Exam 5: Informal Fallacies

A) A man argues that you should believe that he is rich because,if you do not,he will punch you in the face.
B) A classmate concedes a disagreement with you,but only because she believes you are not smart enough to win a debate with her.
C) A student asks a teacher to give him an A in a course because,if he gets anything less,he will not get into medical school.
D) A woman argues that you must be wrong because you are a jerk.

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A) drawing a general conclusion from a sample that is too small
B) concluding something about an entire group based on a study of every member of the group
C) drawing a general conclusion from a randomly selected sample
D) All of these are ways of committing the fallacy of hasty generalization.

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A) Doing so always results in committing the ad hominem fallacy.
B) Such attacks can only benefit a personal relationship.
C) Such claims can be a relevant consideration in an argument.
D) None of these answers is true of making negative claims about a person's character.

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A) begging the question
B) slippery slope
C) inappropriate appeal to authority
D) red herring

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A) an argument that we should not eat meat on the grounds that it will help the environment
B) an argument that birth control should be widely distributed because it would help end poverty
C) an argument that we should try to eat more natural foods because of the overuse of pesticides in farming
D) an argument that birth control is wrong because it is unnatural

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A) an argument that we should believe that evolutionary theory is correct on the grounds that almost all biologists believe it
B) an argument that you should vote for Smith because everyone else is going to vote for him
C) an argument that we should believe that the Earth is flat on the grounds that the Earth certainly does not look round when you are standing on it
D) All of these answers describe arguments that commit the fallacy of popular appeal.

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A) an argument that claims Smith is the best candidate for office on the grounds that he has a ninety-two percent approval rating in the latest poll
B) an argument that you should vote for Smith on the grounds that if you do not, Smith will have you killed
C) an argument that you should vote for Smith on the grounds that a movie star has endorsed him
D) None of these answers is an example of snob appeal.

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A) modus ponens
B) the straw man fallacy
C) the fallacy of equivocation
D) affirming the consequent

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A) Determine which fallacies others are likely to fall for and use these fallacies in your argument.
B) Focus on winning when presenting the argument.
C) Learn to listen carefully.
D) Draw conclusions before doing research.

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A) an argument where there is misunderstanding someone due to a person's foreign accent
B) seeking out only information that confirms your opinion
C) ignoring information that disconfirms your opinion
D) an argument that relies on a change of meaning due to focusing on one word or phrase inappropriately

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