Below are four short flawed arguments alongside four abstract descriptions of reasoning vulnerabilities. Which pairings correctly match each argument with the primary logical flaw it demonstrates?
- Every painting in the curator's private collection is lightweight. Therefore, the curator's entire collection taken together must be lightweight.Infers that a whole entity possesses a property merely because each of its individual parts possesses that property.
- Dr. Vance argues that using mechanical keyboards causes wrist fatigue. However, Dr. Vance was recently dismissed for professional misconduct, so his argument must be false.Rejects a substantive argument solely by attacking the character or background of the person advancing it.
- Whenever rainfall increases in the valley, local grain harvest figures rise. Therefore, higher rainfall must have directly caused this season's record grain harvest.Concludes that a causal connection exists between two events solely because they regularly occur alongside each other.
- If an applicant is fluent in three languages, admission to the translation academy is guaranteed. Because Marcus was admitted to the academy, he must be fluent in three languages.Treats a condition that is sufficient to guarantee an outcome as though it were a necessary requirement for that outcome.
Answer
Each argument matches its corresponding abstract fallacy: the painting collection argument matches the part-to-whole composition error; the keyboard fatigue argument matches the source attack (ad hominem); the grain harvest argument matches the correlation-causation error; and the translation academy argument matches the confusion of sufficient and necessary conditions.
Each flawed argument exhibits a distinct, textbook logical fallacy: transferring a property of individual parts to the entire collective (part-to-whole), dismissing an argument due to personal misconduct rather than logical merit (ad hominem), asserting causation based merely on co-occurrence (correlation to causation), and inferring the presence of a sufficient condition from the occurrence of the outcome (conditional reversal).
Step-by-Step Solution
Key Concept
Identifying Common Flaws in Reasoning