Term
| bortion is murder. Why? Well, isn’t killing a human being murder? |
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Definition
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Term
| Abortion isn’t murder. Why? Well, it isn’t killing a human being is it? |
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Definition
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Term
| God exists. I know, because the Bible says so, and the Bible is the word of God. |
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Definition
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Term
| The President never lies. After all, everything he says is true. |
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Term
Look, it’s sometimes necessary to take immediate military action against a known
terrorist organization overseas. When you have reliable information about a group planning
an attack, you have to act on it. |
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Definition
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Term
That’s ridiculous! How can you support bombing innocent women and children! How can
you support bombing schools and orphanages? Your position is simply immoral. |
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Term
| I’m in favor of sending more troops to Iraq. |
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Term
Either we send more troops to Iraq OR we’re all going to have to convert to Islam. Take your
pick. |
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Term
Choose a side. You can fight the legality of abortion OR you can support the murder of
innocent babies. |
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Term
Is the Senator guilty of sexual harassment, as his opponents are yelping? Hey, give me a
break! What’s important is jobs, health care, welfare reform. |
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Definition
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Term
Why are we making budget cuts on education? You know, that’s a really good question. But
let me ask you a question. When was the last time you heard someone ask about the recent
cuts on agricultural subsidies? Doesn’t anyone care about the American farmer? Frankly, it
depresses me that some people don’t seem to care about families living in heartland of this
great country. Moving on… |
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Definition
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Term
No, I don’t believe in banning the sale of assault rifles. First, it will be assault rifles, then
handguns, then hunting rifles, then forks and knives... Do you want to live in a country
where you’re forced to eat with your hands? It’s not a good policy. |
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Definition
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Term
Some people want to legalize gay marriage. The next you know, they’ll legalize incest and
murder. I tell you, if they legalize gay marriage, then society as we know it will entirely cease
to exist. |
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Definition
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Term
Saddam Hussein is the Hitler of our time. The British didn’t take pre-emptive action against
Nazi Germany, and failed to avert a world war that killed millions of people. If we don’t go to
war against Iraq, we face the danger of a third world war. |
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Definition
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Term
If you want to ban the sale of assault rifles, then you should ban automobiles and airplanes,
too. After all, in this country, automobiles and airplanes kill many more people than are killed
by assault rifles. |
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Term
I prefer to think that Creationism is true. Life would be too depressing if Darwin were
right. |
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Term
Hey, if they reported what you heard on CNN, then you know that it’s got to be a lie. You
don’t even need to tell me what the supposed ‘evidence’ is. |
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Definition
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Term
The Founding Fathers came up with the constitution in the late 18th century. It’s more than
200 years old! I say: Modern Times demand modern legislation. America needs new laws. |
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Definition
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Term
There is no evidence that life exists on another planet somewhere in the universe. So life
only exists on Earth. |
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Definition
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Term
There is no evidence that life does not exist on another planet somewhere in the universe.
So life does not only exist on Earth. |
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Definition
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Term
There’s nothing wrong with driving a recreational SUV. Millions of Americans drive SUVs. In
fact, it’s downright un-American to drive a small car. |
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Definition
| Common Practice and/or Tradition |
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Term
If child abuse were morally acceptable, would people all over the world have a problem with
it? |
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Definition
| Common Practice and/or Tradition |
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Term
Women shouldn’t have the same legal rights as men. For thousands of years, women have
occupied a subordinate place in society. |
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Definition
| Common Practice and/or Tradition |
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Term
The “authority” cited is not an expert on the issue, that is, the person who supplies the
opinion is not an expert at all, or is one, but in an unrelated area. |
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Definition
| Appeal to Questionable Authority |
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Term
The authority is an expert, but is not disinterested. I.e., the expert is biased towards one
side of the issue, and her opinion is therefore untrustworthy. |
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Definition
| Appeal to Questionable Authority |
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Term
While the authority is an expert, her opinion is not representative of expert opinion on the
subject. |
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Definition
| Appeal to Questionable Authority |
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Term
Of course, Saddam had weapons of mass destruction. I’m not going to budge on my position
until you show me evidence that he didn’t. |
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Definition
| Misplaced Burden of Proof |
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Term
The defense would have you to believe, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, that Barbie
Badabing didn’t murder her husband. But has the defense proved this contention beyond a
shadow of doubt? No, the defense has not. You should therefore convict the plaintiff for murder in the first degree. |
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Definition
| Misplaced Burden of Proof |
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Term
| I think we should invade Canada. Why? Well, why not? |
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Definition
| Misplaced Burden of Proof |
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Term
Charging that welfare causes child poverty, Senator Blackwater cited a study showing that
the highest increases in the rate of child poverty in recent years have occurred in those
states, which pay the highest welfare benefits. |
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Definition
| Confusion of Causation with Correlation |
