Chapter 07 Induction Fallacies Answer Key
Short Answer Questions
1.
Identify the type of fallacy in the following passage.
Housing is far too expensive in this country. Why, the median price of a home in most of
California is now over $350,000.
If the speaker is generalizing from California to the entire country, then the argument is a
hasty generalization; and, if you are aware of typical housing costs in California, you could
also call it a biased generalization. But perhaps the speaker only means that when the
median price of a home approaches $350,000 in some place—California or wherever—
then housing has just gotten too expensive in this country. If the passage is viewed this
way, it’s not clear that the speaker is even offering an argument.
2.
Identify the type of fallacy in the following passage.
Overheard: “You don’t think this country is in a slump? Get real. George here was laid off
before Memorial Day, and Howie’s wife and a whole bunch of other people lost their jobs
when the Safeway over on Jeffrey closed down. These are tough times.”
Hasty generalization.
3.
Identify the type of fallacy in the following passage.
We’re gonna have trouble with that new paper boy, honey. He’s been late twice already.
We’d call this a hasty generalization, but with just a few more late deliveries, it won’t be.
4.
Identify the type of fallacy in the following passage.
Hey, let’s start shopping at Musgrave’s. It’s a whole lot cheaper. I stopped in there
yesterday on the way home and found strawberries there for 79¢ a basket and ground beef
for $1.29 a pound. And they weren’t even on sale!
Hasty generalization.
5.
Identify the type of fallacy in the following passage.
Invest in real estate! Buy a house! It’s the best investment you will ever make. Despite
occasional temporary dips, home prices have always gone up. You can’t go wrong if you
buy a house.
Despite the “size” of the sample, there are important differences between it and the
target: the number of additional homebuyers is declining; consumer debt has risen
dramatically; and discretionary income has been shrinking. Can we expect entry-level
university students to know such things? Maybe not. But we can expect them to
understand the importance of carefully checking out arguments like this before they
contract a major debt.
6.
Identify the type of fallacy in the following passage.
Remark made while driving on the Pennsylvania Turnpike: “We’ve seen nine cars with
license plates from west of the Mississippi today, and six of them have been from Texas.
Texans must travel more than other people.”
Hasty generalization.
7.
Identify the type of fallacy in the following passage.
I certainly did not enjoy the first meeting of that class. I think I’ll drop it; I don’t want a
whole semester of meetings like that.
Whether this is a hasty generalization depends on exactly what the student didn’t like
about the first class. There are some things, such as an instructor’s manner of
presentation, that a person can reach legitimate conclusions about after only a small
sample. Further, if the student is referring to the instructor’s overview of the course, he
may have a good inductive argument: “She said she was going to cover such-and-such
material; instructors usually cover what they say they’re going to cover; therefore, she will
probably cover the material she said she was going to cover. And I have neither need nor
inclination to study that material.”
8.
Identify the type of fallacy in the following passage.
First bicycle rider: How come when we coast downhill you always go so much faster than
I?
Second bicycle rider: Because I’m heavier. Heavier things fall faster.
Third bicycle rider: Wait a minute. I thought that was what Galileo proved wrong.
Second bicycle rider: C’mon! That’s only common sense. Heavy things are bound to fall
faster. Just look at how fast I coast—and I’m the heaviest.
Mixed in with the faulty casual explanation is the reasonable generalization that you
always coast faster downhill than I do.
9.
Identify the type of fallacy in the following passage.
If you think the people of Phoenix are going to give up their rights to water from the
Colorado River to Los Angelenos, you’d better think about it some more. Read the letters
to the editors of the Phoenix newspapers, and you’ll see what I mean. People are really hot
under the collar about the issue.
Biased generalization.
10.
Identify the type of fallacy in the following passage.
A reliable statewide study found that one western town (which we won’t name) had an
unusually high rate of death from cancer. The study, done during the 1970s, showed the
cancer death rate for white females to be 175.4 per 100,000, compared to 154.9 for the
state. One resident dismissed the finding as follows: “Statistics! You can prove anything
you want with statistics! There’s no more cancer here than anywhere.”
Hasty generalization: Some statistical conclusions aren’t trustworthy, so none of them are.
11.
Identify the type of fallacy in the following passage.
I went into that office supply store on Jackson Avenue the other day, and I can tell you that
I’m not ever going back. They’re the rudest people I’ve ever seen in a retail business. The
guy who waited on me griped constantly about it being inventory time, and he was of no
help at all in finding what I wanted to buy.
Biased and hasty generalization.
12.
