Deck 6: Logical Fallacies--2

Question 1

An arguer commits the fallacy of loaded question when he or she poses a question that contains an unfair or unwarranted presupposition.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

A hasty generalization is committed when an arguer supports a general conclusion about a class of persons or things with insufficient or unrepresentative evidence.

Answer 2

True

Question 3

In the appeal to ignorance fallacy, the arguer falsely accuses another arguer of being ignorant.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

If an arguer cites a statement by a witness in support of a conclusion and there is good reason to doubt the accuracy of the witness's observations, the arguer commits the fallacy of inappropriate appeal to authority.

Question 5

Critical thinkers never accept a claim on the mere say-so of another.

Question 6

Some claims are so inherently debtabale that they cannot be settled by appeals to expert opinion.

Question 7

If an arguer unknowingly asserts a premise that is inconsistent with her conclusion, then she commits the fallacy of inconsistency.

Question 8

Jen went into that house that everyone says is haunted last night. She had consumed a few beers and had just watched a scary movie. It was really dark and there was lots of lightning outside, and she swears she saw something spooky in the master bedroom once when the lightning struck. I'm telling you that house is haunted.

A) inappropriate appeal to authority; the cited source is not an authority on the subject at hand.
B) inappropriate appeal to authority; the cited source is biased
C) inappropriate appeal to authority; the accuracy of the source's observation is questionable
D) inappropriate appeal to authority; the source is known to be unreliable
E) no fallacy

Question 9

Donald Trump said that the researchers he paid to investigate whether or not President Obama was born in the United States are finding some very interesting things. I guess the so-called president isn't really a United States citizen.

A) inappropriate appeal to authority; the reliability of the source is questionable
B) inappropriate appeal to authority; the source has been cited incorrectly
C) inappropriate appeal to authority; this issue cannot be settled by expert opinion
D) no fallacy

Question 10

The U.S. Constitution says only believers in God can be president. Sam Harris, the famous atheist, doesn't believe in God. So Sam Harris can never be president.

A) inappropriate appeal to authority; the source has been cited incorrectly
B) inappropriate appeal to authority; the source's claim conflicts with expert opinion
C) inappropriate appeal to authority; this issue cannot be settled by expert opinion
D) inappropriate appeal to authority; the claim is false or improbable
E) no fallacy

Question 11

The Flat Earth Society says that the Earth is a flat circle, with the North Pole at the center and giant mountains of ice around the circumference to keep boats and planes from going off the edge. So I guess the earth is flat after all.

A) inappropriate appeal to authority; the source has been cited incorrectly
B) inappropriate appeal to authority; source's claim conflicts with expert opinion and reliability of the source is questionable
C) inappropriate appeal to authority; the issue cannot be settled by expert opinion
D) no fallacy

Question 12

Wierdthings.com reported that 100-foot-tall aliens from the future landed in the Grand Canyon today. I guess we're not alone in the universe.

A) Inappropriate appeal to authority; the source is biased
B) Inappropriate appeal to authority; the source is probably cited incorrectly
C) Inappropriate appeal to authority; this issue cannot be settled by expert opinion
D) Inappropriate appeal to authority; the claim is false or improbable on its face and the reliability of the source is questionable
E) No fallacy

Question 13

Janet is a girl and she plays softball. Julie's a girl. I bet Julie plays softball, too.

A) inconsistency
B) hasty generalization
C) slippery slope
D) weak analogy
E) no fallacy

Question 14

The Supreme Court's ruling in the Citizens United case made it legal for corporations to funnel unlimited funds to political campaigns without any accountability or transparency. That ruling is responsible for the massive influx of corporate money and the overwhelming number of political ads we've seen in recent U.S. elections.

A) hasty generalization
B) questionable cause; post hoc
C) questionable cause; mere correlation
D) questionable cause; oversimplified cause
E) no fallacy

Question 15

My dentist says that the First Amendment established a strict separation of church and state. My dentist is a highly educated person. So, that is a reasonable way to interpret the First Amendment.

A) inappropriate appeal to authority; the source is presumably not an authority on the subject.
B) inappropriate appeal to authority; the source is biased
C) inappropriate appeal to authority; the claim is inherently debatable
D) inappropriate appeal to authority; the claim is false or improbable on its face
E) no fallacy

Question 16

I think the moon landing was a hoax. Do you know of any proof it wasn't?

A) appeal to ignorance
B) false alternatives
C) loaded question
D) questionable cause
E) no fallacy

Question 17

Conspiracy theorists suggest that 9/11 was an inside government job. The government secretly landed those planes, took off all the passengers, and then hid the planes. Then they took remote-controlled planes and flew those planes into the towers. But days before, they had managed to sneak in explosives into the towers, without anyone seeing, and then performed a controlled detonation on the buildings after the remote-controlled planes hit the towers. And, even though thousands of people would've had to have been involved in the conspiracy to pull this off, they all kept quiet and didn't object. Given the track record of the federal government, that sounds like a plausible scenario to me.

