grand canyon phi105 week 4 Fallacies in Everyday Life Worksheet assignment december 2013
PHI-105 Fallacies in Everyday Life Worksheet
Before beginning this worksheet, read the “Fallacies Defined” resource.
Purpose of Assignment
In
Module 4, you learn about fallacies.Fallacies
are defects in an argument that cause an argument to be invalid, unsound, or
weak. Fallacies are illogical by definition. When fallacies are used as an
argument, it is called fallacious
reasoning. You encounter fallacious reasoning every day.
As
critical thinkers, one of our goals is to avoid fallacious reasoning and rely instead
on logic. The purpose of this assignment is to identify fallacious reasoning in
everyday life. There are various types of fallacies. This assignment will focus
on the 15types of fallacies listed below. The more familiar you are with the
various types of fallacies, the easier it isto be critical thinkers.
This
assignment has two parts.
Assignment InstructionsPart 1:Read the
following quotations and choose which type of fallacy it represents by highlighting the
appropriate fallacy. Then, in three to
five sentences, explain why you chose the fallacy you did for each quotation.
Here is an
example:
Quotation: “With the U.S. unemployment rate at 9.1%,
every state, county, and city has unemployment problems (Johnson, 2011).”
a.
Slippery Slope
b.
ExtravagantHypothesis
c.
False Analogy
d. Hasty Generalization
Explanation: This
quote is an example of hasty generalization because it assumes that the
employment rate for the whole country will affect each state, county and city
equally. In fact, the 9.1% is just an
average. There are some places much
worse than this and there are some places much better. For example, the unemployment rate in
California is 11.7% , but in Lincoln, Nebraska it is only 3.8%.
1.
Quotation:“I
don’t wear my seat belt while driving anymore because I have three friends that
all got in accidents while they were wearing their seatbelts.”
Which of the following types of
fallacies is this statement?
Slippery Slope
ExtravagantHypothesis
False Analogy
Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc
Explanation:
2.
Quotation:“We have enough oil in the
world to last a couple hundred years, so everyone should just drive SUV’s as
long as they can afford the gas.”
Which of the following types of
fallacies is this statement?
Appeal to Authority
Appeal to Tradition
The Is/Ought Fallacy
Bandwagon Appeal
Explanation:
3.
Quotation:“If you believe in global
warming you just believe everything you are told and don’t think for yourself.”
Which of the following types of
fallacies is this statement?
Fallacy of Division
Circular Reasoning
Either/or Fallacy
Hasty Generalization
Explanation:
4.
Quotation:“The defendant is obviously
guilty because the polygraph administrator testified that he was lying.”
Which of the following types of
fallacies is this statement?
The Fallacy ofComposition
Appeal to Ignorance
The Genetic Fallacy
Appeal to Authority
Explanation:
5.
Quotation:“Barefoot running is superior
to wearing running shoes because humans ran for thousands of years before shoes
were invented.”
Which of the following types of
fallacies is this statement?
a.
ExtravagantHypothesis
b.
Appeal to Tradition
c.
Fallacy of Division
d.
False Analogy
Explanation:
Assignment
Instructions Part 2: Identify and
label each fallacious statement from the list below.
Fallacy of Division
Circular Reasoning
Either or Fallacy
Hasty Generalization
The Fallacy of
Composition
Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc
Extravagant Hypothesis
False Analogy
Slippery Slope
The Genetic Fallacy
Appeal to Authority
Appeal to Tradition
The Is-Ought Fallacy
Bandwagon Appeal
Appeal to Ignorance
1. Fallacious Statement:“I can’t help but think that you are the cause
of this problem; we never had any problem within this department until you
started working here.”
What type of fallacy is it? Select a
type of fallacy from the list above.
________________________________________________________
2. Fallacious Statement:“There is no compelling evidence that UFOs
do not exist. Therefore, UFOs exist.”
What type of fallacy is it? Select a
type of fallacy from the list above.
________________________________________________________
3. Fallacious Statement:“You should not eat at fast foodrestaurants
because if you do then soon that is all you will be eating.”
What type of fallacy is it? Select a
type of fallacy from the list above.
________________________________________________________
4. Fallacious Statement:“Stanley Clarke is the best bassist ever
because he is better at playing the bass than anyone that has ever lived.”
What type of fallacy is it? Select a
type of fallacy from the list above.
________________________________________________________
5. Fallacious Statement:“The ancient pyramids in Egypt were so
symmetrical and well-built that they must have been constructed by aliens from
another planet.”
What type of fallacy is it? Select a
type of fallacy from the list above.
________________________________________________________
