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Fallacy of
Complex Question,
Many Questions
Examples
Exercise
Abstract:
Complex Question, Many Questions, and
related fallacy examples are provided and analyzed for
credibility in a self-scoring quiz.
Fallacy Practice Directions:
(1) Study the features of the complex question from this
web page: Complex Questions or Many Questions Fallacy.
(2) Read and analyze the following passages.
(3) Explain with a sentence or two as to whether or not you judge a
complex question fallacy to be present.
- “One of the things we know about peak performers
in life, people that are super-successful, is that they ask
for what they want. Let me ask you this: how many of you got
everything you wanted from your parents when you were a kid?
Can I see a show of hands? No hands. How many asked for
everything you wanted, clearly, consistently, over-and-over
from your parents—anyone? How many of your parents
were psychics? We've got no hands [up] here. See the reality
is, if you don't ask, they don't know you want it, they don't
give it to you, and you think well parents know everything
and you decide, ‘There must be something wrong with
me.’ Because if they loved you, they'd what? They'd
know.”
- “An unnamed senior State Department official
said ‘The war on terror is over’ … Really?
Well, if the war is complete, I must have missed the peace treaty
signing ceremony. I also haven't noticed a decline in incendiary
rhetoric, or the disarmament — or at least laying down of
arms — that usually accompanies the end of war. Does this
mean we can do away with full-body scanners and TSA
pat-downs?”.
- “When software programs are trying to outsmart
other software programs and hack the world's trading platforms,
that is a recipe for disaster. … How many times an hour
are there failures across individual equities around the world
because of software running algorithms battling each other for
supremacy to make a profitable trade? We have no idea. It's not
a question of if or when we have meltdowns, it's just a question
of how big and where.”
- “More than one-third of currently working college
graduates are in jobs that do not require a degree, such as flight
attendants, taxi drivers and salesmen. Was college attendance a wise
use of these student's time and the resources of their parents and
taxpayers?”
- “Would Jesus campaign for anyone who would push and
promote homosexuality and gay marriage? Would He support liberal
politicians whose consciences aren't bothered by abortion? Would
He vote to step deeper into socialism instead of preserving a
responsible republic form of government? Wise Christians know
the answers to these questions. … The confluence of apathetic
Christian voters, liberal politicians and progressive judges
have brought out country to the brink of total moral and fiscal
bankruptcy.”
- “In general, why am I so clever? I have never thought
about questions that do not amount to anything, — I have not
wasted my self on that.”
- “Do President Trump's Cabinet members have to call him
‘Dear Leader’ when graced by his august presence? Must
they enter the Oval Office on bended knee? Do they weep with joy
when he reaches out a delicate hand and pats their bowed heads?
One of the most appalling aspects of the Trump presidency is the
sycophancy he requires of the officials who serve
him.”
- “Do you desire to strike out of our State Constitution
that clause which keeps slaves and free negroes out of the State,
and allow the free negroes to flow in, and cover your prairies
with black settlements? Do you desire to turn this beautiful State
into a free negro colony? … then support Mr. Lincoln and
the Black Republican party, who are in favor of the citizenship of
the negro.”
- The following editorial comment is about a man who drove a car
into a crowd killing a woman and injuring many other people who
were protesting a white nationalist rally:
“James Alex Fields stands accused of ramming his
beloved muscle car into a crowded street during a showdown between
the two sides hyped by the Stupid Media. Now was this a planned
attack aimed at maximizing the elimination of as many Neanderthals
[anti-fascists] as possible? or was it Brass Knuckle Dragger [white
nationalist] road rage sparked by somebody kicking or throwing
something at his muscle car? My experience with drivers of Dodge
Chargers is that they are prone to road
rage.”
- “Why Republicans should want the Democratic party
to escape political ruin is not quite clear … Is
it because their pecuniary interests, their social
connections, and their general environment make them as
good plutocrats … ? Or is it because they would
be easy to beat at the
election?”
- “Roads or housing? Which is your priority? According to
the Institute of Public Policy Research we need to build 230,000
new homes a year.”
- “Often, a recalcitrant prisoner must be extracted
from his cell through brute force. I've never seen female
guards remove a prisoner. If they are part of the process
at all, it's to videotape the extraction for legal purposes.
It's my bet female guards receive the same salaries as male
guards while not having to risk injury. Along the same
lines, women on aircraft carriers earn as much as their
male counterparts, but I have yet to see women hefting a
hernia bar to attach a 500- or 1000-pound bomb to a fighter
jet wing. All of this suggests liberals are for equal pay
for unequal work. Or could it be sex discrimination whereby
equally qualified women are denied the opportunity to extract
beastly inmates from their cells and load heavy bombs on fighter planes?
”
- “I think you are kind, lovely, versed in learning; so
why should such a wicked fate fall to your lot? Why does it always
happen that a good person lives in desolation, while happiness
comes to another unasked?”
- “There is a promotion gap between white men and
traditionally disadvantaged groups. This may be the result of
flawed promotion procedures at some firms where committees
spend time guessing a candidate's potential. These appraisals
are fertile ground for biases, since people tend to predict
the future by extrapolating from the past — and the past
looks rather white and rather male. What are the ways in which
we can combat these biases in performance appraisals and narrow
the promotion gap? One study we have underway at Harvard looks
at whether potential bias will go away when we use data analytics
to offer more concrete and more objectively measurable criteria
for such traits as analytical skills, emotional intelligence,
people skills or client
interaction.”
- “But Mr. Trump demonstrated once again that he can’t
abide his predecessor’s accomplishments, that he will not be
persuaded by facts and that he places little or no value on
the idea that honoring national commitments safeguards confidence
in America’s word. Why would North Korea negotiate with the United
States over its nuclear stockpile when it sees how little store
the Trump administration sets by diplomatic
accords?”
Notes
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