Logical Fallacies - Non-Sequiturs

Question 1

Begging the question

Answer 1

avoiding the real issue by restating the conclusion without giving any support.

Ex. Immigration quotas are necessary because we shouldn’t allow too many immigrants into our country.

Question 2

Circular reasoning

Answer 2

(similar to begging the question) arguing that A is true because A is true.

Ex. A man should get married by 27 because 27 is the proper age for a man to get
married.

Question 3

either … or fallacy

Answer 3

suggesting that there are only two alternatives when in fact there are more.

Ex. Either you get a high TOEFL score, or you will never enter an American college.

Question 4

Hasty generalization

Answer 4

drawing a conclusion based on inadequate evidence.

Ex. My Russian friend can drink a lot of vodka; therefore, all Russians can drink a lot ofvodka.

Question 5

Non sequitur (Latin for “does not follow”)

Answer 5

a conclusion that does not logically follow from previous statements. Most, if not all, logical fallacies are essentially non sequiturs.

Ex. Maria loves good music; therefore, she will be a great musician.

Question 6

Post hoc, ergo, propter hoc. (Latin for “after this, therefore because of this”)

Answer 6

arguing that A caused B because A happened before B.

Ex. Since the mayor took office, the crime rate has dropped. She must be tough on crime.

Question 7

Unrepresentative sample

Answer 7

(like slanting and hasty generalization) using a portion of a group that clearly does not represent the whole group as if it does speak for the group.

Ex. New York City demonstrates that visitors who do not speak English can always find someone in America who speaks their mother tongue.