Module 1

Question 1

argument definition

Answer 1

a piece of reasoning meant to justify a certain conclusion

Question 2

fallacy definition

Answer 2

an incorrect step in an argument

Question 3

Argument ad hominem- ad baculum (fallacy of the stick) definition

Answer 3

appeal to force in order to either silence/ threaten the opponent

Question 4

Argument ad hominem - abusive (direct attack) definition

Answer 4

Character or other irrelevant personal qualities of the opponent are presented as if they are evidence against her position, often coupled with insults. Used to distract the audience from the topic of the debate.

Question 5

Argument ad hominem- Circumstantial (indirect attack) definition

Answer 5

irrelevant personal facts of the opponent are brought in to undermine their credibility and distract attention of the audience from the topic of the debate.
Alternatively, doubt is cast on the opponent’s motives for arguing the way they do

Question 6

Argument ad hominem- poisoning the well definition

Answer 6

committing a pre-emptive ad hominem attack on the opponent, based on personal qualities irrelevant to the debate, before the opponent has been able to make her case.
i.e. tainting the image of the opponent before they have made their argument.
This may stall the debate, and leave the position of the attacker as the apparent winner

Question 7

Argumentum ad hominem- tu qoque definition

Answer 7

the attempt to counter an attack from the opponent by retorting the attack on the opponent their self, thus distracting the audience from the original issue

Question 8

Argumentum ad misericordiam definition

Answer 8

appeal to emotions of pity rather than rationality in order to support a proposition.

Question 9

straw man definition

Answer 9

oversimplifying or pushing to the extreme the opponent’s thesis.

Question 10

ignoratio elenchi (fallacy of irrelevance) definition

Answer 10

putting forward a proposition which might be true, but has no relation with the conclusion it is used/ purported to support

Question 11

Argumentum ad verecundiam (appeal to authority) definition

Answer 11

appeal to authority rather than rational arguments for the support or dismissal of a proposition

Question 12

Plurium interrogation (many questions fallacy) definition

Answer 12

a question is posed to the opponent, which implicitly assumes an affirmative/ negative answer to one or more questions P1,… Pn on which the validity of question Q depends.

Question 13

Shifting the burden of proof definition

Answer 13

rather than justifying one’s own thesis, forcing the other person to disprove the thesis or to justify their own instead

Question 14

Petitio principii (begging the question/ circular reasoning) definition

Answer 14

assuming, as a premise of an argument, its conclusion.
The more premise an argument has, and the more convoluted it is, the more different to spot the circularity
using a rephrased version of a statement to argue that statement

Question 15

false analogy definition

Answer 15

a fallacy which introduces a weak analogy between A and B in order to claim that since A has property P, then B also has property P.

Question 16

hasty generalisation definition

Answer 16

making a claim based on evidence that is too small

Question 17

Cum hoc ergo propter hoc definition

Answer 17

a fallacy committed whenever one infers the conclusion that A must be the cause of B exclusively from the observation that A and B exist or vary simultaneously.
there may be an additional variable that causes both variations

Question 18

Post hoc ergo propter hoc (temporal succession) definition

Answer 18

a fallacy committed whenever one infers the conclusion that A must be the cause of B exclusively from the observation that A and B are in temporal succession. Temporal succession of events A and B is a necessary condition for A to be a cause of B, but it is not a sufficient condition.
i.e. When B occurs after A, then A must be responsible for B

Question 19

slippery slope definition

Answer 19

arguing that there exists a causal chain of events C1, …, Cn leading from an event A to another event B which is usually considered bad in some way (morally or otherwise).

Question 20

Denying the antecedent definition

Answer 20

a conditional statement of the form “if P is the case, then Q must be the case” establishes P as a sufficient condition for Q to occur. Assuming that the conditional statement holds, claiming that P is false is, however, not sufficient to conclude that Q is also false; for instance, there might be other sufficient conditions enforcing the truth of Q.

Question 21

Affirmation of the consequent definition

Answer 21

when one concludes (from the observation) that truth A logically implies truth B, therefore if B occurs, A must also occur.

Question 22

composition/ division fallacy definition

Answer 22

to deduce, from the fact that all of the component parts of a whole possess the property P, that the whole possesses P.

Question 23

Ad ignorantiam definition

Answer 23

absence of evidence for a proposition does not constitute evidence for its contrary

Question 24

the gambler’s fallacy definition

Answer 24

inferring that a certain outcome of a random trial is more likely– given that a specific history of outcomes of previous (statistically independent random trials) has been observed.

Question 25

false dilemma definition

Answer 25

arguing for a proposition P by assuming without support that either P or Q must be the case, and that Q must be rejected.
presents only two options or sides when there are many options or sides.

Question 26

The Department of Transportation needs to reconsider the speed limit proposals on interstate highways for the simple reason that if they do not, their departmental budget for Department of Transportation will be cut by 25%.

Answer 26

Argument ad baculum (fallacy of the stick/ appealing to force) example

Question 27

cognitive bias definition

Answer 27

a pattern of thought that systematically leads us to irrational or incorrect conclusions

Question 28

belief bias definition

Answer 28

judging an argument on the basis of what we believe about the conclusion, rather than the actual strength of the arguments

Question 29

availability heuristic definition

Answer 29

jumping to conclusions on the basis of available information that quickly comes to mind.
The information may be based on limited evidence, that nevertheless gives rise to immediate convictions

Question 30

conjunction fallacy definition

Answer 30

when the conjunction of two events (properties) is judged to be probable than one of the events (properties)

Question 31

halo/horns effect definition

Answer 31

the tendency for an impression/ opinion created in one area to influence an impression/ opinion in another area.
We tend to think simplistically (black and white view)

Question 32

affect heuristic definition

Answer 32

making judgements based on emotions when it is inappropriate

Question 33

confirmation bias example

Answer 33

the tendency to search for and interpret information in a way that confirms our preconceptions

Question 34

confirmation bias- self-verification definition

Answer 34

the drive to reinforce one’s positive self-image

Question 35

confirmation bias- imposter syndrome definition

Answer 35

the drive to reinforce one’s negative self-image

Question 36

confirmation bias- self-handicapping

Answer 36

creating conditions for failure to protect one’s ego.
investments in a future reality in which one can blame their failure on something other than their own ability

Question 37

types of confirmation bias

Answer 37

• self-verification
• imposter syndrome
• self-handicapping