Question 1

Select the fallacy or bad argument technique which occurs in the following argument: Every time I go to a chiefs game they lose. My friends won't let me go anymore; they say the losing streak is all because of me!
A) Base rate fallacy
B) Mistaking correlation for cause
C) Ad hominem circumstantial
D) Inversion of cause and effect

Accepted Answer

The argument is mistaking correlation for cause by assuming that the person attending the game is the reason behind the team's losing streak.

Question 2

Select the fallacy or bad argument technique which occurs in the following argument: Yes, but you would say that, wouldn't you? If your cousin's elected Vice President, you'll have a direct line to the President.
A) Red Herring
B) Ad hominem circumstantial
C) Epistemic fallacy
D) Deriving ought from is

Accepted Answer

This is an example of ad hominem circumstantial, where the argument attacks the speaker's personal circumstances instead of addressing the argument itself. The speaker is dismissing the other person's statement as biased because of their potential personal gain, without actually addressing the claim being made.

Question 3

Select the fallacy or bad argument technique which occurs in the following argument: Medical researchers have detected a correlation between the medication I'm taking for osteoporosis and cancer. I'm not taking any chances, I'm going to stop taking it, it causes cancer.
A) Mistaking correlation for cause
B) Post hoc ergo propter hoc
C) Inversion of cause and effect
D) Conflation of cause and effect

Accepted Answer

The argument incorrectly assumes that because there is a correlation between the medication and cancer, the medication must cause cancer. This is a classic example of mistaking correlation (things happening together) for causation (one thing causing the other).

Question 4

Select the fallacy or bad argument technique which occurs in the following argument: Look, there's really no alternative here. Either we buy food or we buy beer, we can't have both.
A) Deriving ought from is
B) Perfectionist fallacy
C) False dilemma
D) Attacking a straw man

Accepted Answer

The argument presents a false dilemma, claiming that only two options - buying food or buying beer - are available when in reality, there may be other alternatives or options.

Question 5

Select the fallacy or bad argument technique which occurs in the following argument: You say that it's a straight choice between beer and food, but I simply don't agree that those are the only two options, and, anyway, you always drink more than I do.
A) Fallacy of affirming the consequent
B) Smokescreen
C) Red Herring
D) False dilemma

Accepted Answer

The argument introduces an irrelevant point about drinking habits to distract from the original issue, which is a characteristic of a Red Herring fallacy.

Question 6

Select the fallacy or bad argument technique which occurs in the following argument: Of course Jo knows that Paul Hewson is the lead singer of U2, she must do, she knows that Bono is their front man.
A) Appeal to ignorance
B) Epistemic fallacy
C) Majority belief
D) False dilemma

Accepted Answer

This argument employs the epistemic fallacy, assuming that if one knows one thing, they must know everything related to it. Just because Jo knows that Bono is the front man of U2, it doesn't necessarily follow that she knows the real name of the lead singer.

Question 7

Select the fallacy or bad argument technique which occurs in the following argument: If it's raining, it's good weather for fishing. It's great weather for fishing, so it must be raining.
A) Tu quoque
B) Fallacy of affirming the antecedent
C) Deriving ought from is
D) Fallacy of affirming the consequent

Accepted Answer

This is an example of the fallacy of affirming the consequent, which occurs when someone assumes that if antecedent A leads to consequent B, then the occurrence of B means that A must be true as well. In this case, the argument is assuming that if it's raining, then it's good weather for fishing, and then assuming that if it's good weather for fishing, it must be raining, which is not necessarily true.

Question 8

Select the fallacy or bad argument technique which occurs in the following argument: The President says he's committed to finding solutions to tackling climate change, but there he is jetting around in Air Force One, pumping out carbon emissions like they're pure oxygen. Why should we take any notice of what he says?
A) Fallacy of denying the consequent
B) Begging the question
C) Conflation of legality with morality
D) Tu quoque

Accepted Answer

This is an example of the tu quoque fallacy, which involves dismissing an argument or criticism by pointing out the hypocrisy of the person making the argument. In this case, the speaker is suggesting that because the President is not personally reducing his own carbon emissions, he cannot be trusted to find solutions to climate change. However, the President's personal behavior does not necessarily have any bearing on the effectiveness of his policies or his commitment to addressing climate change.

