CCTST Logical Fallacies 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: "After I started wearing my lucky socks, our team won five games in a row. My socks must cause wins." What fallacy is this?
- Straw man
- Post hoc ergo propter hoc (Correct answer)
- Hasty generalization
- False dilemma
Correct answer: Post hoc ergo propter hoc
Post hoc ergo propter hoc assumes that because B followed A, A caused B, without establishing an actual causal link.
Question 2: Comparing a government's economic policy to a household budget to argue that governments must avoid debt is an example of:
- False analogy (Correct answer)
- Equivocation
- Slippery slope
- Appeal to tradition
Correct answer: False analogy
False analogy draws a comparison between two things that are not sufficiently similar in the relevant respects.
Question 3: A CEO states: 'Either you support this merger or you don't care about the company's future.' Employees who oppose the merger for legitimate reasons are victims of which fallacy?
- Ad hominem
- False dilemma (Correct answer)
- Begging the question
- Bandwagon
Correct answer: False dilemma
False dilemma restricts options to two extremes, ignoring that opposition to the merger could coexist with caring about the company.
Question 4: "My doctor said vaccines are dangerous, so they must be." Which fallacy best describes over-reliance on this single source?
- Hasty generalization
- Appeal to authority (Correct answer)
- Genetic fallacy
- Tu quoque
Correct answer: Appeal to authority
Appeal to authority becomes fallacious when citing an authority outside their expertise area or using one authority against broad scientific consensus.
Question 5: Which of the following is NOT an informal logical fallacy?
- Ad hominem
- Affirming the consequent (Correct answer)
- Slippery slope
- Straw man
Correct answer: Affirming the consequent
Affirming the consequent is a formal (structural) fallacy, while ad hominem, slippery slope, and straw man are informal fallacies.
Question 6: A debater says: 'You claim we should reduce military spending, but you benefit from defense contracts, so your argument is invalid.' This is:
- Circumstantial ad hominem (Correct answer)
- Abusive ad hominem
- Tu quoque
- Genetic fallacy
Correct answer: Circumstantial ad hominem
Circumstantial ad hominem dismisses an argument by citing the arguer's personal circumstances or potential bias rather than the argument's logic.
Question 7: "If we ban assault rifles, next they'll ban all guns, then knives, then everything." This is an example of:
- False dilemma
- Slippery slope (Correct answer)
- Red herring
- Straw man
Correct answer: Slippery slope
Slippery slope claims one policy will inevitably lead to a chain of increasingly extreme consequences without evidence for each step.
CCTST Logical Fallacies 4
"After I started wearing my lucky socks, our team won five games in a row.
My socks must cause wins." What fallacy is this?