EXERCISE B: Mixed Deductive Fallacies (Groups 5 - 8)
Identify the fallacy that occurs in each passage.
These will be Personal Appeals, Middle Ground Fallacies, Misrepresentations, Ambiguities and Circular Justifications.
1. Hospitality Hotels: where you get the treatment you deserve.
2. You can't say that the U.S. Department of Paperclip Inspections is wasteful! Every agency within it is run with the utmost efficiency.
3. Have you finally come to your senses, or do you still subscribe to the mistaken opinion that global warming is not a serious problem?
4. I don't care if your order to evacuate the neighborhood will save hundreds of lives. Nobody but the mayor has the authority to order an evacuation on that scale, and you are not the mayor! He's already dead.
5. If you claim it is immoral to do scientific experiments on chimpanzees and bonabos, what next? If we let you have your way, we soon won't even be able to do experiments on fruit flies.
6. Clearly it is false that we should never tell lies. Therefore there is nothing wrong with lying.
7. It is vital to the survival of the United States as a political entity that our economy be governed by sound principles. Therefore, if our nation is to survive, it is crucially important that we base fiscal decisions on reliable laws of the marketplace
8. Churches host bingo games and grocery stores sell lottery tickets. So clearly there is nothing wrong with gambling of all sorts.
9. [If they sold scientific theories on television:] The Alvarez Hypothesis will answer your questions about the disappearance of the dinosaurs. Act now and we will throw in - absolutely free! - the Cairns-Smith Hypothesis on the origin of life. But that's not all! Call now and you'll also get a one year subscription to Omni Magazine.
10. People who suggest that tax increases for American corporations won't strengthen the terrorists are just being partisan and giving encouragement ot our enemies. Shame on them for not not supporting our president.
11. Of course the environmentalists favor restricting the use of pesticides. The environmentalists actually want small family farms to fail.
12. The nurse told me Doctor Jones is a practicing physician. Well, that's not good enough! Let him practice on somebody else. I want a real doctor.
13. I've already made up my mind to buy a Hummer. I don't want to hear about how much gas they use.
14. Mr. Ambassador, I'm sure you can appreciate the desire of the Kurdish people for autonomy--a desire we are prepared to support both economically and militarily, if necessary.
15. Messenger: Sire, the peasants are revolting!
King:
Yes, I suppose they are, but don't tell them I said so.
16. Morally right action means action that is pleasing to the gods. This is true because every action pleasing to the gods is pious, and all pious actions are morally right. We know, of course, that all pious actions are morally right, because if they weren't they wouldn't please the gods.
17. The state legislature is not raising taxes, but the bill does include some necessary revenue enhancements.
18. My opinions anger both liberals and conservatives, so I must be doing something right.
19. I'm a millionaire! Bill Gates just walked into the room, so now the average income for people in this room is over a million dollars!
20. I know there isn't enough money in the California budget, but you should still be opposed to all the cuts in education spending that the governor has proposed, because you are a student and will be hurt by those cuts.
WELCOME EXPLANATION OF PRINCIPLES TABLE OF FALLACIES EXERCISES INDEX