Question

Introduction to Logic.

Section One: Identify the following fallacies of Relevance and explain how the fallacy is committed.

1. These poor children have no parents to give them Christmas presents, cook them Christmas Dinner, or to give them Christmas candy. Without help they will be out on the street homeless, cold, and desperate .If you can you should give money to our charity to help prevent this horrible human tragedy.

  

2. Richard Cheney thought it was appropriate to ask energy executives what energy policy the country should pursue, but of course he would he was an energy executive himself.

  

3. You should never point a gun at a person, because it is rude to point.

  

4. You children stop fighting in the back seat, or I am going to pull the car over and make you wish I had not.  

5. Four of five Americans believe that Honda builds the best car, therefore Honda builds the best car.  

6. Dennis Rodman is not a basketball player who is an asset to his team. After all, he is a sex-crazed, undisciplined, foul-mouthed, self-centered, transvestite, who has slept with Madonna. .

7. Barack Obama’s tax plan would involve taking money from the rich through taxes, and giving it to the poor through tax relief. If we were to do this then there would less a need for private charities, so people would give less money to charities. But charities allow people to do good works. So if Barack Obama’s plan is passed the moral values of Americans would decline.

8. Barack Obama’s tax plan would involve redistributing wealth and redistributing wealth is a key tenet of socialism. But we have shown in the Soviet Union that socialism failed, so Barack Obama’s tax plan won’t work.

Section Two : Identify the following fallacies of Defective Induction and explain how the fallacies are committed.                                                                                                                                                       

9. Newt Gingrich endorses this brand of underwear; it must be the best brand of underwear

10. The defendant has no alibi; no one saw him at home asleep when the crime was committed, there are no phone records to prove he was at home, and no neighbors saw him at home. We can only conclude that he was at the crime scene.

11.. I have smoked my whole life and never been sick a day, therefore smoking does not injure anyone’s health.  

12. Whenever I wear Brut cologne during finals I ace my exams.

  

Section Three: Identify the following fallacies of Presumption and explain how the fallacies are committed.        

13. Linebacker is a position which requires a big, quick player. Therefore Sam Mill should not be playing linebacker since he is not big or quick

  

14. John Elway is the best quarterback in the NFL, because the best quarterback in the NFL is John Elway.  

15. Is your drinking problem under control yet?  

Section Four: Identify these fallacies of Ambiguity and explain how the fallacies are committed.                                   

  16. The offensive line of the Panthers average 310 lb., therefore the center weighs 310 lb.

17. As Grandpa cut the turkey the juice came out running.

18. Rich people can afford to pay more for food which is why their deserts are so rich.

19. MacDonalds pays each of its workers a small amount, therefore the overall size of McDonalds’ payroll is small.

  

20. You should not beat your children.

Answer 1

1. The fallacy that is committed here is that on the basis of the premise that poor children without parents to give them presents, candy or dinner on Chirstmas, another premise is made that they will be our on the street without home, cold and desperate. It is not necessary that children deprived of parental presence during Christmas would end up on the streets. These two premises are not connected to each other, and thus this is the Red Herring fallacy.

2. The fallacy committed here is that the individual is being attacked for his opinion on the basis of his personal characteristics, which is his profession as a energy executive, and not on the veracity of the opinion itself. The fallacy here is the Ad Hominem fallacy.

3. The fallacy committed here is that there is no reasonable premise that precedes the conclusion as to why one should not point a gun at other individuals, apart from it being a rude gesture. This is thus the Appeal to Emotion fallacy.

4. The fallacy committed here is that there is no explanation given as to why children should stop fighting in the back seat. Rather, they are wanted of consequences if they do not bring their behaviours to a stop. This would illustrate the Appeal to Authority fallacy.

Please post the other questions separately as we are supposed to answer just one question or four sub parts of a question.