AP 11
Logical Fallacies
Inappropriate appeal to authorityHasty Generalization
Appeal to ignoranceAppeal to Force
Card StackingSlippery Slope
False alternativeWeak analogy
Loaded QuestionInconsistency
Faulty Causal Generalization
Directions: Identify each example for the logical fallacy it contains.
1. "Baseball is 90 percent mental. The other half is physical."
--Yankee catcher Yogi Berra
2. The moon is covered with dust because the president of our neighborhood association said so.
3. Nobody has ever proved to me there’s a God, so I know there is no God.
4. [Reporter's question] Mr. President: Are you going to continue your policy of wasting taxpayer’s money on missile defense?
5. The book Investing for Dummies really helped me understand my finances better. The book Chess for Dummies was written by the same author, was published by the same press, and costs about the same amount. So, this chess book would probably help me understand my finances, too.
6. I want to go to Scotland from London. I overheard McTaggart say there are two roads to Scotland from London: the high road and the low road. I expect the high road would be too risky because it’s through the hills and that means dangerous curves. But it’s raining now, so both roads are probably slippery. I don’t like either choice, but I guess I should take the low road and be safer.
7. I’ve met two people in Nicaragua so far, and they were both nice to me. So, all people I will meet in Nicaragua will be nice to me.
8. Mom: Those look like bags under your eyes. Are you getting enough sleep?
Jeff: I had a test and stayed up late studying.
Mom: You didn’t take any drugs, did you?
Jeff: Just caffeine in my coffee, like I always do.
Mom: Jeff! You know what happens when people take drugs! Pretty soon the caffeine won’t be strong enough. Then you will take something stronger, maybe someone’s diet pill. Then, something even stronger. Eventually, you will be doing cocaine. Then you will be a crack addict! So, don’t drink that coffee.
9. Goody Osburn come to the house begging for bread. When I turned her away, she mumbled. Then I thought my guts would burst for 4 days after. Goody Osburn bewitched me.
10. You will tell me the truth, Tituba, or I will beat you to your death!
11. “The truth is that Ciudad Juárez, Mexico is one of the world's fastest growing cities and can boast of a young, ambitious and hard-working population, mild winters, a dry and sunny climate, low cost medical and dental care, a multitude of churches and places of worship, delicious local cuisine and a swinging nightclub scene. Taken together, all these facts clearly prove that Juarez is one of the world’s most desirable places for young families to live, work and raise a family.”