Deck 6: Fallacies and Persuaders

Question 1

The fallacy of arguing that a claim must be true merely because a substantial number of people believe it is known as appeal to

A) emotion.
B) authority.
C) tradition.
D) the masses.

Answer 1

the masses.

Question 2

When we commit the fallacy of appealing to the person, we reject a claim by

A) using rhetoric.
B) appealing to a bogus authority.
C) ignoring the person.
D) criticizing the person who makes it.

Answer 2

criticizing the person who makes it.

Question 3

Apple polishing and scare tactics are two kinds of

A) ridicule.
B) ad hominem attacks.
C) euphemism.
D) emotional appeals.

Answer 3

emotional appeals.

Question 4

Fallacies with irrelevant premises include

A) begging the question.
B) innuendo.
C) appeal to tradition.
D) hasty generalization.

Question 5

Drawing an unwarranted conclusion or generalization about an entire group of people is called

A) false dilemma.
B) stereotyping.
C) rhetorical definition.
D) straw man.

Question 6

Arguing that because a line or distinction cannot be drawn at any point in a process, there are no differences or gradations in that process is known as the _______ fallacy.

A) genetic
B) decision-point
C) straw-man
D) false dilemma

Question 7

Words used to convey negative attitudes or emotions in place of neutral or positive ones are called

A) rhetorical definitions.
B) euphemisms.
C) dysphemisms.
D) faulty analogies.

Question 8

The strategy of inserting irrelevancies into an argument to distract someone from the real issues is called

A) red herring.
B) decision-point fallacy.
C) poisoning the well.
D) slippery slope.

Question 9

The classic argument-"The Bible says that God exists. The Bible is true because God wrote it. Therefore, God exists"-is an example of

A) appeal to emotion.
B) appeal to the person.
C) appeal to tradition.
D) begging the question.

Question 10

This argument-"Either you support the war or you are a traitor to your country. You don't support the war. So you're a traitor"-is an example of

A) false dilemma.
B) begging the question.
C) equivocation.
D) innuendo.

Question 11

Using the phrase "enhanced interrogation techniques" instead of "torture" or the phrase "downsizing" instead of "firing" illustrates the use of

A) rhetorical definitions.
B) euphemism.
C) dysphemism.
D) faulty analogies.

Question 12

Whether people are hypocritical regarding their claims bears directly on the truth of those claims.

Question 13

In general, fallacies are divided between those that have irrelevant premises and those that have unacceptable premises.

Question 14

Using a term like neutralize in place of kill illustrates the use of innuendo.

Question 15

A lack of evidence alone can neither prove nor disprove a proposition.

Question 16

Good writers never combine arguments with appeals to emotion.

Question 17

The red herring fallacy involves reinterpreting a claim so that it appears weak or absurd and therefore more easily refuted.

Question 18

The attempt to establish the conclusion of an argument by using that conclusion as a premise is known as equivocation.

Question 19

Slippery-slope arguments are fallacious because they offer no good reasons for believing that the sequence of steps referred to will happen as predicted.

Question 20

Advocates of creationism who assume that any data that counts against evolutionary theory counts in favor of creationism are guilty of begging the question.

Question 21

The fact that someone has dubious reasons for making a claim does not show that the claim is false.

Question 22

The fallacy of composition is thinking that the characteristics of the parts are somehow transferred to the whole.

Question 23

The fallacy of division is frequently committed in faulty statistical arguments.

Question 24

In a hasty generalization, the things being compared are not sufficiently similar in ways that are relevant.

Question 25

Claims that come out of a "poisoned well" cannot be automatically dismissed.

Question 26

The decision-point fallacy is perhaps the most blatant fallacy of irrelevance.

Question 27

In general, if a person makes an unsupported claim, we are under no obligation to prove it wrong.

Question 28

Ridicule may be a successful technique for the purposes of persuasion, but it gives us no good reason to believe anything.

Question 29

The demand that someone prove a universal negative is unreasonable.

Question 30

The use of rhetoric is incompatible with good critical thinking.

Question 31

Any argument that tries to show that one event or state of affairs can inevitably lead to others is fallacious.

Question 32

Explain the two broad categories of fallacies. Provide examples of each category in your answer.

Question 33

How are persuaders and fallacies different? How are they similar?

Question 34

Why are appeals to the person fallacious?

Question 35

What is the fallacy of equivocation and how can it be used to persuade an audience that a conclusion is true?

Question 36

Why is an appeal to the masses fallacious?

Question 37

What is the relationship between appeals to ignorance and the burden of proof?

Question 38

What are euphemisms and dysphemisms and how are they put to use rhetorically? Provide a real-world example of each in your answer.

Question 39

What is the decision-point fallacy and how is it used to persuade people to accept a claim?

Question 40

What is the basic pattern of a straw-man argument? How are straw-man arguments sometimes used in political debates?

Question 41

According to the text, why are people often taken in by incorrect dilemmas? What question should people ask to avoid falling into these traps?