Writing Homework Help

True/False, 2 points each; 24 points total

We here at Harvard don’t accept vocational training and never will, so this candidate is not legitimate because his degrees and interests are about vocational training. This reasoning is based on common practice and probably an Appeal to Tradition,.

Availability error is a form of confirmation bias.

“Seeing that the eye and hand and foot and every one of our members has some obvious function, must we not believe that in like manner a human being has a function over and above these functions?” [Aristotle] This is an example of the fallacy of equivocation.

God wrote the Bible. Everything in the Bible is true and it says that God exists. Therefore God exists. This is an example of Appeal to Tradition.

Euphemisms are words used to convey a negative meaning.

An appeal to pity is one of the possible aspects of appeal to the person (ad hominem).

“Oh, President Trump is so hot, he makes me dizzy. I’ll for sure vote for him in 2024.” (All a friend can say is ain’t it a shame.) This is Appeal to Emotion.

The pipe I’m puffing on now is a really light piece of wood, so it follows that all the pipes, taken together, in my collection must be light. This is an example of the fallacy of division.

A gynecologist who appears on an ad supporting a particular brand of painkiller is a reliable expert.

I’m committing an appeal to authority if I say that our University President knows which brand of computer to use (hypothetically).

I saw a horrible accident on 10th St. the other day and resolve that I’ll never drive or ride my bike on that street again is an example of resisting contrary evidence.

Even though I have a doctorate in Philosophy, it doesn’t follow that I’m not also an expert in my favorite hobby, photography.

For each of the following claims, decide whether you agree or disagree with it. If you agree with it, then say so. Then indicate what evidence would persuade you to reject the statement. If you disagree with it, then say so. Then indicate what evidence would persuade you to accept the statement. In each case ask yourself if you would really change your mind if presented with the evidence suggested. The answers can include quite a variety of different points from Chapter 4 including reasons for belief and doubt, resisting contrary evidence, etc.

Same-sex marriage should be legally recognized in all fifty states.

There are aliens from another world (or even dimension) that are among us now, manipulating the levers of government and big business.

“Corporate welfare”—tax breaks and other special considerations for businesses—should be discontinued.

Definitions and Identifications Points variable 25 points total

The evidence of personal experience as described by Vaughn includes a heavy reliance on background information. What might be some of the problems with background information? One of the questions that came up is exactly what is background information? And when is it appropriate to question it? 15 points

What is an availability error? Availability error is part of another, larger, problem in our thinking as it pertains to our selection of evidence. What is that? Both of these ideas should have examples that illustrate your understanding of the definition’s ideas. 10 points

A few identifications of fallacies. 5 points each (with one exception noted) 50 pts. total

Identify and define the fallacy. Note that there are a couple of answers where you have to supply the example rather than having one provided to you.

Boomers were big on getting back to nature and living a materially simple life unfettered by corporate America. But look at them now, wearing their fancy suits and driving Porsches, sending their kids to private schools and living the good life. What a bunch of turn-coats!

Jim says abortion should be abolished. But why should we listen to him? He’s a leader of an anti-Planned Parenthood group that routinely demonstrates against abortion.

A study says that democracy is doing fine. But I’m not listening to it because the ‘study’ comes from the Rand Corporation, a known conservative “think tank.”

Bobby wants to let any and all into the marching band and his criteria for allowing them in is a true/false test! He shouldn’t be allowed to do that! We should have a rigorous test and its obvious he isn’t doing it.

Every player on the team is the best in the league. So the team itself is the best in the league.

Define Appeal to the Person (Vaughn gives 4 different versions, mention all of them) The key to the answer here is to provide your own original examples. Do not use examples from the book. 10 points

Give the definition of Red Herring and give me a good example of your own!

Either we invade Afghanistan or we let the Taliban and the terrorists they harbor have their way. Define the fallacy

Define Hasty Generalization. Many of the fallacies we have considered have this at their root. Can you identify two of them, at least one?

Fake News? 10 points

Would you “buy this” That is, would you accept this as a valid news article or as a fake?

WASHINGTON—A new report released Monday by the Pew Research Center Monday revealed that Americans were much more willing to trust the scientific knowledge of anyone holding a glass beaker up to the light. “It doesn’t matter if it’s a graduated cylinder or Erlenmeyer flask, if it contains a bright, colorful liquid and a person is lifting it up to peer at the illuminated substance, we found that over 90% of Americans were willing to trust their scientific authority,” said head researcher Frank Chavez, adding that the study found that 100% of Americans expressed confidence in the “science-looking person’s” expertise if the individual was dressed in a white lab coat and muttered “interesting, interesting” while gazing at the beaker. “These results show that Americans are overwhelmingly turning for direction to any Tom, Dick, or Harry who, after looking at the beaker, runs across the lab, looks into a microscope and audibly gasps. However, our data revealed a marked decrease in public trust if the beaker falls to the ground, explodes, and burns a hole through the floor.” The study also found that the vast majority of Americans believed that they would receive accurate information from a child in an oversized lab coat and goggles.