Exercises 6
Written by Dr. Elihu Carranza   
Tuesday, 19 August 2008 20:30

Exercise 6.1: Informal Fallacies, Definitions 

Instructions: Choose the correct answer for each from this list.

a accent i amphiboly
b ad baculum j circular reasoning
c ad hominem (abusive) k complex question
d ad ignorantiam l composition
e ad misericordiam m division
f ad populum n equivocation
g ad verecundiam o post hoc
h accident p none of the above
1 When one appeals to force or threat of force to cause acceptance of a conclusion.
2 When instead of trying to disprove the truth of what is asserted, one attacks the person's situation, beliefs, or prejudices
3 Whenever it is argued that a proposition is true (false) simply on the basis it has not been proved false (true).
4 The attempt to win popular assent to a conclusion by arousing the feelings and enthusiasms of the multitude.
5 An appeal to the feeling of respect people have for the famous to win assent to a conclusion.
6 When a general rule is applied to a particular case whose accidental circumstances render the rule inapplicable.
7 When one considers only exceptional cases and generalizes to a rule that fits them alone.
8 When one assumes as a premise for an argument the very conclusion one intends to prove.
9 For a plurality of questions, a single answer is demanded to a complex question as if it were a simple one.
10 When we confuse the different meanings a single word or phrase may have.
11 When a statement's meaning is unclear because of the loose way in which its words are combined.
12 When words or phrases of a statement are emphasized or stressed producing different meanings from the original.
13 When one reasons fallaciously from the properties of the parts of a whole to the properties of whole itself.
14 Assuming without proof that a prior event explains or is the cause of a subsequent event.
15 When one argues fallaciously that what is true of a whole must be true of each of its parts.
16 When one argues that another must choose one of two options without having proven that the options are mutually exclusive and one or the other must be selected.
17 When it is clear that a conclusion is not necessitated by the premises and the fallacy does not fit the more familiar informal fallacy categories.
18 When one reasons that because two or more things are alike in some respect(s), they will therefore be found alike in some other respect(s).
19 When pity is appealed to for the sake of getting a conclusion accepted.
20 When an implausible, easily attacked, theory is substituted for one that is more plausible and less easily attacked.

Exercise 6.2: Informal Fallacies

Instructions: Choose the most correct answer for each question.

a ad baculum h division
b ad hominem i equivocation
c ad ignorantiam j false dilemma
d ad misericordiam k hasty generalization
e amphibology  l circular reasoning
f complex question m post hoc
g composition n none of these
 1 Psychiatrist: 75% of the women in this city are neurotic; I know this because 75% of the women who come to see me are neurotic.
2 Reporter: The farmer blew out his brains after taking affectionate farewell of his family with a shotgun.
3 Coach asked: By what score will your team lose?
4 Wife: If my mother were here, I bet your wouldn't dare treat me like this.
5 Student: This argument is fallacious. I know it is fallacious because its not valid. It is not valid because it contains a fallacy.
6 Counselor: If you fail to take the tests, we'll have to drop you.Student: My father is in the hospital desperately ill; if you drop me, he may die.
7 Dealer: Since the Dynamobile is the best automobile made in America, the battery in this car must be the best battery in America.
8 Administrator: We must either deny freedom of speech to all critics of the policy or give the students a free hand in destroying the university.
9 Job Counselor: Just fall in love with your job, and success will be yours.
10 Politician: If anything is good for a crucial industry such as the steel industry, then it will be good for the country as a whole.
11 Student: Since we cannot disprove telepathy, we must conclude there is something to it.
12 Concert Goer: I certainly cannot see how you can enjoy this piece of music. It was a favorite of Hitler's!
13 Philosopher: The end of a thing is its perfection; death is the end of life, isn't it? Therefore, death is the perfection of life.
14 Friend: You are either part of the problem or part of the solution. Which is it?
15 Developer: A bad neighborhood is like a rotten apple in a basket of good apples. It must be removed before the rot spreads.
16 Student: Inasmuch as water extinguishes fire, and oxygen is a component of water, we may be sure that oxygen will also put out fire.
17 Speaker: Since we have so far been unable to discover any limit to the universe, we must conclude that space is infinite.
18 Textbook: Anthropology is the science of man embracing woman.
19 Parent to Child: Your mother said: "We should not speak ill of OUR friends!" (Not identical to the original.)
20 Student: That fraternity does some pretty silly things. Tom is a member of that fraternity; therefore, Tom, naturally, does some pretty silly things.
21 Politician: Don't let this educator mislead you. His reading program is not a success. There are still literally thousands of people in this county who are unable to read
22 Commuter: Oriental drivers are a danger on the highways. I saw two this morning and they almost caused accidents with other drivers.
 
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