Fallacies -
Game #1
1.
Bill
purchases a new PowerMac and it works fine for months. He then
buys and installs a new piece of software. The next time he
starts up his Mac, it freezes. Bill concludes that the
software must be the cause of the freeze
FALSE CAUSE
2.
Jane: "I'll be able to buy that car I always
wanted soon."
Bill: "Why, did you get a raise?"
Jane: "No. But you know how I've been playing the lottery
all these years?"
Bill: "Yes, you buy a ticket for every drawing, without
fail."
Jane: "And I've lost every time."
Bill: "So why do you think you will win this time?"
Jane: "Well, after all those losses I'm due for a
win." Gambler’s fallacy
3.
I'm not a doctor, but I play one on the hit series
"Hot Docs in Glassboro" You can take it from me
that when you need a fast acting, effective and safe pain
killer there is nothing better than MorphiDope 2000. That is
my considered medical opinion. Inappropriate Authority
4.
Jane gets a rather large wart on her finger. Based on
a story her father told her, she cuts a potato in half, rubs
it on the wart and then buries it under the light of a full
moon. Over the next month her wart shrinks and eventually
vanishes. Jane writes her father to tell him how right he
was about the cure. False Cause
- P1:Bill is dead or he is
alive.P2:Bill is not dead. Therefore Bill is alive. No
Fallacy
- Bill: "Jill and I both
support having prayer in public schools."
Jill: "Hey, I never said that!"
Bill: "You're not an atheist are you Jill?" False
Alternatives
7. "We have to stop the tuition increase! The next
thing you know, they'll be charging $40,000 a
semester!" Slippery Slope
- "I read the other day
that most people really like the new gun control laws. I
was sort of suspicious of them, but I guess if most people
like them, then they must be okay." General Belief
9.
Interviewer: "Your resume looks impressive but I
need another reference."
Bill: "Jill can give me a good reference."
Interviewer: "Good. But how do I know that Jill is
trustworthy?"
Bill: "Certainly. I can vouch for her." Circular
Reasoning, Begs the Question
"If
skateboarding in Logic class was illegal, then it would be
prohibited by the law." BEGGING THE QUESTION
- Sam is riding her bike on the
Rowan campus, minding her own business. A
Harley-Davidson rider comes up behind her and is
blaring Beethoven on his radio. She concludes that Harley
Davidson riders all love Beethoven. HASTY
GENERALIZATION
- "We've got to stop them
from banning Friday the Thirteenth Part 56 ½! . Once they
start banning horror films, next will be war movies. Then
they’ll ban films with loud music and films where Brad
Pitt swears a lot. SLIPPERY SLOPE
- Rowan University: Love it or
leave it! FALSE
ALTERNATIVE/DILLEMA
- No one has proven that aliens
exist. So, there must not be any aliens. APPEAL TO IGNORANCE
- I wore my lucky purple sweater
before I asked out Pat on a date. That must be why Pat
said we could go see Red Dragon together this weekend!
Yeah! FALSE
CAUSE
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