" I admit that there are people for whom even the existence of God is a big question. My answer is that I do not address them, but that I presuppose a minimum of reason in my readers." Identify the informal fallacy committed in the above statement.
Straw Man
Look at what the speaker actually does. Some people genuinely doubt the existence of God. Instead of engaging that real doubt, the speaker refuses to address such people and redefines his audience as only those who already grant "a minimum of reason", implying doubters are simply unreasonable.
This dodges the opponent's actual position and replaces it with a distorted, easier-to-dismiss caricature (that a doubter has no reason at all). Attacking a misrepresented, weakened version of the opponent rather than the real argument is the Straw Man fallacy.
Why not the others: Slippery slope claims one step leads to a chain of dire consequences, which is absent here. Begging the question assumes the conclusion within a premise; the speaker is not smuggling his conclusion into a premise, he is misrepresenting the opponent. Complex question packs a hidden assumption into a single question demanding one answer ("Have you stopped...?"), but no such loaded question is asked. Only the misrepresent-and-then-brush-aside move fits, so it is Straw Man.
Similar Questions
"Environmentalists are continually harping about the dangers of nuclear power. Unfortunately, electricity is dangerous no matter where it comes from. Every year hundreds of people are electrocuted by accident. Since most of these accidents are caused by carelessness they could be avoided if people would just exercise greater caution." Which fallacy is committed in the above argument?
Which informal fallacy is committed in the following argument - "Scientists have been trying for centuries to disprove the claims of astrology, and none of them has ever succeeded. Therefore, we must conclude that astrology's claims are true" ?
A fallacy in which an opponent's position is depicted as being more extreme or unreasonable than is justified by what was actually asserted is called
“In the hospital, some nurses don't wear white dress, some doctors have private practice and medicines prescribed are of high cost. Therefore, treatment in this hospital is of poor quality”. What fallacy does this argument make?
“If it rains, then the drought will end. The drought has ended. Therefore, it rained”. Which kind of fallacy does this commit?
“Mr X lives in a slum and is unemployed. Therefore, Mr X deserves to be a minister.” Which kind of fallacy is committed in this argument?
Which fallacy is exemplified in the following statements: "Of course gun ownership should not be prohibited. You can kill someone with hockey stick, but no one proposes to ban ownership of hockey sticks."?
Which informal fallacy is committed in the following statement-"How can you say animals have rights and should not be killed, when you eat meat?"
Which informal fallacy is committed in the following statement - "Of course you want to buy XYZ toothpaste. There must be a reason, why, 90 per cent of India brushes with XYZ toothpaste"
"If the plane takes off from the airstrip B then it is south bound. The plane did not take off from the airstrip B, therefore it is not southbound." Identify the formal fallacy in the above argument.
Important Questions from Formal and Informal Fallacies
Which logical fallacy is committed in the following statement - "I do not believe that serial killers ought to be allowed to live. They have forfeited their right to live because anyone who kills lots of people has lost that right".
Which of the following statements are logically equivalent?
A. Some physicists are outstanding professors.
B. Some physicists are not non-outstanding professors.
C. No outstanding professors are physicists.
D. Some non-outstanding professors are not non-physicists.
Choose the correct answer from the options given below:
According to classical Indian School of Logic (Nyāya) which fallacy is committed in the following statement - "The hill has fire because it is knowable"?
"Environmentalists are continually harping about the dangers of nuclear power. Unfortunately, electricity is dangerous no matter where it comes from. Every year hundreds of people are electrocuted by accident. Since most of these accidents are caused by carelessness they could be avoided if people would just exercise greater caution." Which fallacy is committed in the above argument?
Which informal fallacy is committed in the following argument - "Scientists have been trying for centuries to disprove the claims of astrology, and none of them has ever succeeded. Therefore, we must conclude that astrology's claims are true" ?
