Fallacies

Read the following scenarios carefully. Explain what logical fallacy or fallacies are being committed in each of these situations.

• Jeff’s mom is concerned when she finds out that he skipped class one day. She tells him that she is concerned that since he skipped one class, he will start skipping more frequently. Then he will drop out altogether, never graduate or get into college, and end up unemployed and living at home for the rest of his life. What type of fallacy has Jeff’s mom committed and why?
• Debbie: “I think capital punishment is a necessary component of our justice system and should remain legal.”
  Dylan: “So you are saying that murder should be legal and it is okay for us to go around killing people just because we think they deserve it? That isn’t right.”
  Of what fallacy is Dylan guilty and why?
• Louise is running for class president. In her campaign speech she says, “My opponent does not deserve to win. She is a smoker and she cheated on her boyfriend last year.” What fallacy has Louise committed and why?
• “They accuse us of making unjustified assertions. But they asserted a lot of things, too!” What fallacy is this and why?
• “More and more people are buying trucks.. Isn’t it time you bought one, too?” What fallacy is this and why?
• “So, when did you stop abusing your wife?” What fallacy is this and why?
• ‘If you don’t support the war, you hate America.’ What Logical Fallacy is this and why?
• “Just because ghosts have never been proven, that does not mean they aren’t real!” What Logical Fallacy is this and why?
• Pointing to a fancy chart, Roger shows how temperatures have been rising over the past few centuries, whilst at the same time the numbers of pirates have been decreasing; thus pirates cool the world and global warming is a hoax. What Logical Fallacy is this and why?
• Bananas and telephones are both shaped to fit our hands, so telephones must, like bananas, be edible. What Logical Fallacy is this and why?