41.
Identify any fallacies in the following passage either by naming them or, where they seem
not to conform to any of the patterns described in the text, by giving a brief explanation of
why the fallacious reasoning is irrelevant to the point at issue.
In spite of its hypocritical announcement that North Korea has ceased nuclear testing, it is
safe to assume that the North Koreans have done no such thing, for at present we have no
means of verifying their so-called moratorium.
Misplaced burden of proof.
42.
Identify any fallacies in the following passage either by naming them or, where they seem
not to conform to any of the patterns described in the text, by giving a brief explanation of
why the fallacious reasoning is irrelevant to the point at issue.
Clearly, Mexico desperately needs financial help in handling its $96 billion foreign debt,
since without any aid Mexico cannot possibly reduce that enormous sum, and it is urgent
that it be reduced.
Begging the question.
43.
Identify any fallacies in the following passage either by naming them or, where they seem
not to conform to any of the patterns described in the text, by giving a brief explanation of
why the fallacious reasoning is irrelevant to the point at issue.
This river has been changing its course every couple of years for the past few thousand
years. Now they’ve decided that the banks need to be stabilized. Who does the Army
Corps of Engineers think it is to come in here and decide they know something Mother
Nature doesn’t?
This kind of fallacy is of the “if it’s been going on like this for a long time, then this is the
way it should continue” variety, which is close to our “argument from tradition,” but
“tradition” doesn’t seem to apply comfortably when it’s nature and not people that is
responsible for the situation. In any case, sometimes the mere fact that something has
happened in a certain way can provide reasons for leaving well enough alone, but the
mere fact that this is the way it has happened is not itself such a reason.
44.
Identify any fallacies in the following passage either by naming them or, where they seem
not to conform to any of the patterns described in the text, by giving a brief explanation of
why the fallacious reasoning is irrelevant to the point at issue.
Ad for a store that sells pianos: “Pianos are our
only
business. You’ll get the best deal at
the piano experts.”
Irrelevant conclusion. (That they sell nothing but pianos is irrelevant to how much they sell
them
for
.)
6-23
45.
Identify any fallacies in the following passage either by naming them or, where they seem
not to conform to any of the patterns described in the text, by giving a brief explanation of
why the fallacious reasoning is irrelevant to the point at issue.
“Of course God created the universe. How do I know? Because he is the Creator.”
Begging the question.
46.
Identify any fallacies in the following passage either by naming them or, where they seem
not to conform to any of the patterns described in the text, by giving a brief explanation of
why the fallacious reasoning is irrelevant to the point at issue.
Frankly, I don’t think you would be satisfied with anything less than our Model 24, which
allows for more expansion than any other personal computer in its class. The way you
catch on to things—something I can tell just from the questions you’ve asked here in the
store—you’re not going to be happy with a machine whose limits you’ll soon reach.
Apple polishing.
6-24
47.
Identify any fallacies in the following passage either by naming them or, where they seem
not to conform to any of the patterns described in the text, by giving a brief explanation of
why the fallacious reasoning is irrelevant to the point at issue.
Are you telling me that you’re twenty–one years old and still a virgin? I’d keep quiet about
that if I were you—you’d be the laughingstock of the dorm if that were widely known.
Peer pressure.
48.
Identify any fallacies in the following passage either by naming them or, where they seem
not to conform to any of the patterns described in the text, by giving a brief explanation of
why the fallacious reasoning is irrelevant to the point at issue.
“I certainly don’t think much of the totalitarian form of government. A so-called free
election with only one candidate is not free at all.”
“Oh, I don’t know. I don’t think it’s all that bad.”
“Why not?”
“Just look at our elections. Sure, we have more than one person running, but the
candidates are all alike. They might just as well be one person, for all the difference there
is among them.”
Straw man.
6-25
49.
Identify any fallacies in the following passage either by naming them or, where they seem
not to conform to any of the patterns described in the text, by giving a brief explanation of
why the fallacious reasoning is irrelevant to the point at issue.
“I say let’s splurge and buy seats on the fifty-yard line. I know a place we can get them for
twenty-five dollars apiece.”
“Good grief! Maybe you want to spend every last cent we make on a football game, but not
me. Are you nuts?”
Straw man.
50.
Identify any fallacies in the following passage either by naming them or, where they seem
not to conform to any of the patterns described in the text, by giving a brief explanation of
why the fallacious reasoning is irrelevant to the point at issue.
