Consider the statement: 'The sign said 'Fine for parking here', so it must be fine and acceptable to park my car here.' What flaw is present?
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: B. equivocation
- Step 1: The statement exploits two distinct meanings of the word 'fine': a financial penalty versus an acceptable state of affairs. Using an ambiguous term in different senses within the same reasoning process is the fallacy of equivocation. Answer: equivocation. Why not the others: "post hoc causal misattribution" confuses chronological order of events with direct causal influence; "straw man distortion of facts" misrepresents an opponent's perspective to make it easier to refute; "false dilemma argument" artificially restricts options to two opposing extreme alternatives.
Practise more Logical Fallacies and Argument Evaluation.
Free questions with an explanation for every one, and full timed State Certificate of Language Proficiency (KPG) English mock tests.
More Logical Fallacies and Argument Evaluation questions
- An editorial argues: 'If the city bans cars in the historic center, all retail shops will close, tourists will flee, and the city will becom…
- A politician states: 'We should ignore Professor Vance's economic forecast because he has never run a profitable private business.' What fla…
- A corporate executive asserts: 'Either we adopt this artificial intelligence software immediately or our company will face bankruptcy within…
- Consider the claim: 'Crime rates dropped across the metropolis after the new mayor was inaugurated; therefore, the mayor's policies reduced…
- A critic remarks: 'Proponents of solar energy want us to abandon all modern machinery and return to living in dark caves.' What reasoning er…
- A columnist writes: 'Voluntary euthanasia is morally wrong because ending a human life intentionally is ethically impermissible.' What falla…