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Term
I’ve noticed that there’s a connection between a child's shoe size and the quality of her
handwriting. Having big feet, I would suggest, makes it easier to write. |
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Definition
| Confusion of Causation with Correlation |
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Term
People have been drinking water for millions of years – and dying! You should stop drinking
water if you care about your health. |
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Definition
| Confusion of Causation with Correlation |
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Term
The Senator hasn’t done anything wrong. Everyone in Washington accepts illegal gifts. He’s
not the only one! |
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Definition
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Term
Why are you angry at me for wrecking the car, Dad? Didn’t you wreck your father’s car when
you were 18? |
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Definition
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Term
OK, so we used excessive force when we bombed civilian neighborhoods in Enemistan. But
didn’t the Enemistanis also use excessive force when they sank a convoy of ships carrying
humanitarian cargo to Friendlistan? |
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Definition
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Term
The argument that giving the poor a tax break will solve all their problems is bad. It won’t
eliminate crime and it won’t create new jobs. So the tax cut the Senator is proposing should
be blocked. |
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Definition
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Term
Professor Dawkins’s argument that God does not exist on page 212 of his book is pretty
weak. So God exists. |
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Definition
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Term
There’s no way that legalizing hard drugs is going make drug-related murder go away
entirely. Even in Holland, where pretty much every drug is legal, they have a couple of
murders a year. I’m against it. |
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Definition
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Term
I’m not in favor of raising spending on education. Even if we spend twice as much as we
do now, there’s no guarantee that all current problems will be solved. |
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Definition
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Term
What’s wrong with calling Senator Clinton a “girl”? She was a girl when she 12, and she
was a girl when she was 13, and she was a girl when she was 14, etc. Just when exactly
did she stop being a girl? |
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Definition
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Term
The theory of evolution by natural selection doesn’t make sense. I mean, at what point
exactly did monkeys evolve into human beings? Was it 1,500,000 years ago? Or
1,499,999 years ago? Or 1,499,998 years ago? You have to be able to draw the line somewhere, right? |
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Definition
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Term
As an American, I believe that women have the same rights as men, but if in certain
Islamic societies women are denied the right to vote, then who am I judge? I don’t want
to impose my Western values on a non-Western culture. |
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Definition
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Term
I don’t believe in an all-powerful, all-knowing God, personally. But that doesn’t necessarily
mean that people who do are wrong. It may be true for them. |
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Definition
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Term
The fellow who wrote that report on global warming was convicted of shoplifting in
1982, and admits that he doesn’t go to Church anymore. I wouldn’t believe the
conclusion of his report no matter what it was. |
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Definition
| Ad Hominem (Personal attack) |
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Term
Sean Hannity has been very critical of the President’s Afghanistan policy. He says that it
will escalate the violence. But what do you expect? He’s a Republican. |
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Definition
| Ad Hominem (Personal attack) |
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Term
You’re always telling me to donate money to good causes. But why should I? You make
three times as much as I do, but only contributed $20 last year to the Thanksgiving food
drive. |
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Definition
| Ad Hominem (Inconsistency) |
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Term
The scientist who performed the study says that the average temperature on Earth this
year is the hottest on record. But 10 years ago she wrote an article in which she denied
that global warming is occurring. She’s a flip-flopper. You can’t trust a word she says. |
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Definition
| Ad Hominem (Inconsistency) |
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Term
No one who has the slightest acquaintance with science can reasonably doubt that the
miracles in the Bible actually took place. Every year we witness new miracles of
modern science such as television, jet planes, antibiotics, and heart transplant
operations. |
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Definition
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Term
Every true American believes in democracy. So if you are a true American, you should
always vote for the Democratic candidate. |
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Definition
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Term
All the voters with whom I spoke in Boston said they were voting for the Democratic
candidate. So the Democratic candidate is sure to win the national election. |
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Definition
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Term
None of my students at OU engage in plagiarism. So no OU students engage in
plagiarism. |
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Definition
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Term
| Did you enjoy spoiling the dinner for everyone else? |
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Definition
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Term
The defendant says that she is innocent. But, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, isn’t that
exactly what you’d expect a compulsive liar to say? |
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Definition
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Term
Version A: Senator Blackwater has an alcohol problem.
Version B: Senator Blackwater is a drunk. |
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Definition
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Term
Version A: During last night’s rally, the occupying army shot dead 5 members of the
resistance.
Version B: During last night’s disturbance, the peacekeeping force killed 5 terrorists. |
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Definition
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Term
Human existence in the universe would be extremely improbable unless a God who
deliberately created us existed. So the hypothesis that such a God exists is probable. |
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Definition
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Term
Jill’s winning the state lottery would be extremely improbable unless the lottery was
rigged in her favor. So the hypothesis that the state lottery was rigged in her favor is
probable. |
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Definition
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