Fallacies Worksheet

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Identify the fallacy in each of the following statements and, in each case, explain why the statement is fallacious.

1. I don’t see any reason to wear a helmet when I ride a bike. Everyone bikes without a helmet.

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2. It’s ridiculous to worry about protecting America’s national parks against commercial development when
innocent people are being killed by terrorists.

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3. There can be no doubt that the Great Depression was caused by Herbert Hoover. He became president in
March 1929, and the stock market crashed just seven months later.

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4. Now that we allow the children of illegal immigrants to attend public schools, it’s only a matter of time
before those kids grow up and vote for candidates who will open our border completely. Eventually our
entire government will be run by illegal immigrants.

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5. Raising a child is just like having a pet—you need to feed it, play with it, and everything will be fine.

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6. I can’t support Representative Frey’s proposal for campaign finance reform. After all, he was kicked out
of law school for cheating on an exam.

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7. One citizen polled said, “I’m not at all worried about the government collecting our personal data. What
do I have to hide?” Another insisted, “I don’t see what all the fuss is about. If you’re worried about the
NSA reading your e-mail and seeing what Web sites you visit, then you’re probably doing something
wrong in the first place.” We can see, then, that most U.S. citizens are not opposed to government data-
collection programs.

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8. Our school must either increase tuition or cut back on library services for students.

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