INSTRUCTIONS: Select the answer that best characterizes each argument. There is a lot of talk these days about the need for greater fuel economy in SUV's. But today's SUV's are really beautiful. The Cadillac Escalade has clean lines, supple leather, and polished hardwood. The Lincoln Navigator features beautiful paint and the feel of strength and security. And the Mercury Mariner has wonderful
styling and a great sound system. Who could ask for anything more?
A) Begging the question.
B) Red herring.
C) Straw man.
D) Missing the point.
E) No fallacy.
B
You might also like to view...
By pointing out that the perception of intense heat is identical to intense pain, Berkeley tries to convince us that
a. there really is no such thing as heat. b. heat does not exist outside of the mind. c. our sense experience deceives us. d. too much of a good thing can be bad.
A _________ is a claim put forth as a reason for a conclusion.
Fill in the blank(s) with the appropriate word(s).
What kinds of problems, if any, do the following statistical generalizations have? If there is a problem with the generalization, specify which of the two conditions (adequate sample size, non-biased sample) are not met. Some generalizations may have multiple problems. If so, specify all of the problems you see with the generalization.
1. Bob, from Silverton, CO drives a 4x4 pickup truck, so most people from Silverton, CO drive 4x4 pickup trucks. 2. Tom counts and categorizes birds that land in the tree in his backyard every morning from 5:00-5:20 am. He counts mostly morning doves and generalizes, “most birds that land in my tree in the morning are morning doves.” 3. Tom counts and categorizes birds that land in the tree in his backyard every morning from 5:00-6:00 am. He counts mostly morning doves and generalizes, “most birds that land in my tree during the 24-hour day are morning doves.” 4. Tom counts and categorizes birds that land in the tree in his backyard every day from 5:00-6:00 am, from 11:00-12:00 pm, and from 5:00- 6:00 pm. He counts mostly morning doves and generalizes, “most birds that land in my tree during the 24-hour day are morning doves.” 5. Tom counts and categorizes birds that land in the tree in his backyard every evening from 10:00-11:00 pm. He counts mostly owls and generalizes, “most birds that land in my tree throughout the 24-hour day are owls.” 6. Tom counts and categorizes birds that land in the tree in his backyard every evening from 10:00-11:00 pm and from 2:00-3:00 am. He counts mostly owls and generalizes, “most birds that land in my tree throughout the night are owls.” 7. A poll administered to 10,000 registered voters who were homeowners showed that 90% supported a policy to slash Medicaid funding and decrease property taxes. Therefore, 90% of voters support a policy to slash Medicaid funding. 8. A telephone poll administered by a computer randomly generating numbers to call, found that 68% of Americans in the sample of 2000 were in favor of legalizing recreational marijuana use. Thus, almost 70% of Americans favor legalizing recreation marijuana use. 9. A randomized telephone poll in the United States asked respondents whether they supported a) a policy that allows killing innocent children in the womb or b) a policy that saves the lives of innocent children in the womb. The results showed that 69% of respondents choose option “b” over option “a.” The generalization was made that “most Americans favor a policy that disallows abortion.” 10.Steve’s first rock and roll concert was an Ani Difranco concert, in which most of the concert-goers were women with feminist political slogans written on their t-shirts. Steve makes the generalization that “most rock and roll concert-goers are women who are feminists.” He then applies this generalization to the next concert he attends (Tom Petty) and is greatly surprised by what he finds. 11.A high school principal conducts a survey of how satisfied students are with his high school by asking students in detention to fill out a satisfaction survey. Generalizing from that sample, he infers that 79% of students are dissatisfied with their high school experience. He is surprised and saddened by the result. 12.After having attended numerous Pistons home games over 20 years, Alice cannot remember a time when she didn’t see ticket scalpers selling tickets outside the stadium. She generalizes that there are always scalpers at every Pistons home game. 13.After having attended numerous Pistons home games over 20 years, Alice cannot remember a time when she didn’t see ticket scalpers selling tickets outside the stadium. She generalizes that there are ticket scalpers at every NBA game. 14.After having attended numerous Pistons home games over 20 years, Alice cannot remember a time when she didn’t see ticket scalpers selling tickets outside the stadium. She generalizes that there are ticket scalpers at every sporting event. 15.Bob once ordered a hamburger from Burger King and got violently ill shortly after he ate it. From now on, he never eats at Burger King because he fears he will get food poisoning.
INSTRUCTIONS: Use an ordinary truth table to answer the following problems. Construct the truth table as per the instructions in the textbook. Given the argument: S ? (N ? H) / S ? ?N // S ? H This argument is:
A) Invalid; fails in 4th line. B) Invalid; fails in 2nd line. C) Invalid; fails in 5th line. D) Valid. E) Invalid; fails in 3rd line.