A speaker asserts: 'No astronomical survey has definitively disproved that alien probes orbit Saturn; therefore, alien probes are orbiting Saturn.' Which fallacy is evident?

Answer and explanation

Correct answer: C. Appeal to ignorance claiming truth from lack of contradictory proof

  1. Step 1: The speaker treats the absence of definitive contradictory proof as positive confirmation of an extraordinary factual assertion. Arguing that a claim is true simply because it has not been proven false is an appeal to ignorance (argumentum ad ignorantiam). Answer: Appeal to ignorance claiming truth from lack of contradictory proof. Why not the others: "Hasty generalization sample" draws a broad universal conclusion from an inadequate statistical sample; "Fallacy of division error" wrongly assumes that what is true of a whole must be true of each part; "Post hoc causal flaw" confuses chronological sequence with direct causal relationship between events.

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