Fun with Fallacies Activity For each argument below, please identify the fallacy
ID: 3486182 • Letter: F
Question
Fun with Fallacies Activity
For each argument below, please identify the fallacy used. Write 1-2 well thought out sentences explaining the dangers of using this fallacy and offer steps to help avoid falling victim to the fallacy.
FALLACIES
*False Dichotomy (reducing multiple possible positions to only two)
*Hasty Generalization (drawing a conclusion from limited evidence; cherry picking)
*Slippery Slope (turning an unlikely chain of events into the most probable)
*Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc (“after this therefore because of this”, confusing correlation with causation)
*Ad Hominem (“to the person”, attacking the messenger rather than addressing the message)
*Appeal to Irrational Premise (reason given may have no basis in logic; appeal to status quo or popular opinion)
*Appeal to Ignorance (offering evidence the audience can’t examine; argument that your conclusion must be true because there is no evidence against it)
*Tu Quoque (“you too”, accusing the critic of the thing you are accused of; appeal to hypocrisy)
5. “What if one day you get stung by a bee, and you have no idea that you’re allergic to them, and you end up getting admitted into the ER but they’re short-staffed that day so you have to wait for hours and hours to be seen and then by the time you’re seen, you’ve gone into cardiac arrest and died? That is why you should live in the safety of your home and never go outside.”
Fallacy:
Problems/Steps:
6. “We should cheat on this test because everyone else is going to!”
Fallacy:
Problems/Steps:
7. “I don’t think men should be stay-at-home dads because it’s always been the woman’s role to raise the kids.”
Fallacy:
Problems/Steps:
9. “Donald Trump shouldn’t be criticized for sexual harassment because Bill Clinton was also accused of sexual misconduct.”
Fallacy:
Problems/Steps:
10. “An environmental group illegally blocked loggers and workers at a nuclear plant. Therefore, environmentalists are radicals who take the law into their own hands.”
Fallacy:
Problems/Steps:
11. “People who drink more than six alcoholic beverages a day are more likely to have health problems than people who do not drink alcohol. After one drink, people lose their ability to make good decisions and end up drinking more and more until they are drinking more than six drinks each day. Therefore, all consumption of alcohol should be banned.”
Fallacy:
Problems/Steps:
12. “Punxsutawney Phil emerged from his cave saw his shadow, and we had six more weeks of winter! What a prescient rodent.”
Fallacy:
Problems/Steps:
13. “Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server for official government business is not a problem because Colin Powell and others in the State Department have done the same.”
Fallacy:
Problems/Steps:
14. “Please raise my grade from a B+ to an A. I worked really hard on the final project. 88% is very close to 90%. If I don’t get an A, then I could lose my scholarship. I need an A to get into the Business school.”
Fallacy:
Problems/Steps:
15. "This winter had more snowfall and rain than last year; therefore, global warming is obviously a myth."
Fallacy:
Problems/Steps
Explanation / Answer
5. “What if one day you get stung by a bee, and you have no idea that you’re allergic to them, and you end up getting admitted into the ER but they’re short-staffed that day so you have to wait for hours and hours to be seen and then by the time you’re seen, you’ve gone into cardiac arrest and died? That is why you should live in the safety of your home and never go outside.”
Fallacy: slippery slope
Problems/Steps: Exaggerating a simple issue is an attempt of fear mongering and should be avoided. The outcome of slippery slope fallacy is often exaggerated and not practical.
6. “We should cheat on this test because everyone else is going to!”
Fallacy: Appeal to Irrational Premise
Problems/Steps: There’s no basis in the logic provided here for the fallacy.
7. “I don’t think men should be stay-at-home dads because it’s always been the woman’s role to raise the kids.”
Fallacy: Appeal to Ignorance
Problems/Steps:
9. “Donald Trump shouldn’t be criticized for sexual harassment because Bill Clinton was also accused of sexual misconduct.”
Fallacy: Ad Hominem
Problems/Steps:
10. “An environmental group illegally blocked loggers and workers at a nuclear plant. Therefore, environmentalists are radicals who take the law into their own hands.”
Fallacy: false dichotomy
Problems/Steps:
11. “People who drink more than six alcoholic beverages a day are more likely to have health problems than people who do not drink alcohol. After one drink, people lose their ability to make good decisions and end up drinking more and more until they are drinking more than six drinks each day. Therefore, all consumption of alcohol should be banned.”
Fallacy: hasty generalization
Problems/Steps:
12. “Punxsutawney Phil emerged from his cave saw his shadow, and we had six more weeks of winter! What a prescient rodent.”
Fallacy: Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc
Problems/Steps: This fallacy lies in a conclusion that is solely based on the order of events rather than considering true factors that may have caused the outcome and that might rule out the connection completely.
13. “Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server for official government business is not a problem because Colin Powell and others in the State Department have done the same.”
Fallacy: Tu Quoque
Problems/Steps: since the past actions of the opponent are irrelevant to the logic of the argument.
14. “Please raise my grade from a B+ to an A. I worked really hard on the final project. 88% is very close to 90%. If I don’t get an A, then I could lose my scholarship. I need an A to get into the Business school.”
Fallacy: Appeal to Irrational Premise
Problems/Steps: the logic isn’t sufficient
15. "This winter had more snowfall and rain than last year; therefore, global warming is obviously a myth."
Fallacy: hasty generalization
Problems/Steps: the conclusion is drawn on insufficient evidences.
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