Question 9

Select the fallacy or bad argument technique which occurs in the following argument: There's conclusive evidence that smoking causes cancer. So if you don't smoke, you won't get cancer.
A) False dilemma
B) Inversion of cause and effect
C) Ad hominem
D) Post hoc ergo propter hoc

Accepted Answer

This argument uses inversion of cause and effect. It assumes that if smoking causes cancer, then not smoking must prevent cancer, which is not necessarily true. There could be other factors that contribute to the development of cancer besides smoking.

Question 10

Select the fallacy or bad argument technique which occurs in the following argument: Of course these politicians support tax breaks for landlords. They all have investment properties of their own.
A) Ad hominem circumstantial
B) Conflation of legality with morality
C) Perfectionist fallacy
D) Fallacy of affirming the consequent

Accepted Answer

The argument attacks the politicians for having a personal interest in the tax breaks rather than addressing the merits of the proposal itself. This is an example of ad hominem circumstantial, which is a type of personal attack that diverts attention from the argument at hand.

Question 11

Select the fallacy or bad argument technique which occurs in the following argument: If you think I'm going to let you have a cell phone at your age, you've got another think coming. Once you've got a cell phone, you'll want an i-pod, then it'll be an i-phone, and before I know it you'll be demanding I buy you a sports car.
A) Perfectionist fallacy
B) Tu quoque
C) Post hoc ergo propter hoc
D) Slippery slope

Accepted Answer

The argument uses the slippery slope fallacy, suggesting that allowing the person to have a cell phone will lead to unreasonable demands for expensive items.

Question 12

Select the fallacy or bad argument technique which occurs in the following argument: Polls show 65% of New Zealanders think David Shearer would be no good as Prime Minister. So he would clearly be a lousy Prime Minister.
A) Majority belief
B) Red Herring
C) Fallacy of affirming the consequent
D) Base rate fallacy

Accepted Answer

The argument commits the Majority Belief fallacy, assuming that because a majority believes something, it must be true. This fallacy overlooks that the truth of a claim doesn't depend on how many people believe it.

Question 13

Select the fallacy or bad argument technique which occurs in the following argument: If people drink too much they end up with liver damage. But as Alice never drinks her liver will be fine.
A) Fallacy of denying the antecedent
B) Ad hominem circumstantial
C) Post hoc ergo propter hoc
D) Straw Man

Accepted Answer

This argument commits the fallacy of denying the antecedent by stating that if people drink too much they end up with liver damage, therefore implying that if people do not drink too much they will not end up with liver damage. However, this is not necessarily true as there could be other factors at play that could lead to liver damage. Therefore, the conclusion that Alice's liver will be fine just because she does not drink is not logically sound.

Question 14

Select the fallacy or bad argument technique which occurs in the following argument: Of course there's nothing wrong with shouting and swearing at your children and calling them names. They didn't make that illegal yet!
A) Majority belief
B) Epistemic fallacy
C) Conflation of legality with morality
D) Fallacy of affirming the antecedent

Accepted Answer

The argument is using the conflation of legality with morality fallacy by suggesting that just because something is not illegal, it is not wrong or immoral.

Question 15

Select the fallacy or bad argument technique which occurs in the following argument: How can you say she wouldn't make a good Vice President, when you were Vice President of the Golf Club, you did a terrible job.
A) Tu Quoque
B) Perfectionist fallacy
C) Begging the question
D) False dilemma

Accepted Answer

This argument uses the tu quoque fallacy by attempting to discredit the critic by pointing out their own past failure without actually addressing the issue at hand.

Question 16

Select the fallacy or bad argument technique which occurs in the following argument: So the government wants to make carbon offset payments compulsory for all domestic and international air travel. What's the point? That approach alone won't solve global warming.
A) Base rate fallacy
B) Begging the question
C) Post hoc ergo propter hoc
D) Perfectionist fallacy

Accepted Answer

The argument uses the perfectionist fallacy by rejecting a proposed solution because it is not perfect or does not completely solve the problem.

Question 17

Select the fallacy or bad argument technique which occurs in the following argument: Of course carrying a little bit of cannabis for your own use is immoral, it's illegal, isn't it?
A) Post hoc ergo propter hoc
B) Conflation of legality with morality
C) Red herring
D) False dilemma

Accepted Answer

The argument is conflating the legality of an act with its morality, assuming that just because something is illegal it must also be immoral. This is a fallacy as there are many actions that are not necessarily immoral but are illegal (such as jaywalking) and vice versa (such as lying).

