SCHOOL OF HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES

SEMESTER: SUMMER 2021

COURSE CODE/TITLE: ENG 2206 SECTION A: COMPOSITION II
TIME: 11:00-12: 40 P.M. VENUE: online/zoom
TYPE OF TASK: FALLACIES: IDENTIFICATION & DESCRIPTION
EXAM DATE: 17TH JUNE 2021
LECTURER: PETER MBUGUA

INSTRUCTIONS: In groups of 5-6, fill out the worksheet below based on the film ‘Love
is a Fallacy’ watched LAST WEEK. Submit one answer per group (include names and
registration numbers of group members).

Jan Mugo 663114

Maheera Hobaya 660729
Nisarg Patel 662521
Shivam Patel 662719

Love is a Fallacy—worksheet
Identify and describe the 8-10 fallacies from the story. You may want to add one or two
more that you see.

Name of Fallacy- give the Latin Description/Example

or English missing…
1 Hasty Generalization-too few Very few instances to support the conclusion (Nobody on
instances to support conclusion campus speaks French)

2 False Analogy- given situations Comparing two different situations and making an
have too many significant analogy. The situations must be comparable.
differences for comparison

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3 Ad Hominem-“to the
man;”personal attacks on the
person rather than on the logic of
the argument
4 Ad Populum- “to the people”;
accept an idea because most
people do
5 Non Sequitor – “does not
follow;”weak or irrelevant
reasons; general term for any
invalid argument
6 Post Hoc- “after this, therefore
because of this;”false assumption
of cause
7 Black and White-false dilemma;
either-or; limits possibilities to
only two; “between a rock and a
hard place”
8 Ad Misericordium-appeal to pity
or to sympathetic nature of
someone
9. Poisoning the Well
Attacking the person instead of attacking the argument the
person is making.
Appeal to the crowd. Using popular opinion to support an
argument.
Does not necessarily follow. (A man is a good husband
because he does not beat his wife.)
“Let’s not take Bill on our picnic. Every time we take him
it rains. Bill has no connection to the weather.
 The fallacy of leaping from the falsity (or undesirability)
of one proposition to the truth (or desirability) of an
extreme opposite - is identical in its basic logical structure
to False Dichotomy. Both employ reasoning by process of
elimination - a perfectly valid form of reasoning known to
logicians as Disjunctive Syllogism (the modern name for
the form "Modus Tollendo Ponens" as it was known to the
ancient Stoics
Appeal to someone’s sympathy or pity to avoid the
question. (My wife is a cripple, the children are
hungry…)
Tainting an argument before it has begun. (First man calls
a second man a liar before he gets to say anything.)
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10. Begging the Question: Assuming the premise is true without evidence. “Have
your parents quit making all of your decisions for you?”

Explain how BANDWAGON and/or EITHER-OR REASONING appear in the story.

Part Two: Understanding the Fallacies

In the story, the narrator gives examples of several types of logical fallacies. Use CONTEXT
CLUES to figure out what these ( mostly) new fallacies are . Fill in the chart below with their
definitions and why they are unreliable.

Fallacy Definition Why it’s unreliable/misleading

Dicto Argument based on It is untrustworthy because the argument stays
Simpliciter unqualified unqualified unless the generalization is removed;
generalization the argument should be more focused on a
specific subject rather than a "simple" general
topic.

Hasty Generalization Fallacy of insufficient This can lead to misunderstandings, and in some
sample situations, it might reinforce preconceptions.

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Post Hoc To make a mistaken This leads to prejudice since we will judge the
assumption about an argument based on results that are favorable to
event's or person's cause us.
and consequence.

Contradictory This is where the They cannot show any contradictory premises in
Premises argument tries to win the order to get a correct view of where the writer
reader's sympathy by stands. This would perplex the reader because
including information their argument is based on sand.
that is unnecessary and
uninvited.

Ad Misericordiam This is where the It draws the reader's attention to irrelevant

argument tries to win the topics in attempt to generate compassion or draw
reader's sympathy by them to their point of view. This may sway the
giving material that is reader's opinion, but only for nefarious motives.
unnecessary and was not
requested.

False Analogy Making analogies It invalidates the scenario by offering a higher-

between circumstances of risk analogy, such as comparing student
varying degrees of examinations to x-rays used by doctors.
seriousness

Hypothesis Contrary In an argument, having a It is untrustworthy because it lacks the necessary

to Fact weak supporting claim evidence and does not provide adequate insight.
Instead of employing proper reasoning to
support their point, this mistake distracts the
reader with rhetorical appeals.

Poisoning the Well Adding negative evidence This fallacy does not help your side of the
to disprove the argument, but rather weakens the opposing side;
opponent's claim it demonstrates that you lack sufficient evidence
to support your position.

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