Logical Fallacies (refer to your last lesson)

Identify and explain the fallacy in each item.

1. Olga cannot be linked to the crime. However, since her brothers were connected to similar
crimes, she is the primary suspect.

Faulty analogy- occurs when analogies are used as arguments or explanations and the
similarities between the two things compared are too remote to support the conclusion. Olga
might have done nothing wrong but to put her as the primary suspect because her brothers
were connected to similar crimes uses misleading comparisons to make the arguer seem right.

2. In Jessie's murder trial, the psychiatrist testified that Jessie was insane. This proves that he is
innocent by reason of insanity.

Ad verecundiam- It is possible to find one expert who argues that the individual is insane and
not competent to stand trial and to find another similarly trained expert who can testify, under
oath, that the same individual is both rational and competent to stand trial. Obviously, without
making a fallacious argument, one should not rely on an Appeal to Authority in such a case.
Such a statement would be fallacious because the proof would not justify supporting the
inference.

3. The singing group sings very poorly because it is widely known that members take narcotics.

Ad populum- presumes that a proposition must be true because most/many believe it to be

true. Just because it is widely known that members take narcotics, does not reason out why
they sing poorly.

4. If all doctors were completely honest, the high cost of medical treatment would disappear.

Circular argument- This argument is circular because it goes right back to the beginning: The
high cost of medical treatment would disappear if all doctors were completely honest.

5. One of Farley's good friends was arrested for shoplifting, I didn't know Farley was that kind
of person.

False cause- the statement is a false cause because concluding that inflation is never ending
due to the price of mangoes and eggs went up is being drawn from inadequate evidence.

6. The price of mangoes went up today. so did the price of eggs. Inflation is never ending.

Slippery slope- this sort of reasoning is fallacious because there is no reason to believe that
one event must inevitably follow from another without an argument for such a claim.

7. Either go to college or forget having a good life in the future.

False dilemma- A false dilemma assumes that only two options exist.

Bangcaya, Ana Marie Claire

8. Every time my classmate takes her test in calculus, she becomes extremely nervous. She isn't
good at math at all.

Ad hominem- The claims put forward may well be valid, but it does not support the
argument with reason and logic. Rather, it follows the approach of disregarding. The arguer
says little to indicate that the assumptions proposed are questionable.

9. Parents should never punish their children. Otherwise, their children will never love them.

Straw man- This kind of "reasoning" is wrong, since targeting a distorted version of a position
clearly does not constitute an assault on the position itself. One may as well expect an attack
on a poor person's drawing to hurt a person.

10. His eyes are red and he walks unsteadily. He's a drug addict.

Moral equivalence- it is easy to see why this argument is invalid. In no way is the mere
existence of similarities between two things a reason for saying that such things are identical.
In addition, the fact that two acts can have superficial similarity does not mean that they are
morally equal, because the context and significance of such actions may vary.

Bangcaya, Ana Marie Claire