Synonyms
Our Soccer team was losing, until I bought new shoes. We have not lost a game since I got my lucky shoes!
Give the two names for this example.
Post Hoc and False Cause
because... this person assumed that the event of buying the new shoes caused the soccer team to win.
Where did you hide the body?
Loaded Question.... because however you answer the question, it still implies that you're guilty.
America, Love it or Leave it!
- False Assumption
False; False Extreme/Dichotomy
because ...the arguer set up a situation that looks like there are only two choices (both extremes).
My father smoked four packs of cigarettes a day since age fourteen and lived until age sixty-nine. Therefore, smoking really isn't that bad for you.
A.) False Extreme
B.) Hasty Generalization
C.) Two Wrongs
B.) Hasty Generalization
is an assumption about a whole group based on an inadequate sample. In this case, the person assumed smoking isn't that bad for you because his father lived a long(ish), but it never mentioned any health problems.
Name It!
Employees and nails are essentially the same. As it is necessary to hit nails on the head in order to make them work, the same must be done with employees.
False Analogy
because... comparing two things that have nothing to do with one another.
I deserve to have a later curfew, so you should let me stay out until 10pm!
Give two names for this example.
Circular Reasoning/ Begging (evading) the question
because... this argument says the person should stay out until 10pm because he/she deserves a later curfew. The arguer is "circling" the question.
All trees have bark. All dogs bark. Therefore, all trees are dogs.
Equivocation; because the speaker is sliding between two different meanings of "bark". In this case "bark" means the outer layer of a tree AND the sound a dog makes.
A mechanic said I have great teeth, so I don't have to go to the dentist.
- Misuse of Authority
True
because...this appeals to authority, but the "wrong" authority. The arguer is "misusing" authority.
He stole something from the store, so it's OK if I steal too!
A.) Argument to Ignorance
B.) False Analogy
C.) Two Wrongs
C.) Two Wrongs; this person believed that it was right to steal because someone else stole (even though it was WRONG) and it was OK for him to steal too (a second wrong).
Name It!
I have bad eyesight, and my mom said that eating carrots is good for your eyes, so I'm going to eat a lot of carrots to improve my eyesight.
Misuse of Authority
because..... the arguer is using his/her mom as a credible source.
Lost your pen = No pen;
No pen = No notes;
No notes = No studying
No studying = Failing
Failing = No diploma
Give two names for this example.
Slippery slope and Prediction of Consequences
because... this shows a chain reaction of drastic consequences.
If you're not a vegetarian, you are just as bad as a cannibal.
Moral Equivalence
because... in this case, the minor thing of eating meat is compared with a major atrocity of being a cannibal.
Caroline says that she thinks her friends should not be so rude to the new girl. Jenna says that she cannot believe that Caroline is choosing to be better friends with the new girl than the girls who have always known her.
- Red Herring
False; Straw Man
because... Jenna is misrepresenting Caroline's point.
child: "Mom, can you buy me the new Avengers action figure?"
mom: "Hey, why don't we go and get ice cream?"
A.) Straw Man
B.) Hast Generalizations
C.) Argument to Ignorance
D.) Red Herring/ Ignoring the Question
D.) Red Herring/ Ignoring the Question
because...the mom used irrelevant points (ice cream) to distract her child from the new action figure.
Define Fallacies of Reasoning.
Fallacies are defects that weaken arguments. Fallacies are common errors in reasoning that will undermine the logic of your argument. Fallacies can be either illegitimate arguments or irrelevant points, and are often identified because they lack evidence that supports their claim.
I read about a pit bull attack. My neighbor owns a pit bull. Therefore, my life is in danger.
Give two names for this example.
Non Sequitur and Missing the Point
because... the premise of this argument does not support the conclusion.
My science class is easy and my friend who is in chemistry says her class is so easy it is boring, so all science-oriented classes are easy.
False assumption
because...this premise is based on false logic.The arguer based his premise on only two examples.
The person that stepped on the back of my shoe is as bad as Kim Jong Un.
- Moral Equivalence
True;
because... In this case, the author is appealing to the angry emotions, thus claiming the person is so rude, there as bad as Kim Jong Un.
Global warming does not exist, since the earth is not getting any warmer.
A.) Equivocation
B.) False Analogy
C.) Argument to Ignorance
D.) Two Wrongs
C.) Argument to Ignorance;
because... this statement must be true because it hasn't been proved false.
Give an example of Equivocation.
toying with the meaning of words
(i.e. taking something for granite, or granite rocks.....bark of a dog, or bark on a tree)
A lawyer who argues that his client should not be held responsible for theft because he is poor.
Give two names for this example
Ad Hominem and Tu Quoque
because... ad hominem directs the argument on a personal level and against the person, and not against the position they are taking.
Biology teacher begins teaching evolution by stating that all things evolve. Student says she just can't accept that humans came from bugs.
Straw man
because.....the arguer distorted the argument.
The fact that 80% of our citizens support the death penalty proves that it is morally right.
-Missuse of Authority
False; Ad Populum
because... you are "hopping on the bandwagon, AND there are percentages involved.
People who cannot go without their coffee every morning are no better than alcoholics.
A.) False Assumption
B.) False Extremes
C.) False Analogy
D.) Ignoring the Question
E.) Missing the Point
C.) False Analogy
because... this argument has strong emotional appeal, and has weak logic.
DOUBLE JEOPARDY!!
Name all of the fallacies of reasoning
(Hint there's 18)
1.Hasty Generalization
2.Ad Populum
3.False Extremes/False Dichotomy
4.Straw Man/ Distorted Argument
5.Ad Hominum
6.Circular Reasoning/ Begging (evading) the question
7. Post Hoc/False Cause
8.Two Wrongs
9.False Analogy
10.Slippery Slope/ Prediction of Consequences
11.False Assumptions
12.Misuse of Authority/Appeal to authority
13.Non Sequitur/Missing the point
14.Red Herring/ Ignoring the question
15.Equivocation
16.Argument to Ignorance
17.Loaded Question (fallacy of the complex)
18.Moral Equivalence