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Exercises in Identifying Fallacies

This document provides examples of common logical fallacies. The examples given are: 1) An appeal to emotion using a story about a boy with cancer to argue for removing power lines. 2) An appeal to inappropriate authority by citing Prince Charles' belief in homeopathy. 3) An attack against a person by criticizing an opponent's eating habits in a debate about tax policy. 4) An argument from ignorance about the origin of life by claiming science cannot prove natural causes.

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Fitz Airtap
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65 views17 pages

Exercises in Identifying Fallacies

This document provides examples of common logical fallacies. The examples given are: 1) An appeal to emotion using a story about a boy with cancer to argue for removing power lines. 2) An appeal to inappropriate authority by citing Prince Charles' belief in homeopathy. 3) An attack against a person by criticizing an opponent's eating habits in a debate about tax policy. 4) An argument from ignorance about the origin of life by claiming science cannot prove natural causes.

Uploaded by

Fitz Airtap
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Exercises

I D E N T I F Y I N G FA L L A C I E S
FALLACIES
Exercise I
Power lines cause cancer. I met a little boy with
cancer who lived just 20 miles from a power line
who looked into my eyes and said, in his weak
voice, Please do whatever you can so that other
kids wont have to go through what I am going
through. I urge you to vote for this bill to tear
down all power lines and replace them with
monkeys on treadmills.
APPEAL TO EMOTION
Exercise 2

Homeopathy does work.


After all, Prince Charles
believes in it and uses it
himself!
APPEAL TO INAPPROPRIATE AUTHORITY
Exercise 3
My opponent suggests that lowering
taxes will be a good idea -- this is
coming from a woman who eats a pint
of Ben and Jerrys each night!

ATTACK AGAINST THE PERSON


Exercise 4
To this very day (at the time of this
writing), science has been unable to
create life from non-life; therefore, life
must be a result of divine intervention.

ARGUMENT FROM IGNORANCE


Exercise 5
I heard that the Catholic Church was
involved in a sex scandal cover-
up. Therefore, my 102 year-old Catholic
neighbor, who frequently attends Church,
is guilty as well!

DIVISION
Exercise 6
Buddy Burger has the greatest food in
town. Buddy Burger was voted #1 by the
local paper. Therefore, Phil, the owner of
Buddy Burger, should run for President of
the United States.

DISCONNECTED PREMISES
Exercise 7
"I should not pay a fine for reckless
driving. There are actual dangerous
criminals on the street, and the police
should be chasing them instead of
harassing a decent tax-paying citizen like
me."

IRRELEVANT CONCLUSION
Exercise 8
"Since hair always precedes the
growth of teeth in babies, the
growth of hair causes the growth of
teeth."

FALSE CAUSE
Exercise 9
The Bible clearly says, thou shall not bear false
witness, therefore, as a Christian, you better
answer the door and tell our drunk neighbor
with the shotgun, that his wife, whom he is
looking to kill, is hiding in our basement,
otherwise you are defying God himself!

OVERZEALOUS APPLICATION OF A GENERAL RULE


Exercise 10
My father smoked four packs of cigarettes
a day since age fourteen and lived until age
sixty-nine. Therefore, smoking really cant
be that bad for you.

HASTY GENERALIZATION
Exercise 11
Pvt. Joe Bowers: What are these electrolytes? Do you even know?
Secretary of State: They're... what they use to make Brawndo!
Pvt. Joe Bowers: But why do they use them to make Brawndo?
Secretary of Defense: [raises hand after a pause] Because
Brawndo's got electrolytes.

CIRCULAR ARGUMENT
Exercise 12
How many school shootings should we
tolerate before we change the gun laws?

COMPLEX QUESTION
Exercise 13
It is said that we have a good
understanding of our universe. Therefore,
we know exactly how it began and exactly
when.

AMBIGUITY
Exercise 14
Each brick in that building weighs less
than a pound. Therefore, the building
weighs less than a pound.

COMPOSITION
Exercise 15
Melvin: Boss, why do I have to wear this goofy-looking
hardhat?
Boss: It is state law; therefore, company policy. No hat,
no job.

ARGUMENT FROM FORCE

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