Identify the type of fallacy in the following passage.
From a letter to the editor: “The news media can never be trusted. Shortly before the
Geneva summit, the
Washington Post
decided that a news scoop concerning a confidential
letter from the secretary of defense to the president was more important news than a
coordinated posture by our negotiating team.”
Hasty generalization.
13.
Identify the type of fallacy in the following passage.
Goldman may have won the Supervisor of the Year award, but that just means they didn’t
look very hard for a winner. I know a couple of people who work in Goldman’s division, and
they say that he’s a real pain to work for. I’d sooner trust my friends than some awards
committee.
A hasty generalization of the anecdotal evidence variety.
14.
Identify the type of fallacy in the following passage.
I watched
Nova
on public television the other night, and it was great! I’m going to be in
front of the tube every week for it from now on.
If one episode of Nova was good, that’s not a bad reason for believing that it’s generally
pretty good. Still, this generalization may be just a bit hasty.
15.
Identify the type of fallacy in the following passage.
“Sharon’s father thinks the idea of a space-based laser missile defense is entirely feasible,
and he should know—he’s a physicist who specializes in laser technology, and he has a
degree in computer science.”
“Yeah, well, he may be right, but he also works for the defense industry. There’s a pot of
gold in it for him if people believe that. He’s probably not the most reliable source.”
No fallacy.
16.
Identify the type of fallacy in the following passage.
I’ve seen brochures depicting the scenery in the Ozark Mountains, and it’s beautiful. I’m
even thinking of retiring to Arkansas, since it’s clearly such a beautiful state.
Biased generalization.
17.
Identify the type of fallacy in the following passage.
The photographs from the first roll of that new Kodak film were really good. I’ll tell you,
that film is good stuff.
This is okay, since one roll of Kodak film can be expected to be much like every other roll
of the same type for the few holdouts still using film.
18.
Identify the type of fallacy in the following passage.
Bill bought one of those Burn-Rite wood stoves last year, and it smoked up his house all
winter. Those stoves are not worth the high prices we pay for them.
Hasty generalization.
19.
Identify the type of fallacy in the following passage.
According to one of the leading consumer magazines, the best-built cars these days are
Japanese. Cars built by foreign manufacturers have just outclassed those built in the
United States, it appears.
Biased generalization: What holds for Japanese cars may not hold for all foreign-built cars.
20.
Identify the type of fallacy in the following passage.
“A Prairie Home Companion” must be a pretty popular radio program around here. About
half my friends have copies of the book the program’s host recently published.
A hasty, and quite likely biased, generalization. The speaker’s friends may not resemble
the general population in their taste in radio programs.
21.
Identify the type of fallacy in the following passage.
“Hello Mom? Yeah, it’s me…. Fine. Great, in fact. Massachusetts is super—I’ve never had
so much fun…. No…. Yes! And listen, I’ve just met the most wonderful guy. And I’m
sure
he’s rich. You should just
see
the expensive car he drives….”
Hasty generalization.
22.
Identify the type of fallacy in the following passage.
“We had the worst inflation of my lifetime in the late ‘70s, then Ronald Reagan got elected
and during his term in office it dropped from over thirteen percent to about four percent.
Shows you what a smart president can do.”
Post hoc.
23.
Identify the type of fallacy in the following passage.
“They want to make it illegal for a running back to hit someone with his helmet? Next thing
you know they won’t even allow tackling.”
Slippery slope.
24.
Identify the type of fallacy in the following passage.
“More and more women are determining what everybody watches on TV. Just look at that
show on HBO, starring Lena Dunham, Girls, its called. Everybody’s watching that show.
Everybody.”
—Rush Limbaugh
Hasty generalization/generalizing from exceptional cases.
25.
Identify the type of fallacy in the following passage.
“First they bailed out AIG because it was ‘too big to fail.’ Next time it will be the medium-
sized banks. Then us taxpayers will foot the bill for every last business failure, and they
won’t be able to print enough money to keep up with it all.”
Slippery slope.
26.
Identify the type of fallacy in the following passage.
“Don’t sweat. They won’t stop you for speeding. The cops have yet to stop me for texting.”
Hasty generalization.
27.
Identify the type of fallacy in the following passage.
“Fox News is totally biased. If you don’t believe it, try listening to the Sean Hannity
program.”
Hasty generalization.
28.
Identify the type of fallacy in the following passage.
“If the legislature can get away with requiring background checks, it will be encouraged to
go forward with universal registration of guns, then to eventual banning of gun ownership.
Let’s not start down this path.”
