Logical Fallacies

Question 1

Ad ignorantium

Answer 1

Appeal to ignorance. Arguing on the basis of what is not known and cannot be known. If you can’t prove something is true then it must be false.

Question 2

Ad hominem

Answer 2

Attacking the person.

Question 3

Ad verecundiam

Answer 3

Appeal to authority. This fallacy tries to convince the listener by appealing to the reputation of a famous or respected person.

Question 4

Amphiboly

Answer 4

A fallacy of syntactical ambiguity where the position of words in a sentence or the juxtaposition of two sentences conveys a mistaken idea. Ambiguity in word placement. Jim said he saw Jenny walk her dog through the window.

Question 5

Appeal to emotion

Answer 5

In this fallacy, the arguer uses emotional appeals rather than logical reasons to persuade the listener. The fallacy can appeal to various emotions including pride, pity, fear, hate, vanity, or sympathy.

Question 6

Argument from stretched analogy or false analogy

Answer 6

An unsound form of inductive argument in which an argument relies heavily on a weak analogy to prove its point. This car must be great, for, like the watches in the world, it was made in Switzerland.

Question 7

Begging the question

Answer 7

An argument in which the conclusion is implied or already assumed in the premises. Also said to be circular argument. Of course the Bible is the word of God. Why? Because God says so in the bible.

Question 8

Slippery slope

Answer 8

A line of reasoning that argues against taking a step because it assumes that if you take the first step, you will inevitably follow through to the last. This fallacy uses the valid form of hypothetical syllogism, but uses guesswork for the premises. We can’t allow students any voice in decision making on campus; if we do, it won’t be long before they are in total control.

Question 9

Common belief

Answer 9

“Bandwagon” or appeal to popularity. This fallacy is committed when we assert a statement to be true on the evidence that many other people allegedly believe it.

Question 10

Past belief

Answer 10

A form of common belief fallacy. The same error in reasoning is committed except the claim is for belief or support in the past. We all know women should obey their husbands. After all, marriage vows contained those words for centuries.

Question 11

Contrary to fact hypothesis

Answer 11

This fallacy is committed when we state with an unreasonable degree of certainty the results of an event that might have occurred but did not.

Question 12

Division

Answer 12

This fallacy is committed when we conclude that any part of a particular whole must have a characteristic because the whole has that characteristic. I am sure that Karen plays the piano well, since her family is so musical.

Question 13

Composition

Answer 13

We conclude that a whole must have a characteristic because some part of it has that characteristic. The Dawson claim must be rolling in money, since Fred Dawson makes a lot from his practice.

Question 14

False dilemma

Answer 14

“Either/or” fallacy or false dichotomy.
Assumes that we must choose one of two alternatives instead of allowing for other possibilities; a false form of disjunctive syllogism. America, love it or leave it.

Question 15

Equivocation

Answer 15

This fallacy is a product of semantic ambiguity. The arguer uses the ambiguous nature of the word or phrase to shift the meaning in such a way as to make the reason offered appear more convincing.

Question 16

Hasty generalization

Answer 16

A generalization accepted on the support of a sample that is too small or biased to warrant it. All men are rats! Just look at the louse they married.

Question 17

Post hoc, ergo propter hoc

Answer 17

After this, therefore caused by this. A form of the false cause fallacy in which it is inferred that because one event followed another it is necessarily caused by that event. Mary joined our class and the next week we all did poorly on the quiz. It must be her fault.

Question 18

Inconsistency

Answer 18

A discourse is inconsistent or self contradictory if it contains, explicitly or implicitly, two assertions that are logically incompatible with each other. Inconsistency can also occur between words and actions. A woman who represents herself as a feminist, yet doesn’t believe women should run for congress.

Question 19

Non sequitur

Answer 19

It does not follow.
The premises have no direct relationship to the conclusion. This fallacy appears in political speeches and advertising with great frequency. A waterfall in the background and a beautiful girl in the foreground have nothing to do with an automobiles performance.

Question 20

Questionable cause

Answer 20

Non causa pro causa
Not the cause of that.
Form of false cause fallacy occurs when the cause for an occurrence is identified on insufficient evidence. I can’t find the checkbook; I am sure that my husband hid it so I couldn’t go shopping today.

Question 21

Red herring

Answer 21

Diversionary and important to recognize.
This fallacy introduces an irrelevant issue into a discussion as a diversionary tactic. It takes people off the issue at hand; it is beside the point. Many people say that engineers need more practice in writing, but I would like to remind them how difficult it is to master all the math and drawing skills that an engineer requires.

Question 22

Slanting

Answer 22

A form of misinterpretation in which a true statement is made, but made in such a way as to suggest that something is not true or to give a false description through the manipulation of connotation. I can’t believe how much money is being poured into the space program (suggesting that ‘poured’ means heedless and unnecessary spending.

Question 23

Straw man

Answer 23

This fallacy occurs when we misrepresent an opponent’s position to make it easier to attack, usually by distorting his or her views to ridiculous extremes. This can also take the form of attacking only the weak premises in an opposing argument while ignoring the strong ones. Those who favor gun control legislation just want to take all guns away from responsible citizens and put them into the hands of criminals.

Question 24

Two wrongs make a right

Answer 24

When we try to justify an apparently wrong action by charges of a similar wrong. The underlying assumption is that if they do it, then we can do it too and are somehow justified. Supporters of apartheid are often guilty of this error in reasoning. They point to U.S. Practices of slavery to justify their system.

Question 25

Far-fetched hypothesis

Answer 25

A fallacy of inductive reasoning that is committed when we accept a particular hypothesis when a more acceptable hypothesis, or one more strongly based in fact, is available. The African American church was set afire after the civil rights meeting last night; therefore, it must have been done by the leader and the minister to cast suspicion on the local segregationist.