Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal Identifying Logical Fallacies Questions and Answers 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A manager argues: 'Since our best engineers work long hours, all employees who work long hours must be high performers.' Which fallacy is this?
- Affirming the consequent (Correct answer)
- Denying the antecedent
- Slippery slope
- Post hoc ergo propter hoc
Correct answer: Affirming the consequent
Affirming the consequent incorrectly concludes that because the outcome follows from a condition, the condition must be present whenever the outcome is observed.
Question 2: A coach says: 'If we allow players to skip one practice, they'll start skipping all practices, and the whole team will fall apart.' Which fallacy is illustrated?
- False dilemma
- Slippery slope (Correct answer)
- Straw man
- Hasty generalization
Correct answer: Slippery slope
The slippery slope fallacy assumes that one small step will inevitably lead to extreme consequences without adequate justification.
Question 3: The word 'critical' means both 'negative/fault-finding' and 'essential/important.' An argument that exploits this double meaning commits:
- Equivocation (Correct answer)
- Amphiboly
- Division fallacy
- Red herring
Correct answer: Equivocation
Equivocation uses a word with multiple meanings in different senses within the same argument to mislead.
Question 4: A researcher concludes: 'Countries with more TV sets have higher life expectancy, so watching more TV must extend life.' This is an example of:
- Hasty generalization
- False cause (cum hoc ergo propter hoc) (Correct answer)
- Appeal to ignorance
- Equivocation
Correct answer: False cause (cum hoc ergo propter hoc)
Cum hoc ergo propter hoc mistakes correlation for causation — both TV ownership and life expectancy correlate with wealth, not each other causally.
Question 5: An attorney argues: 'Since the jury could not prove my client committed the crime, he must be innocent.' In logical terms, this commits:
- False dilemma
- Straw man
- Appeal to ignorance (Correct answer)
- Begging the question
Correct answer: Appeal to ignorance
Appeal to ignorance treats the failure to disprove a claim as sufficient proof of its opposite.
Question 6: Argument: 'Since atoms are invisible, any table made of atoms must also be invisible.' This commits the:
- Composition fallacy
- Division fallacy (Correct answer)
- False dilemma
- Circular reasoning
Correct answer: Division fallacy
The division fallacy incorrectly assumes that properties of the whole (or its constituents at a micro level) apply to larger structures made from them.
Question 7: A speaker says: 'You must agree with my proposal to cut funding — unless you want children to starve.' This is best classified as:
- Appeal to pity (argumentum ad misericordiam)
- False dilemma
- Appeal to fear (scare tactics) (Correct answer)
- Bandwagon fallacy
Correct answer: Appeal to fear (scare tactics)
Appeal to fear (scare tactics) manipulates the audience by threatening dire consequences to coerce agreement rather than using evidence.
Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal Identifying Logical Fallacies Questions and Answers 5
A manager argues: 'Since our best engineers work long hours, all employees who work long hours must be high performers.' Which fallacy is this?