Well! Finally, after all these years, the telephone company makes an error on my bill in my
favor! And I’m surely not going to point it out to them. They’ve been gouging me since
telephones first came into existence.
Two wrongs make a right.
6-26
51.
Identify any fallacies in the following passage either by naming them or, where they seem
not to conform to any of the patterns described in the text, by giving a brief explanation of
why the fallacious reasoning is irrelevant to the point at issue.
Why do I spend so much on clothes? Well, it’s either that or look like a bum, and I know
which of those I prefer.
False dilemma.
52.
Identify any fallacies in the following passage either by naming them or, where they seem
not to conform to any of the patterns described in the text, by giving a brief explanation of
why the fallacious reasoning is irrelevant to the point at issue.
When he was twelve, Walter Polovchak and his family were permitted to emigrate from the
Soviet Union to the United States. Walter’s father, however, eventually decided to return
to Russia and was pressured by the Soviet Embassy to take Walter with him. The
American Civil Liberties Union sided with Walter’s father, rather than with Walter, who
wished to remain in Chicago. When the case reached the courts, the legal arguments of
the ACLU were criticized by some editorial writers on the grounds that in most other
instances involving the rights of children, the ACLU had always sided with the child.
Commented one law professor: “The ACLU’s actions regarding Walter can be understood
only in terms of ‘an unwillingness to criticize communism.’”
Ad hominem (inconsistency).
6-27
53.
Identify any fallacies in the following passage either by naming them or, where they seem
not to conform to any of the patterns described in the text, by giving a brief explanation of
why the fallacious reasoning is irrelevant to the point at issue.
I don’t think postmodern expressionism is decent art. It’s another style spawned by the
East Coast art establishment, and, frankly, I’m tired of that group’s dictating to the rest of
the art world.
Genetic fallacy.
54.
Identify any fallacies in the following passage either by naming them or, where they seem
not to conform to any of the patterns described in the text, by giving a brief explanation of
why the fallacious reasoning is irrelevant to the point at issue.
Getting on Senator Davis’s case about the propriety of some of his financial dealings
strikes me as just plain carping. Davis made a considerable economic sacrifice when he
left private industry and entered politics; the people of this district are lucky to have him
there.
Irrelevant conclusion with an appeal to pity.
6-28
55.
Identify any fallacies in the following passage either by naming them or, where they seem
not to conform to any of the patterns described in the text, by giving a brief explanation of
why the fallacious reasoning is irrelevant to the point at issue.
Overheard: “I don’t know why Barbara won’t go out with me. She must think I’m too
intense for her.”
False dilemma.
56.
Identify any fallacies in the following passage either by naming them or, where they seem
not to conform to any of the patterns described in the text, by giving a brief explanation of
why the fallacious reasoning is irrelevant to the point at issue.
“Doesn’t the fact that very few first-rank economists accept Marxist economic ideas
suggest to you that there may be something wrong with those ideas?”
“Not at all. Those economists are all tools of the ruling capitalist parties. I dismiss their
views out of hand.”
Ad hominem (personal attack/circumstantial).
6-29
57.
Identify any fallacies in the following passage either by naming them or, where they seem
not to conform to any of the patterns described in the text, by giving a brief explanation of
why the fallacious reasoning is irrelevant to the point at issue.
I just learned why all those theories about nonhumans building the Great Pyramids and
the Easter Island statues and so on are full of baloney. The guy who wrote about them
was once a hotel manager somewhere in Switzerland, and he was once convicted of
embezzlement. No wonder those theories smelled fishy!
Ad hominem (personal attack).
58.
Identify any fallacies in the following passage either by naming them or, where they seem
not to conform to any of the patterns described in the text, by giving a brief explanation of
why the fallacious reasoning is irrelevant to the point at issue.
Yeah, sure the Los Angeles district attorney believes that O. J. Simpson got a fair trial. But
before you sign on to something like that, you might notice that O. J. is a black man and
that the Los Angeles district attorney is a white man. That tells you all you need to know
about his opinion of fair trials.
Ad hominem (circumstantial).
59.
Identify any fallacies in the following passage either by naming them or, where they seem
not to conform to any of the patterns described in the text, by giving a brief explanation of
why the fallacious reasoning is irrelevant to the point at issue.
