Question 1

An arguer commits the fallacy of loaded question when he or she poses a question that contains an unfair or unwarranted presupposition.

Accepted Answer

A loaded question is indeed a type of fallacy that involves asking a question with a presumption built in, which can guide the respondent into making an admission they might not otherwise make.

Question 2

A hasty generalization is committed when an arguer supports a general conclusion about a class of persons or things with insufficient or unrepresentative evidence.

Accepted Answer

A hasty generalization occurs when a conclusion is drawn from a sample that is either too small or not representative of the population as a whole, leading to an unsupported or weak general conclusion.

Question 3

In the appeal to ignorance fallacy, the arguer falsely accuses another arguer of being ignorant.

Accepted Answer

The appeal to ignorance fallacy occurs when one argues that a claim must be true (or false) because it has not been proven false (or true), not because someone is accused of ignorance.

Question 4

If an arguer cites a statement by a witness in support of a conclusion and there is good reason to doubt the accuracy of the witness's observations, the arguer commits the fallacy of inappropriate appeal to authority.

Accepted Answer

The fallacy of inappropriate appeal to authority occurs when an argument relies on a witness or authority that is not credible or reliable, which includes situations where there is reason to doubt the accuracy of the witness's observations.

Question 5

Critical thinkers never accept a claim on the mere say-so of another.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Critical thinkers never accept a claim on...

Question 6

Some claims are so inherently debtabale that they cannot be settled by appeals to expert opinion.

Accepted Answer

Expert opinion, while valuable, may not resolve inherently debatable claims due to the subjective nature of some topics, differing perspectives, and the evolving state of knowledge in various fields.

Question 7

If an arguer unknowingly asserts a premise that is inconsistent with her conclusion, then she commits the fallacy of inconsistency.

Accepted Answer

The fallacy of inconsistency occurs when the premises of an argument contradict the conclusion or another premise, leading to a logical inconsistency within the argument itself.

Question 8

Jen went into that house that everyone says is haunted last night. She had consumed a few beers and had just watched a scary movie. It was really dark and there was lots of lightning outside, and she swears she saw something spooky in the master bedroom once when the lightning struck. I'm telling you that house is haunted.

Accepted Answer

The accuracy of Jen's observation is questionable due to her state (having consumed alcohol and being influenced by a scary movie) and the conditions (darkness and lightning), which can impair judgment and perception.

Question 9

Donald Trump said that the researchers he paid to investigate whether or not President Obama was born in the United States are finding some very interesting things. I guess the so-called president isn't really a United States citizen.

Accepted Answer

The statement commits an inappropriate appeal to authority by suggesting that the findings of the researchers (whose reliability is questionable) should be trusted on a matter that has been extensively investigated and verified by authoritative sources.

Question 10

The U.S. Constitution says only believers in God can be president. Sam Harris, the famous atheist, doesn't believe in God. So Sam Harris can never be president.

Accepted Answer

The answer of The U.S. Constitution says only believers in...

Question 11

The Flat Earth Society says that the Earth is a flat circle, with the North Pole at the center and giant mountains of ice around the circumference to keep boats and planes from going off the edge. So I guess the earth is flat after all.

Accepted Answer

The Flat Earth Society is not recognized as a credible authority on the shape of the Earth by the scientific community, which overwhelmingly supports the conclusion that the Earth is an oblate spheroid. Citing the Flat Earth Society as an authority on this matter conflicts with the consensus of experts in fields such as astronomy, physics, and geology, making it an inappropriate appeal to authority.

Question 12

Wierdthings.com reported that 100-foot-tall aliens from the future landed in the Grand Canyon today. I guess we're not alone in the universe.

Accepted Answer

The claim of 100-foot-tall aliens landing in the Grand Canyon is highly improbable, and Wierdthings.com does not constitute a reliable or authoritative source for such extraordinary claims.

Question 13

Janet is a girl and she plays softball. Julie's a girl. I bet Julie plays softball, too.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Janet is a girl and she plays...

Question 14

The Supreme Court's ruling in the Citizens United case made it legal for corporations to funnel unlimited funds to political campaigns without any accountability or transparency. That ruling is responsible for the massive influx of corporate money and the overwhelming number of political ads we've seen in recent U.S. elections.

Accepted Answer

The statement incorrectly simplifies the cause of the influx of corporate money and the increase in political ads to just the Supreme Court's ruling in the Citizens United case, ignoring other potential factors that could contribute to these phenomena.

Question 15

My dentist says that the First Amendment established a strict separation of church and state. My dentist is a highly educated person. So, that is a reasonable way to interpret the First Amendment.

Accepted Answer

The dentist's expertise in dentistry does not make them an authority on constitutional law or the interpretation of the First Amendment, making this an inappropriate appeal to authority.

Question 16

I think the moon landing was a hoax. Do you know of any proof it wasn't?

Accepted Answer

The statement "I think the moon landing was a hoax. Do you know of any proof it wasn't?" is an example of an appeal to ignorance fallacy. This fallacy occurs when it is argued that a proposition is true simply because it has not been proven false or that a proposition is false because it has not been proven true. In this case, the speaker is suggesting that the moon landing being a hoax might be true because the listener may not have proof that it wasn't a hoax.

Question 17

Conspiracy theorists suggest that 9/11 was an inside government job. The government secretly landed those planes, took off all the passengers, and then hid the planes. Then they took remote-controlled planes and flew those planes into the towers. But days before, they had managed to sneak in explosives into the towers, without anyone seeing, and then performed a controlled detonation on the buildings after the remote-controlled planes hit the towers. And, even though thousands of people would've had to have been involved in the conspiracy to pull this off, they all kept quiet and didn't object. Given the track record of the federal government, that sounds like a plausible scenario to me.

Accepted Answer

The scenario described relies on a highly improbable series of events and assumptions that lack credible evidence. It suggests a complex conspiracy without realistic consideration of the logistical, ethical, and practical impossibilities involved, such as the secrecy and coordination required among thousands of people.

Question 18

Judith Thomson argues that abortion can be morally permissible. She is a well- respected bioethicist. So abortion must be permissible sometimes.

Accepted Answer

The argument commits the fallacy of inappropriate appeal to authority by suggesting that because a respected bioethicist believes abortion can be morally permissible, it must be so. However, moral issues like abortion involve subjective values and ethical principles that cannot be conclusively settled by expert opinion alone.

Question 19

Kids play too many video games. That's why there's so much juvenile crime today.

Accepted Answer

This statement is an example of a questionable cause fallacy because it assumes a direct causal relationship between playing video games and juvenile crime without sufficient evidence to support such a claim.

Question 20

The famous novelist Aldous Huxley, author of Brave New World and other great works of fiction, held that near-sightedness can be corrected by eye exercises. Given the opinion of so eminent a person as Huxley, we may be confident that near-sightedness can indeed be corrected by eye exercises.

Accepted Answer

The argument commits an "inappropriate appeal to authority" fallacy by relying on Aldous Huxley's opinion on a medical issue, despite his expertise being in literature, not ophthalmology or medicine.

Quiz 6: Logical Fallacies--2