Question 18

Select the fallacy or bad argument technique which occurs in the following argument: Alice never drank until she left home and went to university, but these days she seems to be a raging alcoholic. There's no doubt about it - university made her into a drunk!
A) Post hoc ergo propter hoc
B) Fallacy of denying the antecedent
C) Common practice
D) Straw man

Accepted Answer

This argument commits the post hoc ergo propter hoc fallacy, which assumes that just because two events (Alice going to university and Alice becoming an alcoholic) happen to follow each other, one must have caused the other. There could be many other factors that contributed to Alice's alcoholism, such as stress from university or personal issues unrelated to her education.

Question 19

Select the fallacy or bad argument technique which occurs in the following argument: Richie McCaw is a great sportsman. When he says Heatorama heat pumps are the best, he must know what he's talking about.
A) Appeal to authority
B) Epistemic fallacy
C) Ad hominem
D) Fallacy of denying the consequent

Accepted Answer

This argument is committing an appeal to authority fallacy by suggesting that Richie McCaw's expertise in sports automatically qualifies him as an expert in heating technology.

Question 20

Select the fallacy or bad argument technique which occurs in the following argument: A large study recently showed that children who get enough sleep between the ages of 2 and 5 are less likely to be obese at age 7. Clearly that extra hour of sleep makes them thin.
A) Straw man
B) Fallacy of denying the antecedent
C) Majority belief
D) Mistaking correlation for cause

Accepted Answer

The argument makes the mistake of assuming that correlation between getting enough sleep and lower obesity rates necessarily means causation. The conclusion that "that extra hour of sleep makes them thin" is not necessarily supported by the evidence presented.

Quiz 2: Language and Rhetoric

Select the fallacy or bad argument technique which occurs in the following argument: Every time I go to a chiefs game they lose. My friends won't let me go anymore; they say the losing streak is all because of me!

Select the fallacy or bad argument technique which occurs in the following argument: Yes, but you would say that, wouldn't you? If your cousin's elected Vice President, you'll have a direct line to the President.

Select the fallacy or bad argument technique which occurs in the following argument: Medical researchers have detected a correlation between the medication I'm taking for osteoporosis and cancer. I'm not taking any chances, I'm going to stop taking it, it causes cancer.

Select the fallacy or bad argument technique which occurs in the following argument: Look, there's really no alternative here. Either we buy food or we buy beer, we can't have both.

Select the fallacy or bad argument technique which occurs in the following argument: You say that it's a straight choice between beer and food, but I simply don't agree that those are the only two options, and, anyway, you always drink more than I do.

Select the fallacy or bad argument technique which occurs in the following argument: Of course Jo knows that Paul Hewson is the lead singer of U2, she must do, she knows that Bono is their front man.

Select the fallacy or bad argument technique which occurs in the following argument: If it's raining, it's good weather for fishing. It's great weather for fishing, so it must be raining.

Select the fallacy or bad argument technique which occurs in the following argument: There's conclusive evidence that smoking causes cancer. So if you don't smoke, you won't get cancer.

Select the fallacy or bad argument technique which occurs in the following argument: Of course these politicians support tax breaks for landlords. They all have investment properties of their own.

Select the fallacy or bad argument technique which occurs in the following argument: Polls show 65% of New Zealanders think David Shearer would be no good as Prime Minister. So he would clearly be a lousy Prime Minister.

Select the fallacy or bad argument technique which occurs in the following argument: If people drink too much they end up with liver damage. But as Alice never drinks her liver will be fine.

Select the fallacy or bad argument technique which occurs in the following argument: Of course there's nothing wrong with shouting and swearing at your children and calling them names. They didn't make that illegal yet!

Select the fallacy or bad argument technique which occurs in the following argument: How can you say she wouldn't make a good Vice President, when you were Vice President of the Golf Club, you did a terrible job.

Select the fallacy or bad argument technique which occurs in the following argument: So the government wants to make carbon offset payments compulsory for all domestic and international air travel. What's the point? That approach alone won't solve global warming.

Select the fallacy or bad argument technique which occurs in the following argument: Of course carrying a little bit of cannabis for your own use is immoral, it's illegal, isn't it?

Select the fallacy or bad argument technique which occurs in the following argument: Alice never drank until she left home and went to university, but these days she seems to be a raging alcoholic. There's no doubt about it - university made her into a drunk!

Select the fallacy or bad argument technique which occurs in the following argument: Richie McCaw is a great sportsman. When he says Heatorama heat pumps are the best, he must know what he's talking about.

Select the fallacy or bad argument technique which occurs in the following argument: A large study recently showed that children who get enough sleep between the ages of 2 and 5 are less likely to be obese at age 7. Clearly that extra hour of sleep makes them thin.