Fallacies practice questions

Are you going to start cheating on this assignment right away, or are you going to wait before you start cheating?

False Dilemma (Type 1) — Only two options given when others exist (e.g., not cheating).

Evolution is obviously false… our ancestors were skeletons.

Straw Man — Misrepresents evolution to make it easier to attack.

Jenny McCarthy says vaccines cause autism… she’s famous → believe her.

Appeal to Authority — Not a qualified expert.

Fred Mulligan has 700,000 “fans” (appliances) → he’s very popular.

Equivocation — “Fans” has two meanings.

Fred is neither atheist nor agnostic → he must be theist.

False Dilemma (Type 2) — Ignores other belief positions.

Marriage is traditional → same-sex marriage is wrong.

Appeal to Tradition.

If you use slippery slope arguments → you’ll end up homeless.

Slippery Slope — Extreme chain with no support.

Jaywalking is bad because it should be illegal… illegal because it’s bad.

Begging the Question — Circular reasoning.

College won’t get you a job because tuition is expensive.

Red Herring — Cost ≠ job outcomes.

Death penalty supporters think it stops all murders → absurd.

Straw Man — Misrepresents their position.

98% of climate scientists agree → believe global warming.

No Fallacy — Proper use of expert consensus.

A dilemma is either type-1 or type-2, not both.

No Fallacy — Correct logical distinction.

Give me a C+ or I lose my scholarship… be empathetic.

Appeal to Emotion.

Most men cheat → I was justified cheating.

Appeal to Common Practice.

Smoking isn’t bad or companies would go out of business.

Appeal to Consequences.

David Suzuki is hypocritical → his argument is wrong.

Tu Quoque.

David Suzuki is hypocritical.

No Fallacy — Just identifying hypocrisy (not rejecting argument).

Humans are atoms OR conscious—choose.

False Dilemma (Both Types) — Wrong options + ignores alternatives.

Trust CNN because CNN says you can trust CNN.

Begging the Question.

Over-analyzing every word instead of answering question.

“I Don’t Understand Words.”

My friend says monks can fly → I believe him.

Appeal to Authority — Not an expert.

Atheists are ignorant garbage.

Ad Hominem.

Tina’s argument is wrong because she performs abortions.

Genetic Fallacy.

Female circumcision is okay because it’s traditional.

Appeal to Tradition.

Domino chain reaction → don’t push first domino.

No Fallacy — Legitimate causal reasoning.

I can’t explain it → it’s supernatural.

Ignorance (Supernatural Variation).

Science came from religion → science is unreliable.

Genetic Fallacy.

No evidence of earthquake yesterday → didn’t happen.

No Fallacy — Strong evidence expected for recent event.

No evidence of earthquake 1M years ago → didn’t happen.

Appeal to Ignorance.

Oil-funded study → examine carefully.

No Fallacy — Reasonable caution about bias.

If Americans believe this, it’s bad → so it’s false.

Appeal to Consequences of Belief.

Politician is hypocrite → argument is garbage.

Tu Quoque.

Can’t prove Matrix false → it’s true.

Appeal to Ignorance.

No evidence either way → be agnostic.

No Fallacy.

“Nothing” costs more than real estate → beach walk costs more.

Equivocation.

“Violence is natural” → “violence is acceptable.”

Straw Man.

Einstein made mistakes → reject E=mc².

Ad Hominem.