An editorial asserts: 'If we lower the legal voting age to sixteen, next children will be allowed to drive trucks, and soon toddlers will run the government.' Which fallacy is evident?
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: A. slippery slope
- Step 1: The author argues that lowering the voting age will inevitably trigger an absurd, catastrophic cascade of subsequent policy changes. Because no necessary causal link connects the initial change to toddlers running the state, this is a slippery slope fallacy. Answer: slippery slope. Why not the others: "circular reasoning tautology" assumes the conclusion within the premise itself without offering proof; "false dilemma dichotomy" forces an artificial either-or choice between two extreme alternatives; "appeal to tradition" argues that a practice is right simply because it has historically been done that way.
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