Answer question - Coursework Example

work English Answer the five questions in the text about each of the following appeals to ity, and then decide whether each appeal to authority is legitimate or fallacious. 1. The surgeon general says that smoking is hazardous to your health, so it is. This is true. The appeal to authority is legitimate. This is because the claim being made by the surgeon general is within his/ her area of expertise. In this regard, the surgeon general has sufficient medical knowledge regarding the effect of smoking to an individual’s health.2. Michael Jordan says that Air Jordan sneakers are springier, so they must be springier.

This is not true. The appeal to authority is fallacious. Michael Jordan is not qualified to provide an expert opinion regarding the quality brand of sneakers that are springier. The fact that he is a professional basketball player does not necessarily mean that his opinion regarding sneakers should be trusted. Moreover, his preference towards ‘Air Jordan’ sneakers may be biased given that the brand is associated with his name. 3. My friend Joe says that this new movie is hilarious, so it must be worth watching.

This may be true. The appeal to authority is legitimate. Joe’s views regarding the movie are his own speculative views regarding the movie after watching it. Moreover, the opinion given is honest and non-biased given that there exists a level of trust between the two friends.4. There must be life on other planets, because many great scientists are looking for it, so they must think it is there. This argument is fallacious. Even though the scientists have an expert authority regarding other planets, there has been no evidence to prove that life does exist on other planets.

In this regard, this claim is rather speculative since the scientists are still hoping to find proof of existence of life on other planets.5. Vanna must be the most beautiful woman in America, because she won the Miss America contest. This is not true. The appeal to authority is fallacious given that the individual expressing this opinion does not have an expert authority regarding all beautiful women in America. Moreover, there is no proof that all women from America participated in the contest.

In this regard, there is a possibility that there are far more beautiful women than Vanna in America.6. There were 25,000 protesters at the rally, because its opponents said so. This claim may not be true. This argument is fallacious given that the appeal to authority, the opponents, may not be trustworthy and valid. In this regard, the opponents may have inflated the figures regarding the number of protestors at the rally.For each of the following arguments, indicate whether it is an appeal to popular opinion, an appeal to tradition, or an appeal to emotion.

(The argument might fit into more than one of these categories. If so, explain why.) Then determine whether it is fallacious, and why. 1. For centuries throughout Europe, women were burned for being witches, so there must have been lots of witches. The statement is an appeal to tradition. The argument is fallacious. The traditional act of burning witches in Europe does not directly allude to the prominence or number of witches in Europe.2. Most people who live in the United States think that it is the greatest country ever, so it must be.

The statement is an appeal to popular opinion. The argument is fallacious given that the appeal to authority is biased in its own favor. In this regard, the residents of United States are biased in favoritism of their own country. Furthermore, the residents have not provided a basis for comparison on life in other countries to justify United States as the greatest country ever.3. Incest must be immoral, because people all over the world for many centuries have seen it as immoral. The statement is an appeal to popular opinion and tradition.

It is an appeal to popular opinion given that majority of people all over the world view incest as an immoral act. Furthermore, it is an appeal to tradition since for a long period of time, i.e. “many centuries” people have not historically engaged in incest. The argument however is fallacious given that there is no proof that incest is viewed as immoral among all people in the world. Incidentally, there are certain communities that view incest as a traditional norm.4. Chris must not be guilty, because twelve jurors, who saw all the evidence, agreed on a verdict of not guilty.

The statement is both an appeal to popular opinion and emotion. It is an appeal to popular opinion given that the verdict of ‘not guilty’ was passed by twelve jurors. On the other hand, it is an appeal to emotion given that all the jurors verdict was influenced by the evidence produced in court. In this regard, the statement is legitimate to state that Chris must not be guilty as the verdict was derived from evidence in a court of public opinion.