ReasoningIdentify the error in reasoning used in each of the following statements. In the last three, identify the kind of reasoning. (Assuming that each is further developed, the last three statements use sound reasoning.) i

1.I don’t see any reason to wear a helmet when I ride a bike. Everyone bikes without a helmet.

2.It’s ridiculous to worry about protecting America’s national parks against pollution and overuse when innocent people are being killed by domestic terrorists.

3.There can be no doubt that the Great Depression was caused by Herbert Hoover. He became President in March 1929, and the stock market crashed just seven months later.

4.If I am old enough to die for my country, I am old enough to drink.

5.If we allow the school board to spend money remodeling the gymnasium, next they will want to build a new school and give all the teachers a huge raise. Taxes will soar so high that businesses will leave and then there will be no jobs for anyone in this town.

6.Raising a child is just like having a pet—you need to feed it, play with it, and everything will be fine.

7.I can’t support Representative Frey’s proposal for campaign finance reform. After all, he was kicked out of law school for cheating on an exam.

8.One nonsmoker, interviewed at a restaurant, said, “I can eat dinner just fine even though people around me are smoking.” Another, responding to a Los Angeles Timessurvey, said, “I don’t see what all the fuss is about. My wife has smoked for years and it has never bothered me.” We can see, then, that secondhand smoke does not cause a problem for most nonsmokers.

 

9.Our school must either increase tuition or cut back on library services for students.

10.According to a study by the American Medical Association, men with bald spots have three times the risk of heart attack as men with a full head of hair. Strange as it may seem, it looks as if baldness is a cause of heart attacks.

11.Contrary to what the chemical industry argues, limiting pesticide use does not threaten the food supply. Sweden has cut back on pesticides by 50 percent over the last few years with almost no decrease in its harvest. The Campbell Soup Company uses no pesticides at all on tomatoes grown in Mexico, and they reap as much fruit as ever. Many California farmers who practice pesticide-free agriculture have actually experienced increases in their crop yields.

12.The United States Constitution guarantees all citizens the right to bear arms. Gun control legislation infringes on the right of citizens to bear arms. Therefore, gun control legislation is contrary to the Constitution.

13.Almost every industrialized nation in the world except for the United States has a national curriculum and national tests to help ensure that schools throughout the country are meeting high standards of education. If such a system can work elsewhere, it can work in the United States as well.