence of mermaids, but I lost the book and don’t remember the title.

Answer 75

False attribution f.

Happens when someone appeals to irrelevant, biased, or unqualified information.​

Vague, ambiguous sources for your evidence creates an unfalsifiable position.

Question 76

Philosophy and Logic

The following are examples of which informal fallacy?

You are either with me or against me.

Either you buy me this toy, or you don’t love me. (Child saying to a parent)

Answer 76

False dichotomy f.

Presents two alternative states as the only possibilities when more possibilities may exist.

You could also partially support the person. You could go against their goals because you believe it’s for their benefit.

A parent can love their child even if they don’t buy the specific toy.

Question 77

Philosophy and Logic

The following are examples of which informal fallacy?

Edna had rolled a 6 with the dice the last 9 consecutive times. Surely it would be highly unlikely that she would roll another 6 on the 10th time.

My sister’s first three children have been girls. The fourth one is sure to be a boy.

Answer 77

Gambler’s f.

Based on the false belief that separate, independent events can affect the likelihood of another random event, or that if something happens often that it is less likely that the same will take place in the future.

Past events that are isolated from the current event have no bearing on the likelihood of the current event.

Question 78

Philosophy and Logic

The following are examples of which informal fallacy?

I was brought up Mormon, so I believe Mormonism is the truth, since my parents are good people and they wouldn’t lie to me.

My physician is overweight. I can’t trust any of his health advice.

Answer 78

Genetic f.

Which reasons that one can accurately judge or assess something as good or bad based on where it originates from.

The character of the individual providing information has no bearing on whether or not the information is true (even if it may change the way you approach the information).

Question 79

Philosophy and Logic

The following are examples of which informal fallacy?

“Marijuana has mind-numbing elements that affect your memory so how can you say you have never had marijuana if you can’t remember? Now exactly how much pot did you smoke?”

“Do you think the President should be impeached for colluding with foreign powers?”

Answer 79

Loaded question f.

Arises by asking a question that presupposes a claim so that it cannot be answered to without sounding guilty.

You can’t answer the marijuana question without seeming to prove the individual’s point, even though their assertions are not confirmed.

This assumes you see the President’s actions as collusion.

Question 80

Philosophy and Logic

The following are examples of which informal fallacy?

Joe says the sky is pink and Liz says the sky is blue, so they should really just compromise and say the sky is purple.

Dan says that all elephants can fly. Sara says that there are no elephants that can fly. So they agree that perhaps some elephants can fly.

Answer 80

Middle ground f.

Claims that since compromising is good, in any given situation the compromise will produce truth.

Sometimes, one person in an argument is just correct. The truth doesn’t have to be in the middle.

Question 81

Philosophy and Logic

The following are examples of which informal fallacy?

John doesn’t drink alcohol. No real man avoids alcohol. John isn’t a real man.

Sarah always wears slacks. No real woman would wear slacks. Sarah is not a real woman.

Answer 81

No true Scotsman f.

Appeals to the “purity” of an ideal or standard as a way to dismiss relevant criticisms or flaws in your argument.​

These arguments claim an ideal form of a man or woman. There is no basis for the claim that one knows what a ‘true’ man or ‘true’ woman is.

Question 82

Philosophy and Logic

The following are examples of which informal fallacy?

Irene was 89 years old, had never left the small town in Iowa where she was raised, and she had never seen a sea vessel. Though Michael had tried to describe what Navy life on the submarine would be like, she didn’t believe a word was true. How could a glorified metal tube sustain the lives of many men, while submerged for months at a time?

“It is not possible that we landed a man on the moon. How could a tiny capsule with relatively primitive computer technology travel millions of miles in space, travel through radiation, avoid space debris, land and then make the return journy unharmed?”

Answer 82

Argument from Incredulity f.

Occurs when one finds a concept difficult to understand, or simply does not fathom how it works, then they conclude that it is likely untrue.​

Your inability to understand or imagine how some event occurs does not make it impossible.

Question 83

Philosophy and Logic

The following are examples of which informal fallacy?

Extended warranties are a very popular purchase by the consumer, so extended warranties must be good for the consumer.

Everyone drives over the speed limit, so it should not be against the law.

Answer 83

Argumentum ad Populum f.

Presumes that a proposition must be true because most/many believe it to be true.​

The popularity of an opinion or action does not make it true or right.