From a defense attorney’s closing remarks at a trial: “This young man isn’t guilty of a
crime. No, ladies and gentlemen, it’s
society
that’s guilty of a crime, a crime against the
very person on trial here. The society that wants to send him to prison for half his life is
the same society that produced the rotten neighborhood in which he was born and grew
up, that saw to it that he got a fifth-rate education, that gave him pimps and drug dealers
for role models, and that offered him the choice between street crime or jobs nobody else
would take. This jury—you—can do something to right the wrong that has been done to
this young man….”
Irrelevant conclusion with an appeal to pity. The jury’s job is to determine guilt or
innocence; these remarks may, however, be relevant to the kind of sentence that is
deserved.
60.
Identify any fallacies in the following passage either by naming them or, where they seem
not to conform to any of the patterns described in the text, by giving a brief explanation of
why the fallacious reasoning is irrelevant to the point at issue.
“You cannot support his stand on reforming public education. He sends his own children
to private schools!”
Ad hominem.
61.
Identify any fallacies in the following passage either by naming them or, where they seem
not to conform to any of the patterns described in the text, by giving a brief explanation of
why the fallacious reasoning is irrelevant to the point at issue.
I know there are people who think that Sarah is too impetuous and flighty. But these
qualities only make her exciting to me and make me love her all the more.
This is really as much a case of self-induced self-deception as it is fallacious reasoning.
We suppose wishful thinking is as close as our categories come to it. (Instances of this
sort seem almost absurdly silly to most of us most of the time, but we must remember that
reasoning about certain subjects becomes much more difficult when romance puts one’s
brain chemistry inconveniently, if pleasantly, out of kilter. It is part of the human condition
that we are sometimes called on to make crucial decisions at such times.)
62.
Identify any fallacies in the following passage either by naming them or, where they seem
not to conform to any of the patterns described in the text, by giving a brief explanation of
why the fallacious reasoning is irrelevant to the point at issue.
Letter to the editor: “Should people on welfare be allowed to play the lottery? I say no. It’s
time we did something about the welfare rip-off in this country. I believe in charity for the
poor, but free-loading parasites who are too lazy to get out and do an honest day’s work—I
say cut them off at the knees!”
—North State Record
This piece of vitriol is certainly fallacious; it seems to have one foot in straw man and one
in argument from indignation, though it doesn’t fit neatly into either category.
6-32
63.
Identify any fallacies in the following passage either by naming them or, where they seem
not to conform to any of the patterns described in the text, by giving a brief explanation of
why the fallacious reasoning is irrelevant to the point at issue.
Another letter to the editor on the same subject: “It is positively disgraceful that welfare
recipients can spend some of their checks on lottery tickets.” If they can afford to spend
their monthly allowances on the lottery instead of things that are essential, such as food,
shelter, and clothing, then they don’t need public assistance. Why should I, a taxpayer,
shell out my money to them for that purpose?
—North State Record
False dilemma, with one horn of the dilemma a straw man.
64.
Identify any fallacies in the following passage either by naming them or, where they seem
not to conform to any of the patterns described in the text, by giving a brief explanation of
why the fallacious reasoning is irrelevant to the point at issue.
It’s clear enough to me that Senator John McCain would have made a great president.
Look, it isn’t often that we get a chance to elect a guy who’s a war hero, a prisoner of war
in an enemy prison camp, and we ought to have done it when we had the chance.
Reference to the prisoner-of-war experience remains an irrelevant conclusion until it’s at
least indicated how it is relevant to performance as president.
65.
Identify any fallacies in the following passage either by naming them or, where they seem
not to conform to any of the patterns described in the text, by giving a brief explanation of
why the fallacious reasoning is irrelevant to the point at issue.
I know it probably puts me in the unfashionable minority these days, but I really don’t think
much of Hank Williams’s music. Ever since I learned that he drank a lot and took drugs,
I’ve felt that way.
While this may be ad hominem of the personal attack sort, it may also be a psychological
explanation about somebody’s reaction to Hank Williams and his music. It becomes more
clearly the former if the person goes on to claim that the music in question is bad because
of its creator’s personal habits.
66.
Identify any fallacies in the following passage either by naming them or, where they seem
not to conform to any of the patterns described in the text, by giving a brief explanation of
why the fallacious reasoning is irrelevant to the point at issue.
