Recommended Practice: Fallacies of Evidence Handout #2
Indicate the fallacy of evidence committed by each italicized passage:
1) Cincinnati's Cannonball Johnson just pitched a no-hitter in the first game of the season. Therefore, it's obvious to me he always pitches a no-hitter.
2) Either you agree that Cincinnati's Cannonball Johnson is the best baseball player in history or you just don't like Cincinnati's baseball team. Since you don't think Cannonball Johnson is the best player in history, you obviously don't like Cincinnati's baseball team.
3) Anytime I've washed my hair before a baseball game, I didn't get a hit. I think it's safe to say I didn't get a hit because I washed my hair.
4) Lacy says she's studying; but I see no evidence of that; so I think she isn't studying.
5) Leslie says she is getting an A in Critical Thinking; but she wouldn't show me any of her graded assignments. I think it's safe to say she's actually getting a C.
6) I know I failed my first Critical Thinking assignment. So, I'm pretty sure I failed most of them.
7) Adam: I just think our last Critical Thinking exam wasn't fair.
Levy: Why not?
Adam: It was just outrageous. Isn't that enough?
8) Of course vaccines trigger autism. Kids get the shot; that night they have a fever of 103; and three months later they have autism.
9) I would never subject my child to the MMR vaccine. If I did that, she might get autism.
10) Let's see, I can refuse to vaccinate my child and risk them getting the measles; or I can vaccinate my child and risk them becoming autistic. I'd rather not risk my child becoming autistic. So I'm not going to vaccinate my child.
11) Only a fool would refuse to conserve water during a drought; so it's time to conserve water.
12) I'm telling you, most Southern Californians waste water. It's obvious, since my aunt in Southern California does.
13) I think Southern California is entirely responsible for the state's water waste; since Northern California isn't; and one of them is.
14) Well, can you prove that California doesn't have enough water? No. So, I say the state's government is hiding water from us.
15) Either we allow fracking or we rely on foreign oil from countries with links to terrorism; and I don't want to rely on that foreign oil. Of course we should allow fracking.
16) If we allow fracking, most of our country's water sources will become undrinkable within a decade. So, I say we should stop fracking now.
17) Without fracking, the U.S.A. will rely on foreign oil from countries with links to terrorism. Therefore, I say we should allow fracking.
18) Of course the ocean's temperatures aren't increasing. I haven't seen any reliable evidence that they are.
19) I don't care what you say. Of course global warming triggered California's drought; for the drought came after global warming started.
20) Of course the industrial revolution is responsible for global warming, since it started after the industrial revolution.
21) If you ask me, Scientology just preys on confused people. So you shouldn't read any Scientology books.
22) You shouldn't become a Scientologist. Only confused people become Scientologists.
23) You should become a Scientologist. If you don't, you'll end up miserable.
24) Either you're a Scientologist or you're living in pain; and you're not a Scientologist. Therefore, you are living pain.
25) After I became a Scientologist, my career took off. I'm telling you that's the reason it took off.
26) I'm pretty sure Scientology is the reason my uncle declared bankruptcy, since he declared bankruptcy a year after he became a Scientologist.
27) Of course all Scientologists believe we descend from space aliens, since my neighbor who's a Scientologist believes that.
28) I think I have good reasons to believe Scientology; for you can't prove Scientology is wrong.
29) You should stop being a Scientologist. You haven't tried that yet.
30) It's time to join the Scientology family. It's time to become a Scientologist.
31) There's no way I'm buying a new cell phone. For it'll just be out of fashion by next year.
32) If you ask me, cell phones make you sterile. Think about it. Every sterile man I know has a cell phone.
33) The last three cell phones I owned broke after a year. Therefore, most cell phones do.
34) Just don't buy a new cell phone. If you do, it'll seem outdated in six months, you'll buy another, then another, then another, and never be satisfied.
35) Smart Phones aren't smart at all. So buy something else.
36) We haven't found living organisms on the other seven planets in our solar system. I think it's safe to say most planets in the galaxy don't have living organisms.
37) We haven't found living organisms on another planet. I think it's safe to say there aren't any living organisms on other planets.
38) Either we've already found living organisms on the other seven planets in our solar system or we never will; and we haven't found living organisms on the other seven planets in our solar system. So we never will.
39) I think we should keep looking for extraterrestrial life, because we just might find some.
40) We haven't found living organisms on the other seven planets in our solar system. So we should stop looking for life on other planets.
41) It's time to study for the final exam, since you haven't tried that.
42) Students have been studying for final exams for centuries. So you should, too.
43) Everyone thinks you should start studying for the final exam. Therefore, you should.
44) You should start studying for the final exam; for you might learn something.
45) You should start studying for the final exam. If you don't you'll end up failing the course and dropping out of college.
46) Oh, forgetting to study isn't a big deal. It's not like I'm cheating.
47) Cheating isn't such a problem. Everyone does it.
48) Of course I didn't cheat on the final exam. After all, I only glanced at the answer key.
49) Yes, I cheated; but I don't think I should be punished, since that would be a grave injustice.
50) The only reason I cheated is because the teacher was sick for the review; for I'd never cheated until after he was sick for the review.