Question: Either Britney Spears is a surgeon or Annette Bening is an astronaut. Therefore, it follows that either Annette Bening is an astronaut or Britney Spears is a surgeon.
Answer Choices:
a. No fallacy
b. Complex question
c. Begging the question
d. False dichotomy
e. Red herring
Answer: a. No fallacy
Question: Whatever is dull is stupid. This knife is extremely dull. Therefore, this knife is extremely stupid.
Answer Choices:
a. Amphiboly
b. Begging the question
c. Equivocation
d. No fallacy
e. Composition
Answer: c. Equivocation
Question: Members of the jury, surely you will not find Dr. Costello liable for amputating the wrong leg of his patient. During four years of medical school this poor man groped and struggled just to get by. Unlike his fellow students, he had no rich parents to pay his way. And during residency he was forced to work 16-hour days, rising before dawn and slaving away long after sunset. And now this lawsuit. Nobody deserves to be treated this way.
Answer Choices:
a. Red herring
b. No fallacy
c. Missing the point
d. Slippery slope
e. Appeal to pity
Answer: e. Appeal to pity
Question: Paul said that his new dog eats virtually anything and is very fond of children. Therefore, you shouldn’t let your little boy get anywhere near that dog.
Answer Choices:
a. Appeal to unqualified authority
b. Amphiboly
c. Equivocation
d. No fallacy
e. Suppressed evidence
Answer: b. Amphiboly
Question: Mary Beth complains that our curriculum is weak in areas relating to diversity. But have you seen that girl’s tattoos? They’re really something else—especially the red one right above her rear. And she must have a pound of metal stuck in her body. Two big loops hang from her ears, there’s a small barbell through her tongue, and another through her navel. Let’s see…Shall we move on to the next topic?
Answer Choices:
a. Straw man
b. Complex question
c. No fallacy
d. Red herring
e. Argument against the person, abusive
Answer: d. Red herring
Question: Mr. Thompson, our jeweler, says that the stone in your ring is a sapphire. Since Mr. Thompson has an excellent reputation among jewelers, we conclude that the stone is indeed a sapphire.
Answer Choices:
a. Appeal to unqualified authority
b. False cause
c. No fallacy
d. False dichotomy
e. Appeal to the people
Answer: a. Appeal to unqualified authority
Question: Same-sex marriage should never be allowed. If we allow gays to marry each other, then in no time uncles will marry their nephews and nieces. Then fathers will marry their daughters, mothers will marry their sons, and brothers will marry their sisters. Before long, pet owners will marry their dogs and cats, and this will lead to the complete destruction of civilized life.
Answer Choices:
a. Slippery slope
b. Missing the point
c. No fallacy
d. False cause
e. Red herring
Answer: a. Slippery slope
Question: Sylvia is an American. Americans are 12 percent black, 4 percent Asian, and 13 percent Hispanic. Therefore, Sylvia is 12 percent black, 4 percent Asian, and 13 percent Hispanic.
Answer Choices:
a. Hasty generalization
b. Appeal to the people
c. Composition
d. Division
e. No fallacy
Answer: c. Composition
Question: If TV programs become more inane, then viewers will be bored even further. Viewers will be bored even further. Therefore, TV programs will become even more inane.
Answer Choices:
a. This argument contains no fallacy
b. This argument contains a formal fallacy
c. This argument contains a fallacy of weak induction
d. This argument contains a fallacy of ambiguity
e. This argument contains a fallacy of grammatical analogy
Answer: b. This argument contains a formal fallacy
Question: Either Thomas Jefferson or Alexander Hamilton participated in writing the Federalist Papers. But Jefferson did not participate in this project. Therefore, it was Hamilton who participated.
Answer Choices:
a. No fallacy
b. Weak analogy
c. False dichotomy
d. Amphiboly
e. Suppressed evidence
Answer: a. No fallacy
Question: Casey, Morgan, and Lawrence are freshman college students, and all of them are staunch Libertarians. It must be the case that all freshmen are staunch Libertarians.
Answer Choices:
a. Appeal to unqualified authority
b. Missing the point
c. Composition
d. No fallacy
Answer: c. Composition
Question: These environmentalists have gone overboard. Who are these crazies who dictate what we can do with our own property? This great nation was founded in the spirit of capitalism, and free enterprise! The sacred right of private property is grounded in the commands of almighty God! Down with the nature-nuts! Away with the eco-maniacs!
Answer Choices:
a. Slippery slope
b. No fallacy
c. Red herring
d. Appeal to the people
e. Begging the question
Answer: d. Appeal to the people
Question: During the past 200 years nobody has ever been cured of Lou Gehrig’s disease. Therefore, nobody will be cured of Lou Gehrig’s disease in the next 200 years.
Answer Choices:
a. False cause
b. Accident
c. Suppressed evidence
d. Equivocation
e. No fallacy
Answer: a. False cause
Question: Tricia is coughing and sneezing, and her head is all stuffed up. Tricia must have a cold.
Answer Choices:
a. Appeal to pity
b. No fallacy
c. Hasty generalization
d. False cause
e. Suppressed evidence
Answer: b. No fallacy
Question: Congressman Henderson is a tall man with brown hair and blue eyes, and he supports the upcoming bill on handguns. Congressman Wagner is also a tall man with brown hair and blue eyes. Thus, he probably supports the handgun bill, too.
Answer Choices:
a. Weak analogy
b. False cause
c. Begging the question
d. No fallacy
e. Missing the point
Answer: a. Weak analogy
Question: The outsourcing of jobs by American companies is clearly beneficial. These jobs go to people in India and Southeast Asia where good jobs are scarce.
Answer Choices:
a. Appeal to the people
b. No fallacy
c. Equivocation
d. Begging the question
e. Appeal to ignorance
Answer: d. Begging the question
Question: Jordan argues against alcohol abuse in fraternities. What a hypocrite! When Jordan was a student he was the biggest binge drinker on campus. His arguments are a joke.
Answer Choices:
a. Straw man
b. Appeal to unqualified authority
c. No fallacy
d. Argument against the person, abusive
e. You, too (tu quoque)
Answer: e. You, too (tu quoque)
Question: Whatever you do, never ask Haley Burns for a date. A few months after Victor started dating Haley he began suffering from erectile dysfunction.
Answer Choices:
a. Argument against the person, abusive
b. Appeal to pity
c. False cause
d. No fallacy
e. Begging the question
Answer: c. False cause