A) inappropriate appeal to authority; claim is false or improbable on its face
B) false alternatives
C) questionable cause; mere correlation
D) slippery slope
E) no fallacy

Question 18

Judith Thomson argues that abortion can be morally permissible. She is a well- respected bioethicist. So abortion must be permissible sometimes.

A) Inappropriate appeal to authority; the source is not an authority on the subject
B) Inappropriate appeal to authority; the accuracy of the source's observation is questionable
C) Inappropriate appeal to authority; source has been cited incorrectly
D) Inappropriate appeal to authority; this issue cannot be settled by expert opinion
E) No fallacy

Question 19

Kids play too many video games. That's why there's so much juvenile crime today.

A) questionable cause
B) hasty generalization
C) weak analogy
D) inconsistency
E) no fallacy

Question 20

The famous novelist Aldous Huxley, author of Brave New World and other great works of fiction, held that near-sightedness can be corrected by eye exercises. Given the opinion of so eminent a person as Huxley, we may be confident that near-sightedness can indeed be corrected by eye exercises.

A) loaded question
B) slippery slope
C) inappropriate appeal to authority
D) inconsistency
E) no fallacy

Question 21

Legislators in Texas want to make it a criminal offense for citizens not to use seat belts when they drive. Mark my words: If they get away with this, it won't be long before they ban beer drinking and cigarette smoking. Then they will restrict our intake of cholesterol, perhaps setting up cholesterol testing sites along major highways. We must not let this infringement of our liberties get started, or there will be no stopping it.

A) questionable cause
B) slippery slope
C) appeal to ignorance
D) false alternatives
E) no fallacy

Question 22

Billy, I know you want to go to school today, but you have the flu and you should stay home. If you go to school, you might give the flu to some of your friends and classmates. They, in turn, might give it to their friends and classmates. Eventually, lots of students might get sick.

A) questionable cause
B) slippery slope
C) hasty generalization
D) appeal to ignorance
E) no fallacy

Question 23

Professor Gene Poole, the distinguished microbiologist, has argued that using animals in medical and scientific experiments is morally wrong. Given Professor Poole's impressive credentials, we should conclude that using animals in medical and scientific experiments is morally wrong.

A) questionable cause
B) loaded question
C) weak analogy
D) inappropriate appeal to authority
E) no fallacy

Question 24

Two years ago I drank a Pond Water Lite beer, and the beer was watery and tasteless. Six months ago I drank a Pond Water Lite beer, and the beer was watery and tasteless. Two weeks ago I drank a Pond Water Lite beer, and the beer was watery and tasteless. I guess all Pond Water Lite beers are watery and tasteless.

A) hasty generalization
B) slippery slope
C) questionable cause
D) appeal to ignorance
E) no fallacy

Question 25

Tabloid headline: UFOs: Extraterrestrials or Demons?

A) hasty generalization
B) questionable cause
C) weak analogy
D) false alternatives
E) no fallacy

Question 26

Larry said State is now ahead 18-14 in the football game, but that can't be right. Two minutes ago, the score was tied 14-14, and it's not possible for a team to score 4 points in football. In football, you can only score in increments of 1 (with an extra point), 3 (with a field goal), 6 (with a touchdown), 7 (with a touchdown and extra point), and 8 (with a touchdown and a two-point conversion). Obviously, Larry is mistaken.

A) loaded question
B) questionable cause
C) false alternatives
D) inconsistency
E) no fallacy

Question 27

Officer, I admit I was driving 140 mph on this congested highway, but I don't deserve a speeding ticket. There is no speed limit on this highway, and the law requires only that vehicles be driven "at a safe speed," which, for me, is well over 140 mph. Also, I apologize for not pulling over sooner. I was talking on my cell phone and didn't hear your siren.

A) false alternatives
B) slippery slope
C) inappropriate appeal to authority
D) inconsistency
E) no fallacy

Question 28

I was six years old and an only child, and I yearned to have a dog for a pet. My parents got me a cocker spaniel. I was happy beyond words. I named the dog Pooch, but as it turned out, I should have called him Lout, Thug, or Stinker. That dog was perfectly awful-vicious, disobedient, pathologically territorial, and it refused to be housebroken. I learned my lesson the hard way: cocker spaniels make dreadful pets. Don't even think about getting one.

A) hasty generalization
B) questionable cause
C) appeal to ignorance
D) false alternatives
E) no fallacy

Question 29

A couple of weeks ago, I received a chain letter that said bad luck would come my way if I did not send the letter on to at least 10 people I knew. I mumbled something about superstitious nonsense and threw the letter away. Bad move! The very next day I was attacked by a Rottweiler, got dumped by my girlfriend, and was fired from my job. Once is enough. You can bet that next time I get a chain letter, I will do exactly what it says.

A) hasty generalization
B) appeal to ignorance
C) questionable cause
D) loaded question
E) no fallacy