Question

Complete the following for the Passages: (Does or Does not) commit a fallacy; specifically, it (Does or Does not) commit a false cause fallacy.

Passage A
This lever releases the parking brake and allows the car to move. When I got out of my car, I definitely engaged the parking brake. So either someone pulled the brake-release lever before my car went rolling down the hill, or else the brake itself was defective.
Passage B
Most of the time, after a priest administers last rites to an ill patient, the patient dies soon thereafter. Hence, there should be a law against priests administering last rites!
Passage C
Every time I am awake at 6:10 AM or earlier, my neighbor's sprinklers come on at exactly 6:10 AM. My neighbor said she wants her sprinklers to come on at 6:10 AM. So if I want to honor my neighbor's wishes, I should make sure that I am awake at 6:10 AM or earlier.
Passage D
The pastor of my church said that existentialism denied absolute truth and undermined the ideaof genuine moral standards. As far as I can tell, existentialism is a movement in philosophy that consists in some rather complex philosophical theories. So, I'll just take my pastor's word for it that existentialism is bad.
Passage E
That pilot who safely landed a commercial airliner in the Hudson River has been called a hero and was even invited to attend the president's State of the Union address. But there are hundreds of pilots in northern Alaska, Canada, and other remote areas who deliver supplies via seaplane and often land safely on water. Why don't they get invited to attend the president's State of the Union address?

Answer 1

Passage A does not commit a fallacy; Passage B commits a false cause fallacy; Passage C commits a false cause fallacy; Passage D does not commit a false cause fallacy but an 'appeal to authority'; Passage E does not commit a false cause fallacy.

Step-by-step explanation:

The evaluation of the passages provided seeks to determine if a fallacy, and more specifically, a false cause fallacy, is present. This type of fallacy occurs when an argument incorrectly assumes a causal relationship between two events that are merely correlated. Let's consider each passage:

• Passage A: Does not commit a fallacy. It offers two plausible explanations for the car rolling down the hill without asserting a false causal connection.
• Passage B: Commits a false cause fallacy. It incorrectly asserts that the act of administering last rites causes death, rather than understanding that last rites are often given to those already close to death.
• Passage C: Commits a false cause fallacy. It suggests the neighbor's sprinklers turn on because the speaker is awake, mistaking correlation for causation.
• Passage D: Does not necessarily commit a false cause fallacy, but it commits an informal fallacy called 'appeal to authority' by taking the pastor's word on existentialism without independent verification.
• Passage E: Does not commit a false cause fallacy. It questions why similar actions do not receive the same recognition, but does not imply a direct cause.