Sophia Loren V.

Cruz Section A – 32

Homework # 1 – Claims and Fallacies

1. Hasty Generalization
 “All policemen kill innocent people branded as pushers in a buy
bust operation and say that they tried to escape their custody”
o In this specific example, policemen were generalized as killers of
innocent people due to incidents and media statements of some people
about the situation. People don’t look at the fact that there are policemen
who have integrity. Everyone is already labeled as killers of the innocent
people just because of this incident. And it is not acceptable in the part of
our public servants who have clean conscience and dignity.
2. Bandwagon
 “Most people say that De La Salle – College of Saint Benilde
is for students who failed the De La Salle University –
Manila College Entrance Exam. Therefore, this is already
engraved in the mindset of the students”
o Generally, students aim for the schools who
already build their name because it kind of
guarantee the quality of education they will
receive. Given this stereotype, it is believed that
Benilde is a school for the students who failed in
DLSU- Manila’s CET. Though this is not true, it is considered valid many since majority of
the population think it’s true, so it increased the validity of the statement for many
believed it.
3. Attacking the Person
 “Aquino to Cayetano: I hope your politics is as transparent
as our hair”
o In this statement, Former president Noynoy Aquino
attacks Senator Cayetano through a topic unrelated to the very
reason of his response to the senator’s letter. It is a clear
example of fallacy. This is attacking Cayetano himself through
his baldness rather than addressing the questions thrown by
the senator to him before.
 4. Post Hoc
 “A fork fell while Carey was
eating her lunch at home. Few
seconds later, Jake (a male visitor)
came. The fork must have caused the
visit of her guest”
o A fork falling on the floor is a
superstition in the Filipino culture
that means a male visitor would
come or visit unexpectedly. In my
example, it claims that the fork falling on the floor is the reason why Jake came. Basically,
the second situation was believed to occur because the fork fell at first.

5. Wrong Direction
 “Imprisonment will eventually lead to
medical malpractice”
o The specific example presented
does not really make a logical
order because the cause and
effect are interchanged. Medial
malpractice should be the cause
that will lead to somebody’s
imprisonment as an effect and
not the other way around.