EXERCISE: IDENTIFYING LOGICAL FALLACIES

Presented in this exercise are arguments for various assertions about the downing of TWA Flight 800. Assess what logical
fallacy, if any, each argument has.

1. The missile theory has expert witnesses. For example, just before Flight 800 broke into flames, private pilot Sven Faret
reported that he saw "a little pin flash on the ground." In his view, that flash "looked like a rocket launch."
a. No fallacy d. false authority
b. ad hominem e. red herring
c. equivocation

2. If we begin considering theories other than the one the NTSB is pursuing, the investigation will run in so many
directions that we'll never solve anything.
a. No fallacy d. guilt by association
b. begging the question e. slippery slope
c. equivocation

3. Mr. Kadlec believes that this downing won't be solved. "Amelia Earhart crashed," he said. "No one knows why she
crashed."
a. No fallacy d. false cause
b. ad hominem e. slippery slope
c. false analogy

4. The FBI is still convinced that it was a bomb that brought down the aircraft. "The public believes it was a bomb," said
Agent John Hunt. "Polls taken the day after the crash indicate that more than 75% of Americans believe it was
terrorist's bomb."
a. No fallacy d. equivocation
b. bandwagon e. slippery slope
c. either/or fallacy

5. Now that we know explosives had been placed aboard the plane for dog-sniffing tests five weeks before the crash,
the FBI's discovery of bomb traces in the cabin is a "dud."
a. No fallacy d. equivocation
b. bandwagon e. false analogy
c. either/or fallacy

6. If it wasn't a missile, a bomb, or mechanical failure, then all that's left is a meteorite.
a. No fallacy d. false authority
b. begging the question e. guilt by association
c. either/or fallacy

7. The missile theory has no merit. It arose from Pierre Salinger, and he's a kook. Not only is he a reporter, but he's
French.
a. No fallacy d. false analogy
b. ad hominem e. slippery slope
c. begging the question

8. One thing that people aren't considering enough is that the plane went down during an election year. Elections bring
out the worst in people, a clear example being the Teapot Dome Scandal of 1920.
a. No fallacy d. equivocation
b. ad hominem e. red herring
c. either/or fallacy