Logical Fallacies Quiz UPDATED Questions
and CORRECT Answers
Appeal to Force (the "Might-Makes-Right" Fallacy) - CORRECT ANSWER - Logically,
this consideration has nothing to do with the merits of the points under consideration. Example:
"Superintendent, it would be a good idea for your school to cut the budget by $16,000. I need not
remind you that past school boards have fired superintendents who cannot keep down costs."
While intimidation might force the superintendent to conform, it does not convince him that the
choice to cut the budget was the most beneficial for the school or community. Lobbyists use this
method when they remind legislators that they represent so many thousand votes in the
legislators' constituencies.
Ad Hominem Fallacy - CORRECT ANSWER - Attacking or praising the people who
make an argument rather than discussing the argument itself. This practice is fallacious because
the personal character of an individual is logically irrelevant to the truth or falseness of the
argument itself. The statement "2+2=4" is true regardless if is stated by a criminal, congressmen,
or a pastor.
Bandwagon Approach - CORRECT ANSWER - "Everybody is doing it." This
argumentum ad populum asserts that, since the majority of people believes an argument or
chooses a particular course of action, the argument must be true or the course of action must be
the best one. For instance, "85% of consumers purchase IBM computers rather than Macintosh;
all those people can't be wrong. IBM must make the best computers." Popular acceptance of any
argument does not prove it to be valid, nor does popular use of any product necessarily prove it is
the best one. After all, 85% of people possibly once thought planet earth was flat, but that
majority's belief didn't mean the earth really was flat! Keep this in mind, and remember that all
should avoid this logical fallacy. "Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it's
time to pause and reflect." --Mark Twain.
Appeal to Tradition - CORRECT ANSWER - This line of thought asserts that a premise
must be true because people have always believed it or done it. "Of course our constitution is
infallible; it's over two hundred years old." Might an alternative policy work even better than the
old one? Are there drawbacks to that long-standing policy? Are circumstances changing from the
way they were thirty years ago?
, Appeal to Improper Authority - CORRECT ANSWER - his fallacy attempts to capitalize
upon feelings of respect or familiarity with a famous individual. It is not fallacious to refer to an
admitted authority if the individual's expertise is within a strict field of knowledge. On the other
hand, to cite Einstein to settle an argument about education is fallaciousThe worst offenders
usually involve movie stars and psychic hot-lines.
Appeal to Biased Authority - CORRECT ANSWER - "To determine whether fraternities
are beneficial to this campus, we interviewed all the frat presidents." Indeed, it is important to get
"both viewpoints" on an argument, but basing a substantial part of your argument on a source
that has personal, professional, or financial interests at stake may lead to biased arguments.
Begging the Question - CORRECT ANSWER - The fallacy is committed when a
proposition which should require proof is assumed without proof," or when an assumption
(rather than a fact) is used, "in some form of the proposition to be proved, as a premise from
which to deduce it." The most common form of this fallacy is when the claim is initially loaded
with the same conclusion one has yet to prove. For instance, suppose a debater states, "Useless
courses like Art 101 should be dropped from the curriculum." The debater then immediately
moves on, illustrating that spending money on a useless course is something nobody wants. The
fact that the course is useless is assumed without proof. Example #2: "Ordnance Survey, bless it,
is worried that the growing use of satellite navigation systems means that we're losing our map-
reading skills. Who said our map-reading skills were any good in the first place?" (Charles
Arthur, "Technophile." The Guardian, Dec. 13, 2007)
Circular Reasoning - CORRECT ANSWER - Often the authors word the two statements
sufficiently differently to obscure the fact that that the same proposition occurs as both a premise
and a conclusion. For example: A confused student argues: "You can't give me a C. I'm an A
student!" Another Example: "God exists. We know this because the Bible says so. And we know
the Bible is correct because the Bible was written by God." "If such actions were not illegal, then
they would not be prohibited by the law."
Hasty Generalization - CORRECT ANSWER - Mistaken use of inductive reasoning when
there are too few samples to prove a point. In understanding and characterizing general cases, a
logician cannot normally examine every single example. However, the examples used in
inductive reasoning should be typical of the problem or situation at hand. If a logician considers
only exceptional or dramatic cases and generalizes a rule that fits these alone, the author commits
the fallacy. Example #1: "Even though it's only the first day, I can tell this is going to be a boring
course." Example #2: "Steve, the Australian, has a poor sense of humor. Clearly, Australians lack
wit and humor."
and CORRECT Answers
Appeal to Force (the "Might-Makes-Right" Fallacy) - CORRECT ANSWER - Logically,
this consideration has nothing to do with the merits of the points under consideration. Example:
"Superintendent, it would be a good idea for your school to cut the budget by $16,000. I need not
remind you that past school boards have fired superintendents who cannot keep down costs."
