|
|
Exercise 6: Middle Ground Fallacies |
| Identify the fallacy that occurs in each passage. These will all be Middle Ground fallacies: Accident, Secundum Quid, Black & White Thinking, False Compromise, Slippery Slope, and Phantom Distinction. |
||
|
|
||
| 1. No one seriously believes that all funding for social programs should be cut. Clearly we should return social spending to previous levels. | ||
|
|
||
| 2. I'm not fat; I'm portly. | ||
|
|
||
| 3. Oskar Schindler used bribes to protect his Jewish workers during the Holocaust, and he is considered a hero. There is nothing wrong with bribing public officials to get them to do what you want. | ||
|
||
| 4. If we allow local grocery stores to sell the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue, they will soon become purveyors of all sorts of pornography. | ||
|
|
||
| 5. You're wrong to say that I don't vote because I am apathetic. I don't vote because I just don't care about politics that much. | ||
|
|
||
| 6. I'm sorry you didn't actually receive the item you purchased; but, I can't refund your money. Our company has a strict policy against offering refunds unless you can show the item was defective. | ||
|
||
| 7. The newspaper said three people were killed in the fire, but the television news reported nine. So, I think the actual number was probably about five. | ||
|
|
||
| 8. Passing the SCHIP (State Children's Health Insurance Program) bill will be the first step toward socialized medicine! Vote against the bill. | ||
|
|
||
Go to: WELCOME EXPLANATION of PRINCIPLES TABLE of FALLACIES EXERCISES INDEX