Dealing with AMBIGUITY

1. Social News: “We note with regrettable sorrow that Mrs. Vandermeer is
recovering from a bad fall on the ice.” (Goffman, 1981, p. 249).
- Are they regretting that they are sorry or they are really sorry
2.  If the baby does not thrive on fresh milk, it should be boiled.
- Who to boil baby or milk?
3. Panda Mating Fails; Veterinarian Takes Over.
4. Laundry Commercial: “When your clothing is returned there is little left to iron”
5. Lawyers Give Poor Free Legal Advice.
Is the advice they give for free is poor i.e worthless or they give free legal advice
to poor people
6. The pilot of a plane at Los Rodeos airport in the Canary Islands radioed the
message, “We are now at takeoff.” to the tower. (Cushing, 1994, p. 10).
At takeoff- particular position on the runway or ready to takeoff
7. Teacher Strikes Idle Kids
Beating the kids or the teachers are on a strikere
8. Juvenile Court to Try Shooting Defendant
Shoot has two meanings as to shoot him with a gun or the crime done is shooting
9. Hospitals are Sued by 7 Foot Doctors
Are the 7 feet long or do they treat foot aliements
10. The manager replies ‘The chef tossed the salad… with greasy hair tonic.’
(Michalos, 1970, p. 3)
11. A large ad in a newspaper stated 'Two pizzas for one special price” (Michalos,
1970, p. 3)

Set B
1. The photocopier is in the front office which is not working.
Who is not working the photocopier or the front office

2. Assistant required to type and clean letters.

To type clean letters or to clean letters
 3. Mr Keane met Mr Alwood in the lift and he told him the boss was looking for him.
Him mr keane or mr alwood.
4. I am forwarding my marriage certificate and six children. I had seven but one died
which was baptized on half a sheet of paper.
5. In accordance with your instructions, I have given birth to twins in the enclosed
envelope.
Gave birth in the envelope or the letter was in enclosed envelope .
6. The eggs of the platypus were collected as soon as they were laid by the Park
Ranger.
The park ranger laid the eggs or did he provided the eggs to collectors as soon as
the platypus laid them
7. The tenants were forced to leave their houses through unsafe cracks in the walls.
They were forced because the cracks were unsafe or they walked through the
cracks in the walls
8. I just met a man with a wooden leg named Fred.
Fred was the name of the man or the leg
9. Tickets are available for the soccer game in the lobby.
-Is the soccer game being played in the lobby or you have to purchase the tickets
of the game in the lobby.
10. I let the cat out with my bathrobe on.
-Who was wearing the bathrobe the cat or the owner?
11. They rented furniture for their apartment that cost $200 per week.
-What costs 200 dollars per week the rented furniture or the apartment .

Fallacies in Reasoning

Identify the fallacies in reasoning in the following examples.

1. Fluorine is the most dangerous toxic chemical on earth; it is so powerful in its corrosive
effect that it is used to etch glass.  The idea of putting that sort of chemical in our
drinking water is just insane.  Fluoridation is a menace to health. [appeal to
emotion,g;ittering generalirty,equivocation,faulty analogy(red herring)]
2. Additionally, many medical associations are opposed to fluoridation.  For instance, the Texas
Medical Association declined to recommend it. [questionable authority, explaining by naming,
begging thequestion]

3. It's not hard to explain why some doctors favor fluoridation.  For instance, one of its leading
advocates has been Dr. Danger, Dean and Research Professor of Nutrition at the State
University Medical School.  Dr. Danger received in the past six years over $350,000 from the
food processors, the refined sugar interests, the soft drink people, and the chemical and drug
interests. [ad hominum, red herring, questionable authority]

4. Fluoridation is opposed by a crackpot, antiscientific minority.  I do not believe that the

minority ever has the right to keep the majority from getting what they want.  In any city where a
majority of us want fluoridaiton, we should have it; that's the democratic way.

