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Directions: Do not write on the pages of this test. Please indicate the two best answers to the fallacies, in each of the following passages, on the ANSWER SHEET enclosed with this test.
2. My client is an integral part of this community. If he is
sent to prison not only will this city suffer but also he will be most missed
by his family. You surely cannot find it in your hearts to reach any other
verdict than "not guilty." 3. You ought to try to study harder in school this year,
Samuel, because it will spare your parents the embarrassment of a letter from
the instructor telling them you're slipping. 5. I believe in the Bible because it is the written word of
God through his prophets. Obviously, God would not lie to his prophets. After
all, the Bible says so. 6. Congress shouldn't bother to consult major universities
about educational appropriations. As members of educational establishment,
they will naturally want as much money for education as they think they can
get. 7. In recent studies researchers have show that women have
more accurate intuition than men do. The reason cited is that men's intuition
is more often mistaken. 8. I can see that you are in the market for a new car. We're
having a sale on Pintos this month. Do you want to pay cash or do you want the
installment plan? 9. John has really worked hard on his term project, and he
will really be depressed if he does not make an A. For these reasons,
you just have to give him an A on his project. 10. What is right is what is morally obligatory. What is
morally obligatory is what you should do. Of course, you should do something
because it is the right thing to do. 11. I can see that the efficiency with which the Tornado
Home Vacuum System works and the marvelous way in which it saves on toil and
drudgery in the home impresses you. Therefore, shall I charge it to your
account or do you want to pay cash? 12. If we wish to determine which of a person's motives
determine his actions, we need only examine which of the alternative courses
of action he chooses to perform. Therefore, a person's motives are determined
by the actions he chooses to perform. 13. A prosecutor states to the jury: "You cannot let
this man go free because our society is not safe with him at large. Who knows
who his next victim will be?" 14. It should be no surprise to you that if a Democrat is
elected in the next presidential election that we will have one of the worst
recessions in years. Recessions always seem to be created by Democratic
administrations. 15. As I walked to the library from the Learning Center not
one person spoke to me. Lander University is not as friendly as I was led to
believe. 16. How can we save our country from the bureaucratic
dictatorship, the corruption, and the creeping socialism of the present
administration? Only one way vote Independent. 17. I don't care what your arguments are; you are using
Mickey Mouse tactics. The arguments you give are simply tacky. 18. Officer, please excuse my going over the speed limit,
but my mother is ill and I'm being audited by the IRS, and I don't know how I
can meet all my bills. 19. Why haven't you been studying, as you should? You would
feel a lot better if you would take you school work more seriously. 20. Those who say that extra-sensory perception is not
reliable are mistaken. The police, Hollywood stars, and politicians have all
relied on it. 21. But Doctor, surely your advice that I should not drink
coffee is not sound advice since you yourself often drink coffee. 22. The late Ely Culbertson, one of the world's outstanding
bridge players, once declared that the United Nations as presently constituted
has serious defects. He must be right because I don't think the opinion of a
man of his caliber should be taken lightly. 23. The General Assembly of the United Nations keeps voting
for radical issues. Therefore, the U. S. will be forced to reduce its
financial contribution to the U. N. unless there is a demonstrated change
soon. 24. During the Gulf war many Americans made immense profits.
That is an indisputable fact. Therefore, there can be no doubt that American
business interests instigated the war. 25. No mathematician has ever been able to demonstrate the
truth of the variants of the Goldberg conjecture, so they cannot all be true. 26. Everyone says that a logic course is easier than a math
course, so it must be. 27. Unless you back up my story and tell the committee I am
reasoning logically, I'll do everything in my power to see that you are fired. 28. The best students make the best grades. Therefore,
getting high grades will undoubtedly cause you to be a better student. 29. Everyone believes that men write the best novels;
therefore, there is little doubt that they do so. 30. Since the Bible says, "Thou shall not kill,"
it would be wrong to exterminate the termites in City Hall. 31. But Mom I don't see why I have to wear socks; Einstein
never did wear socks. 32. I once knew a philosophy student who went crazy and
another one who was not that well balanced. You can see what the study of
philosophy did to them. 33. A great many charges of graft and corruption have been
brought against Senator Anderson over the past several years, and he has had
numerous opportunities to refute them, but he has never done so. Therefore, I
think, the evidence indicates he is not to be trusted. 34. The present U.S. administration has not yet developed an
energy policy. Nonetheless, almost every other developed nation in the world
has an energy policy, except us. Therefore, the United States should have a
unified energy policy. 35. The welfare program is totally unnecessary. Why, I know
a guy who runs a very lucrative illegal gambling operation and drives his new
Cadillac down every week to collect his welfare check. 36. It was his fault, Officer. You can tell by the kind of
car I'm driving and by my clothes that I am a good citizen and would not lie.
Look at the rattletrap he is driving, and look at how he is dressed. You can't
believe anything that a dirty, longhaired hippie like that might tell you.
Search his car; he probably has pot in it. 37. General Jed M. Lamgetter believes that it is absolutely
essential to our future security that we immediately upgrading our computing
systems to Linux from Microsoft NT. But his arguments are hardly deserving of
careful consideration, for in a couple of weeks General Lamgetter will retire
from the Army and become CEO and be given large stock options in Red Hat, one
of the main Linux producers. 39. Richard Nixon: "Mr. Sparkman and Mr. Stevenson
should come before the American people, as I have and make a complete
financial statement as to their financial history, and if they don't, it will
be an admission that they have something to hide. 40. Stanford produces the best graduates in the United
States. Therefore, any every Ph.D. from Stanford is better than any other
Ph.D. in the country. 41. Water extinguishes fire. Oxygen is part of water.
Therefore, oxygen will extinguish fire. 42. Priests take a vow of poverty. The Church is a corporate
body composed of priests. Therefore, the Church should not own property. 43. Since the average life-span of an individual in
developing countries is thirty years, the leaders in those countries grow old
before they have time to learn the rudiments of good government. 44. As the convener of the ninth annual Women's Freedom
Movement, let me remind you once again that women have been discriminated
against for centuries, and they have suffered as second-rate people for
centuries. I, for one, refuse to submit to this discrimination and second-rate
treatment any longer. 45. I ought always to do what is right. I have a right to
say what I think. Therefore, I ought always to say what I think. 46. As a result of a poll of 28 adults interviewed on Main
Street in Greenwood, S.C. on Friday night, we can conclude that all people in
Greenwood prefer going downtown to watching TV. 47. According to the law, a man is innocent until proved
guilty. So Mr. Ratskeller must be innocent of the charge of bribery, since he
has not yet been proved guilty. Therefore, since Mr. Mafia is innocent, it
would be wrong to convict him. 48. Although you have said you will give me no more of your
time, I'll not ask for any more of your time; I'll just ask for the
amount of time you have already given once more. 49. A description of a candidate who is woefully inept:
"I most enthusiastically recommend this candidate with no qualifications
whatsoever." 50. Nothing would be better than a high score on this
test, but a poor grade would be better than nothing, so conclude that a bad
grade would be better than a high score. |
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Arguments | Language | Fallacies | Propositions | Syllogisms | Translation | Symbolic |
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