Fallacies in Everyday Life

Fallacies in Everyday Life

Fallacies in Everyday Life

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Details:

Before beginning this worksheet, read the “Fallacies Defined” resource.

Purpose of Assignment

In Module 4, you learn about fallacies. Fallacies are defects in an argument that cause an argument to be invalid, unsound, or weak. Fallacies are illogical by definition. When fallacies are used as an argument, it is called fallacious reasoning. You encounter fallacious reasoning every day.

As critical thinkers, one of our goals is to avoid fallacious reasoning and rely instead on logic. The purpose of this assignment is to identify fallacious reasoning in everyday life. There are various types of fallacies. This assignment will focus on the 15 types of fallacies listed below. The more familiar you are with the various types of fallacies, the easier it is to be critical thinkers.

This assignment has two parts.

Assignment Instructions Part 1:

Read the following quotations and choose which type of fallacy it represents by highlighting the appropriate fallacy. Then, in three to five sentences, explain why you chose the fallacy you did for each quotation.

Here is an example:

Quotation: “With the U.S. unemployment rate at 9.1%, every state, county, and city has unemployment problems (Johnson, 2011).”

  1. Slippery Slope
  2. ExtravagantHypothesis
  3. False Analogy
  4. Hasty Generalization

Explanation: This quote is an example of hasty generalization because it assumes that the employment rate for the whole country will affect each state, county and city equally. In fact, the 9.1% is just an average. There are some places much worse than this and there are some places much better. For example, the unemployment rate in California is 11.7% , but in Lincoln, Nebraska it is only 3.8%.

  1. Quotation:” I don’t wear my seat belt while driving anymore because I have three friends that all got in accidents while they were wearing their seatbelts.”

Which of the following types of fallacies is this statement?

Slippery Slope

ExtravagantHypothesis

False Analogy

Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc

Explanation:

  1. Quotation: “We have enough oil in the world to last a couple hundred years, so everyone should just drive SUV’s as long as they can afford the gas.”

Which of the following types of fallacies is this statement?

Appeal to Authority

Appeal to Tradition

The Is/Ought Fallacy

Bandwagon Appeal

Explanation:

  1. Quotation:“If you believe in global warming you just believe everything you are told and don’t think for yourself.”

Which of the following types of fallacies is this statement?

Fallacy of Division

Circular Reasoning

Either/or Fallacy

Hasty Generalization

Explanation:

  1. Quotation:“The defendant is obviously guilty because the polygraph administrator testified that he was lying.”

Which of the following types of fallacies is this statement?

The Fallacy of Composition

Appeal to Ignorance

The Genetic Fallacy

Appeal to Authority

Explanation:

  1. Quotation:“Barefoot running is superior to wearing running shoes because humans ran for thousands of years before shoes were invented.”

Which of the following types of fallacies is this statement?

  1. Extravagant Hypothesis
  2. Appeal to Tradition
  3. Fallacy of Division
  4. False Analogy

Explanation:

Assignment Instructions Part 2:

Identify and label each fallacious statement from the list below.

Fallacy of Division

Circular Reasoning

Either or Fallacy

Hasty Generalization

The Fallacy of Composition

Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc

Extravagant Hypothesis

False Analogy

Slippery Slope

The Genetic Fallacy

Appeal to Authority

Appeal to Tradition

The Is-Ought Fallacy

Bandwagon Appeal

Appeal to Ignorance

  1. Fallacious Statement:” I can’t help but think that you are the cause of this problem; we never had any problem within this department until you started working here.” What type of fallacy is it? Select a type of fallacy from the list above. ________________________________________________________
  2. Fallacious Statement: “There is no compelling evidence that UFOs do not exist. Therefore, UFOs exist.” What type of fallacy is it? Select a type of fallacy from the list above. ________________________________________________________
  3. Fallacious Statement: “You should not eat at fast food restaurants because if you do then soon that is all you will be eating.” What type of fallacy is it? Select a type of fallacy from the list above. ________________________________________________________
  4. Fallacious Statement: “Stanley Clarke is the best bassist ever because he is better at playing the bass than anyone that has ever lived.” What type of fallacy is it? Select a type of fallacy from the list above. ________________________________________________________
  5. Fallacious Statement: “The ancient pyramids in Egypt were so symmetrical and well-built that they must have been constructed by aliens from another planet.” What type of fallacy is it? Select a type of fallacy from the list above.