Slippery slope.
29.
Identify the type of fallacy in the following passage.
“John, my Republican friend, never leaves a tip. Why is it Republicans are so selfish?”
Hasty generalization.
30.
Identify the type of fallacy in the following passage.
“They won because they wanted it more than we did.”
Untestable explanation.
31.
Identify the type of fallacy in the following passage.
“Mike blew a tire on the way over here. Make a note never to buy Goodyear tires.”
Generalizing from exceptional cases/hasty generalization.
32.
Identify the type of fallacy in the following passage.
“After his friends and relatives said a prayer for Pete, his cancer went into remission.”
Post hoc, ergo propter hoc.
33.
Identify the type of fallacy in the following passage.
“People who attend elite private universities tend to live longer than people who attend
state colleges. If we figure out a way to send children of modest means to the elite
universities, they would live longer.”
Cum hoc;
overlooking the possibility of a common cause.
34.
Identify the type of fallacy in the following passage.
“Yawns are contagious. Ask anyone.”
Mistaken appeal to popularity.
35.
Identify the type of fallacy in the following passage.
“Will women like our new menu? Let’s ask one of the female servers. As a woman, she will
know.”
Hasty generalization.
36.
Identify the type of fallacy in the following passage.
“I’m reading right here about this high school teacher in Red Bluff? Caught dealing drugs
right there at the school? They will let anyone teach these days.”
Hasty generalization/Generalizing from exceptional cases.
37.
Identify the type of fallacy in the following passage.
“We can’t close the farmers’ market. It’s a tradition in this town.”
Mistaken appeal to common practice (tradition).
38.
Identify the type of fallacy in the following passage.
“I have every right to burn tires in my back yard. It’s a free country.”
Accident.
39.
Identify the type of fallacy in the following passage.
“Nicotine patches don’t work. They sure didn’t work for me.”
Hasty generalization.
40.
Identify the type of fallacy in the following passage.
“Look, we make people buy liability car insurance, so there’s no reason to complain about
making people buy liability insurance when they buy a gun.”
Weak analogy.
41.
Identify the type of fallacy in the following passage.
“I got sick shortly after my trip—all because of the recycled air in the airplane.”
Post hoc
, overlooking coincidence.
42.
Identify the type of fallacy in the following passage.
“Evil spirits are making him sick.”
Untestable explanation.
43.
Identify the type of fallacy in the following passage.
“Her information about deceased people comes from sources in another dimension.”
Untestable explanation.
44.
Identify the type of fallacy in the following passage.
“Well I’ll be! Look at the great gas mileage we got on this trip! Not a whole lot better than
usual, but still nothing to sneeze at. Shows you what a tune-up will do.”
Post hoc,
overlooking coincidence or overlooking random variation.
45.
Identify the type of fallacy in the following passage.
“Hey, it works! After I sprinkled Arm and Hammer around the sink, the ants disappeared.”
Post hoc
.
46.
Identify the type of fallacy in the following passage.
“My cousin has been diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder from his service in
Afghanistan. We’re going to have huge numbers of mentally troubled soldiers coming
home from this war.”
Hasty generalization.
47.
Identify the type of fallacy in the following passage.
“PCs are better than Macs. Macs still command only a fraction of the personal computer
market.”
Mistaken appeal to popularity.
48.
Identify the type of fallacy in the following passage.
“Look at Bill Gates. He didn’t go to college, and he’s a millionaire. College is such a waste
of time.”
Hasty generalization/Generalizing from exceptional cases.
49.
Identify the type of fallacy in the following passage.
“If you don’t think having a good attitude promotes good health, look at how many 100–
year olds have a good attitude.”
Cum hoc;
overlooking the possibility of a common cause or reversed causation.
50.
Identify the type of fallacy in the following passage.
“In this country anyone can become a billionaire. Take Mitt Romney, for an example.”
Hasty generalization/generalizing from exceptional cases.
7-20
51.
Identify the type of fallacy in the following passage.
“The first time I played that golf course, I shot an 82. It must have affected my mental
state, because I didn’t score that well again for almost a year.”
Untestable explanation; overlooking the possibility of regression.
52.
Identify the type of fallacy in the following passage.
“Nobody knows more about a person than his mother. So when Ralph’s mother claims he’s
innocent, I’m betting he is.”
Mistaken appeal to authority.
53.
Identify the type of fallacy in the following passage.
“Seals are dying at an unprecedented rate at the very same time ocean temperatures are
rising. They are being killed by global warming.”
Cum hoc
.