Week 5 Flashcards
“If we allow video games to be played during school breaks, kids will stop doing homework and eventually fail their classes.”
(Slippery Slope),
(Appeal to Fear)
“The internet is bad for society. Everyone I know who spends time online becomes addicted, so that must be true for everyone.”
(Hasty Generalization),
(Composition)
“We must ban all junk food from schools immediately, or the obesity epidemic will only get worse, and everyone will be unhealthy.”
(False Dilemma),
(Slippery Slope),
(Appeal to Emotion)
Argument: “If my boss says I’m doing a good job, it must be true, since she’s the boss and knows best.”
(Appeal to Authority),
(Circular Reasoning)
“If we allow kids to choose their own classes, soon they won’t choose any difficult subjects, and their education will be worthless.”
(Slippery Slope),
(False Dichotomy)
“Everyone in my family has always voted for this political party. It must be the best choice.”
What fallacy is this?
What is the logical correction?
- Appeal to Tradition
- “A decision should be based on evaluating the candidate’s policies, regardless of tradition.”
“If people keep using social media as much as they do now, they’ll lose all their interpersonal skills, and in the end, society will completely fall apart.”
What fallacy is this?
What is the logical correction?
- Slippery Slope
- “Social media use should be monitored, but its long-term impacts need further study.”
“This medication can’t be dangerous because it’s made entirely from natural ingredients.”
What fallacy is this?
What is the logical correction?
- Appeal to Nature
- “Natural products can sometimes be safe, but it depends on their properties and dosages.”
“My friend didn’t get the flu shot and never got sick, so vaccines must not be necessary.”
What fallacy is this?
What is the logical correction?
- Hasty Generalization
- “One person’s experience doesn’t represent the general effectiveness of vaccines.”
“We must either ban all violent video games or accept that they’re going to make society more aggressive.”
What fallacy is this?
What is the logical correction?
- False Dichotomy
- “There are multiple factors that contribute to aggression, and video games may only be a small part.”
What is a distinguishing feature of informal fallacies? -
They often involve errors of context or relevance rather than form.
Which of the following best describes a “false alternative” fallacy? -
Presenting two choices as the only possible options when others exist.
Which of the following fallacies occurs when a generalization is made based on insufficient evidence? -
Hasty Generalization
What makes the “appeal to majority” fallacy problematic in logical reasoning? -
It assumes that a large number of people believing something makes it true.
In what way do “subjectivist fallacies” violate the principle of objectivity in reasoning? -
They assume that personal feelings or beliefs are valid evidence for the truth of a claim.