5. I am against the governor's child development program.  What is at issue is whether parents
shall continue to have the right to form the character of children, or whether the State with all its
power and magnitude should be given the decisive tools and techniques for forming the young.

6. I don't see why we need affirmative action policies for women.  Just look at all the problems
we are having in universities hiring enough women.  We hear stories all the time of women not
wanting to commit to the jobs that are offered.

7. Education cannot prepare men and women for marriage.  To try to educate them for
marriage is like trying to teach them to swim without letting them go into the water.  It cannot be
done.

8. To allow the press to keep their sources confidential is very advantageous to the country,
since it is highly conducive to the interests of the larger community that private individuals
should have the privilege of providing information to the press without being identified.

9. In the late 1960's highway fatalities were increasing at a rate of about 500 a year.  They
reached 55,000 plus in 1973.  Once the 55-mph speed limit law was put into effect, the first
year -- 1974 -- the fatalities immediately dropped by 10,000.  In the three following years,
fatalities were about 9,000 lower than the 1973 level.  Therefore, in its first four years, the law
saved over 36,000 lives.

10. What's wrong with buying term papers?  Most students only resort to bying them because
they realize that the system is rotten; the term paper itself has become a farce in the eyes of the
students, since they are required to go through the mechanical motions, month after month, of
putting things tediously down on paper, writing correct sentences, organizing their paragraphs
and ideas, thinking up arguments to use, and all those rituals -- surely you aren't going to claim
that that is education.

Set 2
1. "Since scientists cannot prove that global warming will occur, it probably won't."
- Either -or fallacies, begging the question, questionable authority,
2. "If we pass laws against fully automatic weapons, then it won't be  long before we pass
laws on all weapons, and then we will begin to restrict other rights, and finally we will
end up living in a communist state. Thus, we should not ban fully automatic weapons."
-slippery slope,

3. "Government is like business, so just as business must be sensitive primarily to the

bottom line, so also must government."
- - begging the question

4. "A book is pornographic if and only if it contains pornography."

- - begging the question, explaining by naming

5. "We should not believe President Clinton when he claims not to have had sex with
Monica Lewinsky.  After all, he's a liar."
- Ad hominem, appeal to popularity,
6. "Fred, the Australian, stole my wallet. Thus, all Australians are thieves."
- Equivocation, fred is an Australian, fred is also a thief so all Australians are
thieves, GLITTERING GENERALITY
7. "Satanist Quarterly reports that 87% of Americans are atheists.  Therefore, there is no
god."
-Questionable authority,ad populum
8. "Immigration to California from Mexico increased. Soon after, the welfare rolls
increased. Therefore, the increased immigration caused the increase in welfare rolls." 
Post hoc
9. "Protesting against racial injustice only causes more of it to occur."
///Confusing cause and effect.
10. "If the mill were polluting the river then we would see an increase in fish deaths.  And
fish deaths have increased.  Thus, the mill is polluting the river.
////
11. "If you get hit by a car when you are six then you will die young.   But you were not hit
by a car when you were six.  Thus you will not die young."
//////denying the antecedent
12. It is unfair to penalize Eastman Kodak for harming the environment when they have
been such a strong supporter of the local economy.
//////red herring

13. Supercop had the highest ratings of any television movie. Clearly, it was a superior film.
/////appeal to emotion
14. Opponents of the Equal Rights Amendment believe that women should stay barefoot
and pregnant.
//////strawman
15. My dad was a liar.  My boyfriend is a liar.  In fact, all men are liars.
16. People who oppose mandatory sentencing want convicted rapists and killers to get off
scot-free.
///// straw man

17. Legalized abortion puts us only a step away from legalizing the murder of anyone we
deem undesirable or inconvenient.
/////slippery slope

18. We shouldn't listen to Professor Smith's argument about affirmative action. The man is
a convicted dog-beater!
\\\\\\ red herring