While intimidation might force the superintendent to conform, it does not convince him that the
choice to cut the budget was the most beneficial for the school or community. Lobbyists use this
method when they remind legislators that they represent so many thousand votes in the
legislators' constituencies.
Ad Hominem Fallacy - CORRECT ANSWER - Attacking or praising the people who
make an argument rather than discussing the argument itself. This practice is fallacious because
the personal character of an individual is logically irrelevant to the truth or falseness of the
argument itself. The statement "2+2=4" is true regardless if is stated by a criminal, congressmen,
or a pastor.
Bandwagon Approach - CORRECT ANSWER - "Everybody is doing it." This
argumentum ad populum asserts that, since the majority of people believes an argument or
chooses a particular course of action, the argument must be true or the course of action must be
the best one. For instance, "85% of consumers purchase IBM computers rather than Macintosh;
all those people can't be wrong. IBM must make the best computers." Popular acceptance of any
argument does not prove it to be valid, nor does popular use of any product necessarily prove it is
the best one. After all, 85% of people possibly once thought planet earth was flat, but that
majority's belief didn't mean the earth really was flat! Keep this in mind, and remember that all
should avoid this logical fallacy. "Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it's
time to pause and reflect." --Mark Twain.
Appeal to Tradition - CORRECT ANSWER - This line of thought asserts that a premise
must be true because people have always believed it or done it. "Of course our constitution is
infallible; it's over two hundred years old." Might an alternative policy work even better than the
old one? Are there drawbacks to that long-standing policy? Are circumstances changing from the
way they were thirty years ago?
, Appeal to Improper Authority - CORRECT ANSWER - his fallacy attempts to capitalize
upon feelings of respect or familiarity with a famous individual. It is not fallacious to refer to an
admitted authority if the individual's expertise is within a strict field of knowledge. On the other
hand, to cite Einstein to settle an argument about education is fallaciousThe worst offenders
usually involve movie stars and psychic hot-lines.
Appeal to Biased Authority - CORRECT ANSWER - "To determine whether fraternities
are beneficial to this campus, we interviewed all the frat presidents." Indeed, it is important to get
"both viewpoints" on an argument, but basing a substantial part of your argument on a source
that has personal, professional, or financial interests at stake may lead to biased arguments.
Begging the Question - CORRECT ANSWER - The fallacy is committed when a
proposition which should require proof is assumed without proof," or when an assumption
(rather than a fact) is used, "in some form of the proposition to be proved, as a premise from
which to deduce it." The most common form of this fallacy is when the claim is initially loaded
with the same conclusion one has yet to prove. For instance, suppose a debater states, "Useless
courses like Art 101 should be dropped from the curriculum." The debater then immediately
moves on, illustrating that spending money on a useless course is something nobody wants. The
fact that the course is useless is assumed without proof. Example #2: "Ordnance Survey, bless it,
is worried that the growing use of satellite navigation systems means that we're losing our map-
reading skills. Who said our map-reading skills were any good in the first place?" (Charles
Arthur, "Technophile." The Guardian, Dec. 13, 2007)
Circular Reasoning - CORRECT ANSWER - Often the authors word the two statements
sufficiently differently to obscure the fact that that the same proposition occurs as both a premise
and a conclusion. For example: A confused student argues: "You can't give me a C. I'm an A
student!" Another Example: "God exists. We know this because the Bible says so. And we know
the Bible is correct because the Bible was written by God." "If such actions were not illegal, then
they would not be prohibited by the law."
Hasty Generalization - CORRECT ANSWER - Mistaken use of inductive reasoning when
there are too few samples to prove a point. In understanding and characterizing general cases, a
logician cannot normally examine every single example. However, the examples used in
inductive reasoning should be typical of the problem or situation at hand. If a logician considers
only exceptional or dramatic cases and generalizes a rule that fits these alone, the author commits
the fallacy. Example #1: "Even though it's only the first day, I can tell this is going to be a boring
course." Example #2: "Steve, the Australian, has a poor sense of humor. Clearly, Australians lack
wit and humor."
