Chapter 5 Study Questions

What is a fallacy? Provide an example that illustrates how the cost of committing a fallacy can sometimes be very high.
According to the text, what are the two broad categories of fallacies?
What is the genetic fallacy? Is the origin of a claim ever relevant to the truth of a claim?
What is the fallacy of composition? What is the fallacy of division? What is the difference between these two fallacies?
What is appeal to the person? Why is it usually regarded as a special case of the genetic fallacy? What are the two forms that this fallacy can take? How does the ad hominem tactic known as “poisoning the well” illustrate this association?
What is the fallacy of tu quoque? Use an example to illustrate.
What is the fallacy of poisoning the well? Use an example to illustrate.
What is the fallacy of equivocation? Use an example to illustrate.
What is appeal to popularity? How does it differ from appeal to common practice? Use an example to illustrate.
What is appeal to tradition? Use an example to illustrate.
What is appeal to ignorance? What are the two types of appeal to ignorance?
What is the burden of proof? On which side of a disagreement does the burden of proof usually rest?
What is appeal to emotion? What is rhetoric? Is there anything inherently wrong with using rhetoric to persuade someone? When is the use of rhetoric fallacious?
What is the red herring fallacy? Use an example to illustrate.
What is the straw man fallacy? Use an example to illustrate.
What is the fallacy of begging the question? What is the easiest way for someone to subtly beg the question?
What is the false dilemma fallacy? Use an example to illustrate.
What is the slippery slope fallacy? When is an argument that looks like a slippery slope fallacy not fallacious at all?
What is the fallacy of hasty generalization? Use an example to illustrate.
What is the fallacy of faulty analogy? Use an example to illustrate.