A critic remarks: 'This architectural firm designed an award-winning hospital; therefore, every draftsman at the firm must be an award-winning architect.' What fallacy is committed?
Answer and explanation
Correct answer: C. fallacy of division
- Step 1: The critic takes an achievement won by the organization as a whole and fallaciously attributes that accolade to each individual employee. Inferring that what is true of a collective entity must apply to each of its constituent members is the fallacy of division. Answer: fallacy of division. Why not the others: "fallacy of composition error" is the reverse error, inferring that what is true of parts must apply to the whole; "begging the question" assumes the truth of the claim inside the premise without proof; "straw man distortion" misrepresents an opposing argument to make it easier to refute.
Practise more Informal Fallacies and Reasoning Flaws.
Free questions with an explanation for every one, and full timed State Certificate of Language Proficiency (KPG) English mock tests.
More Informal Fallacies and Reasoning Flaws questions
- A spokesperson remarks: 'Our competitor claims their electric vehicle is safer, but their CEO was once investigated for insider trading.' Wh…
- An editorial asserts: 'If we lower the legal voting age to sixteen, next children will be allowed to drive trucks, and soon toddlers will ru…
- A politician asserts: 'Either you support our emergency national surveillance bill or you are siding with violent criminals.' What fallacy i…
- A doctor notes: 'The patient drank herbal tea every morning and recovered from pneumonia; therefore, the herbal tea cured the pneumonia.' Wh…
- A critic argues: 'Those who favor public transit subsidies want to completely ban private automobiles and confiscate all personal cars.' Wha…
- A philosopher argues: 'Capital punishment is completely justified because the state has the moral authority to execute murderers.' What fall…