Question 84

Philosophy and Logic

The following are examples of which informal fallacy?

“I know I cheated on the test, Mrs. Holburn. But what am I going to do, my parents will kill me!”

“Officer, I was speeding. But I have to return this book to the library. I don’t want to have to pay a late fee.”

Answer 84

Red herring f.

Focuses on arguing for an irrelevant topic with the intention of distracting the audience; this usually happens when the orator finds another topic easier to outline.

Your parents’ reaction is irrelevant to whether or not you cheated and should be punished accordingly.

Your needing to return a book is irrelevant to whether or not you broke the law and should be punished accordingly.

Question 85

Philosophy and Logic

The following are examples of which informal fallacy?

If we let our child out of his room, eventually he will want to leave the house, and will end up on the street. If he is walking around on the street then he will be snatched up by a stranger and sold into slavery in a remote region on the World.​

If Donald Trump gets elected for a second term, he will show his true colors as a nazi dictator, abolish the U.S. democratic republic, and appoint himself as emperor.

Answer 85

Slippery slope f.

Consists of arguments that reason if something S were to happen, then something else P will eventually occur, so we should prohibit S from happening.​

None of these steps of logic are warranted, with the later ones becoming more and more outlandish.

None of these steps of logic are warranted, with the later ones becoming more and more outlandish.

Question 86

Philosophy and Logic

The following are examples of which informal fallacy?

(Note: the fallacy has two definitions. Give both.)

“Yes, I know convicted drug abuse justifies imprisonment. But my son is a good kid, your honor, and just fell in with the wrong crowd.”

“Officer, I know I was speeding, but I am headed to the hospital to visit a sick family member.”

Answer 86

Special pleading f.

Occurs (1) when the orator ignores certain elements that are unhelpful for their claims, or (2) when one asks for special considerations to be given them or one of their premises.

Your son does not deserve special treatment.

The urgency you feel does not necessarily grant you special treatment.

Question 87

Philosophy and Logic

The following are examples of which informal fallacy?

Those who oppose abortion have no respect for women’s rights, and see women as baby-making machines, which is of course wrong. Women must be able to choose.

People who oppose gun control are potential terrorists. We cannot allow terrorists to decide our laws. All guns should be banned.

Answer 87

Strawman f.

Occurs when one misrepresents an argument so that it becomes easier to attack.

Those who abortion may have respect for women’s rights but still disagree with some other action of abortion.

Those who oppose gun control may have strong libertarian views (or some other explanation) rather than simply being more likely candidates for potential terrorism.

Question 88

Philosophy and Logic

The following are examples of which informal fallacy?

A recent study showed that the top 10 countries where Italian soda is most commonly consumed are also countries that have some of the lowest rankings in reported cases of depression. Therefore Italian soda makes people happy.

Focus is placed on measurements which could be used to conclude that there is global warming happening, but other information and statistics which contradict those results are ignored.

Answer 88

Texas sharp shooter f.

Occurs when a speaker chooses a cluster of data to apply to their argument, or when they find a pattern that they can apply to a presumption.

Though there may be a correlation between the two, that does not necessarily mean causation.

Selecting only the data points that support your argument is the definition of this fallacy.

Question 89

Philosophy and Logic

The following are examples of which informal fallacy?

The Ancient Greeks were some of the greatest thinkers. They had slaves, so we should have slaves too.

Jason: You cheated on your test. Don’t you know that is wrong?

David: Didn’t you cheat on your test last year?

Answer 89

Tu quoque f.

Answering criticism with criticism, or turning the argument back around on the other person. It also applied the logic that because someone has done something, that it justifies someone else doing the same thing.

Another agent’s actions do not excuse your imitation of those actions.

This is just a ‘no, you’ argument that does not actually respond to Jason’s question.

Question 90

Philosophy and Logic

The following are examples of which informal fallacy?

My piano teacher says I should practice one hour each day, but my father says I should practice three hours a day. They don’t know what they are talking about, so I shouldn’t practice at all.

In the 70s, climate scientists said that the globe was cooling. Obviously the field can’t be trusted.

At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the CDC said not not to wear masks. Now they say to. No one in the field knows what’s actually going on.

Answer 90

Inflation of conflict f.

Assumes the belief that the instances where scholars and scientists have differing opinions on the something, it calls the credibility of the entire field into question.​

Conflict between sources of information do not indicate that there is no solid foundation by which truth can be found.