It is necessary to confine criminals and to lock up
dangerous lunatics. Therefore there is nothing wrong with depriving people of their
liberties.
How much longer are you going to waste your time in school when you might be
doing a man's work in the world, and contributing to society? If you had any sense of
social responsibility, you would leave immediately.
The army is notoriously inefficient, so
we cannot expect Major Smith to do an efficient job.
God exists because the Bible tells us
so, and we know that what the Bible tells us must be true because it is the revealed word
of God.
If you have to eat the same food all the time, you get bored. And if you
have to listen to the same music all the time, you get bored. It's the same with sex.
If you have to sleep with the same person all the time, you get bored. Well,
nobody says you can't eat different food or listen to different music. In the
same way, no one should say you can't have a different sex partner. Variety is the
spice of life, after all.
Congress shouldn't bother to consult the Joint Chiefs-of-Staff about the military
appropriations. As members of the armed forces, they will naturally want as much money for
military purposes as they think they can get.
Mr. Brown: I will give no more money to your cause
next year.
Solicitor: That's all right, sir, we'll just put you
down for the same amount that you gave this year.
Narcotics are habit-forming. Therefore
if you allow your physician to ease your pain with an opiate, you will become a hopeless
drug addict.
You can't prove that he was to blame for the misfortune, so it must actually
have been someone else who was responsible.
Cooks have been preparing food for
generations, so our cook must be a real expert.
More young people are attending high
schools and colleges than ever before in the history of our nation. But there is more
juvenile delinquency than ever before. This makes it clear that to eliminate delinquency
among the youth we must abolish the schools.
You say we ought to discuss our new car purchase. Which should we get, a
Ford or a Chevy?
Our nation is a democracy and dedicated to the
proposition that all men are created equal. We believe in equality of opportunity for
everyone, so our colleges and universities should admit every applicant, regardless of his
economic or educational background.
We should reject Mr. Watkins' suggestions for
increasing the efficiency of our colleges. As a manufacturer he cannot be expected to
realize that our aim is to educate the youth, not to make a profit. His recommendations
can have no value for us.
The Bible says a good Christian should love his neighbor. Mr. Jones loves his neighbor
Mrs. Smith. In fact, whenever Mrs. Jones is away, he goes over to Mrs. Smith's house
and spends the night. So Mr. Jones is a good Christian.
If we want to know whether a state is brave we must look
at its army, not because the soldiers are the only brave people in the community, but
because it is only through their conduct that the courage or cowardice of the community
can be manifested.
-- R. L. Nettleship, Lectures on the Republic of Plato
My client is the sole support of his aged parents. If
he is sent to prison, it will break their hearts, and they will be left homeless and
penniless. You surely cannot find it in your hearts to reach any other verdict than
"not guilty."
There is no proof that the secretary "leaked" the news to
the papers, so she can't have done it.
Was it through stupidity or through deliberate
dishonesty that the Administration has hopelessly botched its foreign policy? In either
case, unless you are in favor of stupidity or dishonesty, you should vote against the
incumbents.
Since all men are mortal, the human race must some day come to an end.
Criminals are like a cancer in the body of the state. And how do we
deal with cancer? We kill it. Therefore, we shouldn't have any moral qualms killing criminals.
Other answers may be possible, but you must justify them.
It is necessary to confine criminals and to lock up
dangerous lunatics. Therefore there is nothing wrong with depriving people of their
liberties.
Converse Accident, or Hasty Generalization. The premise is obviously true,
and it's the well-understood exception to the principle that people should
have maximum individual liberty. The arguer takes the exceptional case and
generalizes (hastily) from that.
How much longer are you going to waste your time in school when you might be
doing a man's work in the world, and contributing to society? If you had any sense of
social responsibility, you would leave immediately.
Complex question. The question assumes school is waste of time. If one answers the
"how much longer" part,
one acknowledges the "waste of time" part.
The army is notoriously inefficient, so
we cannot expect Major Smith to do an efficient job.
Division. What's true of the Army isn't necessarily true of every member of the
Army.
