Question: Johnny, you better not tell anyone that I stole the apple from the teacher’s desk. I’m sure you don’t want to come to class with a bloody nose and a black eye tomorrow.
Answer Choices:
a. Appeal to force.
b. No fallacy.
c. Argument against the person, circumstantial.
d. Straw man.
e. Appeal to pity.
Answer: a. Appeal to force.
Question: The U.S. has a right to eradicate dictatorships wherever it finds them. Dictators crush the right of self-governance given by God to all of his children. Dictators suppress liberty and freedom. They sacrifice the lives of their people to satisfy their own corrupt aims and desires. Dictators are vile monsters! They embody the power of Satan wherever they dwell. Down with dictatorships everywhere!
Answer Choices:
a. No fallacy.
b. Suppressed evidence.
c. Argument against the person, abusive.
d. Appeal to the people.
e. Appeal to unqualified authority.
Answer: d. Appeal to the people.
Question: If U.S. Presidents start more wars, then the U.S. will go broke. If U.S. Presidents start more wars, then every country will boycott U.S. products. Therefore, if every country boycotts U.S. products, then the U.S. will go broke.
Answer Choices:
a. This argument contains a fallacy of grammatical analogy.
b. This argument contains a fallacy of relevance.
c. This argument contains no fallacy.
d. This argument contains a fallacy of ambiguity.
e. This argument contains a formal fallacy.
Answer: e. This argument contains a formal fallacy.
Question: Colleen, you know something about American history. Tell me, did the civil war start in 1860 or 1861?
Answer Choices:
a. Begging the question.
b. No fallacy.
c. False dichotomy.
d. Complex question.
e. Missing the point.
Answer: b. No fallacy.
Question: More and more cars in this state are unable to pass the fuel emissions test. Therefore, it seems clear we should relax the emissions standard.
Answer Choices:
a. Straw man.
b. No fallacy.
c. Missing the point.
d. Appeal to unqualified authority.
e. Argument against the person, abusive.
Answer: c. Missing the point.
Question: The song “I lost My Love in Nashville” is very sad. But every song is composed of notes. Therefore, every note in that song is very sad.
Answer Choices:
a. Division.
b. False cause.
c. Missing the point.
d. No fallacy.
e. Composition.
Answer: a. Division.
Question: Madam Voodoo, the famous psychic, says she has communicated with departed souls. Therefore, it follows there is life after death.
Answer Choices:
a. Red herring.
b. Straw man.
c. Argument against the person, abusive.
d. Appeal to unqualified authority.
e. Composition.
Answer: d. Appeal to unqualified authority.
Question: Joe Bradley has thick calluses on both of his hands. Thus, it would appear that Joe does a lot of manual labor.
Answer Choices:
a. False cause.
b. Accident.
c. No fallacy.
d. Composition.
e. Appeal to ignorance.
Answer: c. No fallacy.
Question: You should never buy your child a goldfish, because next it will be a hamster and then a rabbit. After that the kid will scream for a cat, and then a dog. Next it will be a horse, then a water buffalo, and finally an elephant. The cost of pet food will drive you to the poor house.
Answer Choices:
a. No fallacy.
b. Slippery slope.
c. Begging the question.
d. False cause.
e. Appeal to force.
Answer: b. Slippery slope.
Question: Paul’s argument against hiring illegal aliens is totally worthless. For six years Paul hired an undocumented nanny from Guatemala to take care of his kids.
Answer Choices:
a. Argument against the person, abusive.
b. Appeal to unqualified authority.
c. Straw man.
d. No fallacy.
e. You, too (tu quoque).
Answer: e. You, too (tu quoque).
Question: There is no possibility that Jenny could have knitted this beautiful scarf. Jenny can hardly count to 10, she has the dexterity of a bull moose, and she has absolutely no sense for style or color.
Answer Choices:
a. Composition.
b. False cause.
c. Argument against the person, abusive.
d. No fallacy.
e. Argument against the person, circumstantial.
Answer: d. No fallacy.
Question: Ending one’s own life is morally permissible because people are rightfully in charge of their own lives. And this is so because people have the freedom to determine their own destiny. And this follows from the fact that people have the moral right to decide whether they live or die. And this is true because ending one’s own life is morally permissible.
Answer Choices:
a. Equivocation.
b. Slippery slope.
c. False cause.
d. No fallacy.
e. Begging the question.
Answer: e. Begging the question.
Question: Nobody has ever proved that the universe wasn’t created in six days. Therefore, we must conclude that the universe was indeed created in six days, just like it says in Genesis.
Answer Choices:
a. Appeal to ignorance.
b. False dichotomy.
c. No fallacy.
d. Hasty generalization.
e. Appeal to unqualified authority.
Answer: a. Appeal to ignorance.
Question: Professor Harris gives a number of reasons why we should turn off our cell phones during class. It appears that Harris is one of those Luddites who are opposed to technology altogether. No laptops, no iPods, no digital cameras—that’s what Harris wants. But that’s just ridiculous. Thus, it’s clear that Harris is wrong.
Answer Choices:
a. No fallacy.
b. Argument against the person, abusive.
c. False cause.
d. Straw man.
e. Red herring.
Answer: d. Straw man.
Question: Dr. Niels Langer, the universally recognized climatologist, says that global warming is an extremely important problem that must be addressed immediately. Therefore, we should take him at his word and get to work on solving this problem right now.
Answer Choices:
a. No fallacy.
b. Appeal to the people.
c. Appeal to unqualified authority.
d. Begging the question.
e. Appeal to force.
Answer: a. No fallacy.
Question: Standard & Poors, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, AIG, Merrill Lynch, Bank of America—all of these companies continue to pay their top executives huge bonuses. It must be the case that every American company pays its top executives huge bonuses.
Answer Choices:
a. No fallacy.
b. False cause.
c. Hasty generalization.
d. Composition.
e. Accident.
Answer: c. Hasty generalization.
Question: Radio host Rush Limbaugh argues that America’s foreign policy is a great success. But who is this screwball Limbaugh? He’s nothing but a fascist, sexist, homophobic, drug-addicted moron, who will say anything to stir up the ultra right. Every sane person should shut him off.
Answer Choices:
a. Begging the question.
b. Argument against the person, abusive.
c. False cause.
d. Hasty generalization.
e. No fallacy.
Answer: b. Argument against the person, abusive.
Question: Dorothy has blue eyes and blond hair. Therefore, probably her identical twin sister Theodora has blue eyes and blond hair.
Answer Choices:
a. Argument against the person, circumstantial.
b. False cause.
c. No fallacy.
d. Accident.
e. Appeal to authority.
Answer: c. No fallacy.