Test 5

Question 1

Begging the question

Answer 1

assuming the truth of a premise that is supposed to be proven n the argument:

“Mr Bush was the best choice for president because there’s just no one else who’s better”

Question 2

Arguing in a circle

Answer 2

assuming the truth of a premise, drawing a conclusion from the premise, and then using the conclusion to prove the initial premise.

“Being a foreign correspondent is a dangerous job because it is unsafe.”

Question 3

Non-sequiter

Answer 3

provides evidence which does not really prove the point:

“Oprah Winfrey is a dynamic speaker, so she would make a great mayor for Chicago.”

Question 4

False cause/post hoc ergo proper hoc

Answer 4

confuses chronology with a cause-effect relationship:

“Amanda got here early because my coffee spilled 2 minutes ago.”

Question 5

Ignoring the question/red herring

Answer 5

Diverting the ground of argument from the real issues to false ones by presenting a totally unrelated issue:

“Why worry about world hunger when we should be worried about the needy in our country?”

Question 6

arguing against the person

Answer 6

another form of “ignoring the question” - he focuses attention on the person advocating an opposing opinion, usually with derogatory comments, instead of dealing with the real issues:

“reform of labor unions sounds great - until you realize that the one advocating it is a former member of the Communist Party,”

Question 7

False dilemma / either-or fallacy

Answer 7

Giving only two alternatives when more exist, which means that he is oversimplifying the issue:

“Either go to college or forget about getting a job.”

Question 8

Card stacking

Answer 8

States only those facts that support the point being made and ignores all other important evidence:

“A person argues for term limits but only presents the failures of those who have served more than three terms.”

Question 9

False analogy

Answer 9

A comparison n which the differences outweigh the similarities or an assumption that if two things are alike in one or a few ways, they are alike in all ways:

“Old Joe Smith would never make a good President because an old dog cannot learn new tricks.”

Question 10

False or Irrelevant authority

Answer 10

cites an authority or “expert” who has no claim to expertise about the subject. This fallacy attempts to transfer prestige from one area to another:

“Trusty Pharmaceutical (TP) employs an actor to portray a doctor in a television commercial that touts TP’s drug XYZ.”

Question 11

Hasty generalization

Answer 11

draws a broad conclusion from inadequate evidence. Stereotyping is a form of hasty generalization:

“Everything made in China is manufactured by prison labor.”

Question 12

Slippery Slope or Domino Theory

Answer 12

uses one weakness in a position to assume that the whole is doomed to failure. The sheer negativity of the possible effects is supposed to persuade:

“The federal government has to regulate big business or all of corporate America will become like Enron.”

Question 13

Straw man

Answer 13

oversimplifies to make a choice seem obvious or relies on the creation of a false image of someone else’s statements, ideas, beliefs:

“My opponent believes that higher taxes are the only way to pay for needed improvements. She has never met a tax she didn’t like.”

Question 14

Sweeping generalization

Answer 14

overly general statement which needs to be qualified by words or phrases such as “some,” “few,” “many,” “most,” “usually,” or “sometimes”:

“You will die if that mosquito bites you.”