In response to the woman who felt that Chicago Honeybear cheerleaders were being
exploited by men who viewed the Honeybears as sex objects,
Chicago Tribune
columnist
Mike Royko devoted a column to the subject, suggesting that such women are hypocrites.
The most sexually motivated of all sports fans, he said, are females, who gather in front of
the TV screen solely to gawk at the muscular thighs and lean hips of the “hunks.”
Ad hominem (inconsistency).
6-34
67.
Identify any fallacies in the following passage either by naming them or, where they seem
not to conform to any of the patterns described in the text, by giving a brief explanation of
why the fallacious reasoning is irrelevant to the point at issue.
“Because of [Abraham] Lincoln’s policies the cemeteries of the nation were sown with
600,000 premature bodies, long turned to dust now, but in their time just as open to the
promise of life as any young draft dodger of the 1960s.”
—From Tom Landess, “The Dark Side of Abraham Lincoln,”
The Southern Partisan
The reference to draft dodgers of the 1960s is an argument from outrage-an appeal to
anger or indignation.
68.
Identify any fallacies in the following passage either by naming them or, where they seem
not to conform to any of the patterns described in the text, by giving a brief explanation of
why the fallacious reasoning is irrelevant to the point at issue.
Revenge of the Nerds
was really a funny movie. I know because I was a nerd myself, and
that’s really the way it was!
Plain vanilla fallacious reasoning of no particular category. There may be two independent
reasons here for seeing the movie, but neither of them supports the other. (Wonder what
he means “was” a nerd?)
6-35
69.
Identify any fallacies in the following passage either by naming them or, where they seem
not to conform to any of the patterns described in the text, by giving a brief explanation of
why the fallacious reasoning is irrelevant to the point at issue.
You can’t trust the arguments you find in that magazine. It’s well known as a right-wing
apologist for the wealthy.
Genetic fallacy. As noted in the text, arguments stand on their own feet; their origins are
not important.
70.
Identify any fallacies in the following passage either by naming them or, where they seem
not to conform to any of the patterns described in the text, by giving a brief explanation of
why the fallacious reasoning is irrelevant to the point at issue.
“It says here that smoke from wood-burning stoves, no matter how airtight they’re
supposed to be, gets into your house and is a health hazard.”
“No way. We just spent close to a thousand dollars on this new stove; what you’re reading
can’t be true.”
Wishful thinking.
71.
Identify any fallacies in the following passage either by naming them or, where they seem
not to conform to any of the patterns described in the text, by giving a brief explanation of
why the fallacious reasoning is irrelevant to the point at issue.
It isn’t so important how they’re made or how long they last or how much they cost. These
are the best jeans because they’re incredibly popular right now. Sometimes I think you just
don’t understand style.
Peer pressure, if the issue is whether the jeans are the best. There is also a danger of
begging the question here (the question of what criteria should be used to determine the
best jeans). If the issue is simply what jeans should you wear to be like everybody else,
then of course there’s no fallacy at all—and no real need for the remark in the first place.
And it may be that, as the speaker says, your authors just don’t understand style.
72.
Identify any fallacies in the following passage either by naming them or, where they seem
not to conform to any of the patterns described in the text, by giving a brief explanation of
why the fallacious reasoning is irrelevant to the point at issue.
You shouldn’t wear anything made of white harp seal fur. Do you know how they get that
fur? Baby harp seals, which are among the sweetest-looking creatures on earth, are
clubbed to death right in front of their mothers when they are just days or weeks old.
Appeal to pity.
73.
Identify any fallacies in the following passage either by naming them or, where they seem
not to conform to any of the patterns described in the text, by giving a brief explanation of
why the fallacious reasoning is irrelevant to the point at issue.
Don’t give me reasons where feelings are concerned; I can’t be argued out of my feelings.
This interesting remark is more complex than it looks. It’s probably true that a person—at
least sometimes—can’t do much about his or her feelings. But this issue is different from
the issues of whether a person should act on those feelings and whether the feelings
themselves are proper, appropriate, based on fact, and so on. That a person has certain
feelings, and may be stuck with them, is irrelevant to the other two questions.
74.
Identify any fallacies in the following passage either by naming them or, where they seem
not to conform to any of the patterns described in the text, by giving a brief explanation of
why the fallacious reasoning is irrelevant to the point at issue.
News report: The city council’s internal affairs committee voted to allow public access to
the city’s five creeks. But Councilwoman Shelly Harvard voiced strong opposition to the
public access requirement. “Why do we want to allow access to the creek?” she asked.
