Daniel Kies Department of English College of DuPage
Composition 2 English 1102		Contact Form

Fallacious Reasoning

Lab 7

The goal of this lab is to help you practice what you have learned about fallacious reasoning.

Current work:   Days remaining this term: Notes: Add Note |  Log in? | Privacy | Change Name & Email Mail this page to a friend

Having just made a glossary of the ideas that describe fallacious reasoning, we will now put our knowledge to the test. Many of the example for our lab are courtesy of Professor Donald Nute of the Department of Philosophy at the University of Georgia (with liberal expansions and revisions by your truly). Feel free to ask me if you get stuck, or check the web sites listed in Lab 7 for more information.

First we will do ten practice examples, and then you will move on to the second part of the lab that follows. In each part of this lab, choose the best descriptor for each numbered item. Note that some items do not involve any fallacy.

Some Examples — Logical Fallacies

1. Men have no right to participate in the debate about abortion. Only women can get pregnant; therefore, the issue is a women's issue only.

   A. ad populum
   B. appeal to pity
   C. social identification
   D. none of these

2. You should have your chimney inspected and cleaned regularly. Chimney fires are the number one reason people lose their homes.

   A. hasty generalization
   B. coercion (appeal to fear)
   C. ad populum
   D. none of these

3. It's common practice not to report small amounts of income to the IRS. You won't get burned. Everyone at my country club does it and none of them have ever paid a penalty.

   A. hasty generalization
   B. ad hominem
   C. slippery slope
   D. none of these

4. Either the battery is dead or the starter is broken. Since the horn works, the battery is okay. So it's the starter.

   A. false dilemma
   B. hasty generalization
   C. post hoc
   D. none of these

5. Nicole makes an interesting case concerning the cause of her injuries. But is Nicole a doctor? Of course not. So we can dismiss her argument.

   A. false authority
   B. appeal to pity
   C. ad hominem
   D. none of these

6. You don't have to report money you won playing cards to the IRS. I never heard of such a requirement.

   A. false authority
   B. appeal to ignorance
   C. ad hominem
   D. none of these

7. Taking a trip on the space shuttle is as safe as a trip to the grocery in your family car. The same company that makes your family car also makes many of the components for the shuttle.

   A. slippery slope
   B. false authority
   C. false analogy
   D. none of these

8. Municipal bonds are a good way to shelter income from tax. Never mind the losses people have been suffering from investing in these bonds. I just read Professor I. B. Broke's tax guide.

   A. false authority
   B. false dilemma
   C. hasty generalization
   D. none of these

9. We must prevent the government from licensing owners of handguns. Pretty soon, the government will use the gun licensing information to confiscate all the guns in America.

   A. ad populum
   B. slippery slope
   C. appeal to ignorance
   D. none of these

10. Doctors shouldn't have to pay taxes. Did you know that they have the highest rates of coronary disease and suicide of any profession?

    A. false authority
    B. appeal to pity
    C. ad hominem
    D. none of these

Now that you have had a chance to sharpen your wits and can detect any fallacy that comes your way, proceed to next part of the lab.

^Take Note! | Table of Contents | Syllabus | Course Calendar | eForum | Search

The HyperTextBooks | The English Main Page | College of DuPage