God exists because the Bible tells us
so, and we know that what the Bible tells us must be true because it is the revealed word
of God.
Circular Argument. God would have to exist in the first place if he revealed
himself in the Bible, so the argument assumes its own conclusion.
If you have to eat the same food all the time, you get bored. And if you
have to listen to the same music all the time, you get bored. It's the same with sex.
If you have to sleep with the same person all the time, you get bored. Well,
nobody says you can't eat different food or listen to different music. In the
same way, no one should say you can't have a different sex partner. Variety is the
spice of life, after all.
Dubious analogy. Maybe also fallacy of accident ("variety is the spice of life")? Or is this
exactly what that maxim is supposed to apply to?
Congress shouldn't bother to consult the Joint Chiefs-of-Staff about the military
appropriations. As members of the armed forces, they will naturally want as much money for
military purposes as they think they can get.
Ad hominem circumstantial
Mr. Brown: I will give no more money to your cause
next year.
Solicitor: That's all right, sir, we'll just put you
down for the same amount that you gave this year.
Mr. Brown's statement is an amphiboly.
Narcotics are habit-forming. Therefore
if you allow your physician to ease your pain with an opiate, you will become a hopeless
drug addict.
Accident. The maxim "Narcotics are habit-forming" has well-understood exceptions:
e.g., when prescribed and monitored by a doctor.
Also maybe slippery slope. Hopeless addiction (the worst-case
scenario) is not an inevitable consequence.
You can't prove that he was to blame for the misfortune, so it must actually
have been someone else who was responsible.
Appeal to ignorance
Cooks have been preparing food for
generations, so our cook must be a real expert.
Division
More young people are attending high
schools and colleges than ever before in the history of our nation. But there is more
juvenile delinquency than ever before. This makes it clear that to eliminate delinquency
among the youth we must abolish the schools.
Correlation fallacy
You say we ought to discuss our new car purchase. Which should we get, a
Ford or a Chevy?
False dilemma. Arguer offers only two choices, when clearly there are other options.
Our nation is a democracy and dedicated to the
proposition that all men are created equal. We believe in equality of opportunity for
everyone, so our colleges and universities should admit every applicant, regardless of his
economic or educational background.
Accident. Arguer applies the principle of equality of opportunity to a case it
never was intended to apply to.
We should reject Mr. Watkins' suggestions for
increasing the efficiency of our colleges. As a manufacturer he cannot be expected to
realize that our aim is to educate the youth, not to make a profit. His recommendations
can have no value for us.
Ad hominem circumstantial
The Bible says a good Christian should love his neighbor. Mr. Jones loves his neighbor
Mrs. Smith. In fact, whenever Mrs. Jones is away, he goes over to Mrs. Smith's house
and spends the night. So Mr. Jones is a good Christian.
Accident. Also equivocation on "love your neighbor."
If we want to know whether a state is brave we must look
at its army, not because the soldiers are the only brave people in the community, but
because it is only through their conduct that the courage or cowardice of the community
can be manifested.
-- R. L. Nettleship, Lectures on the Republic of Plato
Composition. Arguer assumes that what's true of the part (the army) is true of
the community as a whole.
My client is the sole support of his aged parents. If
he is sent to prison, it will break their hearts, and they will be left homeless and
penniless. You surely cannot find it in your hearts to reach any other verdict than
"not guilty."
Appeal to pity
There is no proof that the secretary "leaked" the news to
the papers, so she can't have done it.
Appeal to ignorance
Was it through stupidity or through deliberate
dishonesty that the Administration has hopelessly botched its foreign policy? In either
case, unless you are in favor of stupidity or dishonesty, you should vote against the
incumbents.
False dilemma
Since all men are mortal, the human race must some day come to an end.
Composition. What's true of all individual people isn't necessarily true of humanity
as a whole. We simply don't know whether humanity will go on.
Criminals are like a cancer in the body of the state. And how do we
deal with cancer? We kill it. Therefore, we shouldn't have any moral qualms killing criminals.