“Are we going to turn this into a town where anyone can walk across a person’s lawn?”
Straw man.
6-38
75.
Identify any fallacies in the following passage either by naming them or, where they seem
not to conform to any of the patterns described in the text, by giving a brief explanation of
why the fallacious reasoning is irrelevant to the point at issue.
In a letter to the editor of a newspaper, a certified nutritionist criticized an editorial that
had appeared earlier in the paper advocating a ban on raw milk. He wrote, “You call for an
‘outright ban on commercial sales’ of raw milk. Yet, by your own figures, you relate about
123 California cases of
Salmonella dublin
[food poisoning], which represents a miniscule
danger compared to the lives lost by smoking cigarettes.”
—Sacramento Bee
Ad hominem.
76.
Identify any fallacies in the following passage either by naming them or, where they seem
not to conform to any of the patterns described in the text, by giving a brief explanation of
why the fallacious reasoning is irrelevant to the point at issue.
Cheryl is deciding which of the girls who are rushing her sorority she wants most to join.
Pearl and Maria are trying to convince Cheryl that Debra is the best of the rushees and
that Cheryl should vote for Debra when the time comes.
“Debra has a wonderful personality, and she’ll fit right in,” Pearl says. “All the other sisters
are going to vote for her.”
“And she’ll be really hurt if you don’t support her,” Maria points out. “She thinks you like
her a lot.”
“Besides,” Pearl says, “she and I are very close. She’s just about the best friend I ever
had.”
Argument from pity and apple polishing.
77.
Identify any fallacies in the following passage either by naming them or, where they seem
not to conform to any of the patterns described in the text, by giving a brief explanation of
why the fallacious reasoning is irrelevant to the point at issue.
Did Amundsen beat Scott to the South Pole? Hardly, sir! ’Twould be disastrous indeed for
the Empire if we allowed ourselves to believe Norwegians with dogs could ever best red-
blooded English males!
Wishful thinking.
78.
Identify any fallacies in the following passage either by naming them or, where they seem
not to conform to any of the patterns described in the text, by giving a brief explanation of
why the fallacious reasoning is irrelevant to the point at issue.
“To the people who brought you ‘The Great American Smokeout,’ we make The Great
American Challenge. We challenge the American Cancer Society to clean up the air in its
‘smoke free’ offices. We are willing to bet there isn’t much cigarette smoking at American
Cancer Society offices. But, according to a recent study from the National Institute for
Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), cigarette smoke also wasn’t the problem in 98
percent of 203 buildings reported to have indoor air problems…. Indoor air inspections
resulting from worker complaints typically find viruses, fungal spores, bacteria, gases,
closed fresh air ducts, and ventilation systems in need of maintenance.”
—Full-page ad in
USA Today
, sponsored by the Tobacco Institute
A real, literal smokescreen! The Tobacco Institute is playing off reports of dangerous
office environments, but the ad is meant to divert attention away from the even greater
dangers of cigarette smoking. The ad may also hint that those who feel ill at the office
should not blame the smoker; but the “Smokeout” was directed to actual smokers.
79.
Identify any fallacies in the following passage either by naming them or, where they seem
not to conform to any of the patterns described in the text, by giving a brief explanation of
why the fallacious reasoning is irrelevant to the point at issue.
“Sure, driving after you’ve been drinking can get you into trouble with the law, but if you’re
careful and stay in control I don’t think there’s anything wrong with it. What makes
something like that wrong is endangering others; so as long as you haven’t drunk enough
to impair your control, you aren’t doing anything wrong.”
This is interesting. Regarding the issue of whether drinking and driving will get you into
trouble with the law, the whole thing is irrelevant—an irrelevant conclusion. But stating
that driving after drinking moderately is not wrong because it does not endanger others
(and perhaps should not be against the law) is an argument. Given that most or at least
many people find it difficult to tell when they’ve had too much to drink, it isn’t a very good
argument.
80.
Identify any fallacies in the following passage either by naming them or, where they seem
not to conform to any of the patterns described in the text, by giving a brief explanation of
why the fallacious reasoning is irrelevant to the point at issue.
Marty: If we keep on the way we are going, we will destroy civilization on this planet.
Tracy: That’s so depressing. I think we need to think well of things.
Wishful thinking.