Bunuel wrote:
Medical Sales Agent: This new device that our company has developed will offer tremendous advantages to both surgeons and patients. The surgeon will now be able to perform previously complicated and very invasive procedures quickly and non-invasively. What is more, patients will be able to schedule outpatient procedures, where they were formerly required to remain in the hospital for several days. We have tested this device at several area hospitals, and many of the surgeons and patients have offered positive feedback. As a result, we may say with confidence that this device will be universally useful to all surgeons and
patients.
Which of the following is most similar to the logical fallacy within the medical sales agent’s argument?
(A) If you leave your car in the driveway and do not park it in the garage, it will become rusty from exposure; Edward’s car is rusty, so he must not park it in the garage.
(B) You must purchase this new type of hand lotion, because if you do not you will always regret how dry your skin is.
(C) You cannot purchase that SUV, because the owner of the only SUV dealership in town has not made known his opinion on using animals for medical research; so, you cannot buy a vehicle without knowing his beliefs on that issue.
(D) If you do not enroll your child in an advanced preschool, your child might fall behind the other students in elementary school; therefore, it is essential that you enroll your child in an advanced preschool.
(E) Within the western district of a large state, 80% of the voters dislike a piece of proposed legislation; therefore, it must be a poor piece of legislation that will offer no benefits to anyone in the state.
OFFICIAL EXPLANATION
Overview: In this question, the student is given a statement from a medical sales agent who is advertising the benefits of a new surgical device that is intended to assist in making a specific procedure faster and less invasive for the patient. The medical sales agent relies on the reasoning that the new device has received positive feedback from the audience that has tested it, so it will be “universally useful to all surgeons and patients.” The question then asks the student to identify the logical fallacy and to select an answer choice that contains a similar logical fallacy. Students who are familiar with logical fallacies will recognize what is known as the converse fallacy of argument, in which a special case (i.e., the test audience at the area hospitals) becomes a rule (i.e., it helped some people, so it will help everyone). In this case, the medical sales agent relies on tests done only on a small group and with no further details about the group itself and the types of tests that were done. There are many different variables that could affect this outcome and limit the value of the device to a larger audience; without the information about these variables, the conclusion is too broad. Even if the student does not recognize the logical fallacy by name, the student should be able to recognize the problem in the reasoning: the medical sales agent claims that the few who valued the new device represent the population at large. The correct answer choice will argue from a similar position of
special situation = rule.
The Correct Answer:E Although the similarities do not appear to be exact, answer choice (E) does offer a similar logical fallacy to that of the medical sales agent. The argument is made that 80% of the voters in the western district of a state dislike a piece of proposed legislation (
special situation), and the conclusion is derived that it must be a poor piece of legislation that offers no benefits to anyone (
rule). As in the statement from the medical sales agent, no further details are provided about this audience and their reasoning; a conclusion is drawn simply by the statistics of one group. Answer choice (E) is correct.
The Incorrect Answers:A The fallacy contained within answer choice (A) is one of
affirming the consequent: it draws the conclusion from something that does not necessarily support the conclusion. Not parking a car in the garage might make it rusty, but a rusty car does not necessarily mean the owner failed to park it in the garage. Answer choice (A) is definitely a logical fallacy, but it is not similar to the fallacy of special situation = rule.
B, D Answer choices (B) and (D) provide examples of the
argumentum ad baculum, or the argument based on fear: if something is done (or not done), something bad will happen, which no one wants, so a certain action must (or must not) be taken. Both answer choices (B) and (D) represent logical fallacies, but these fallacies are not that of special situation = rule.
C Answer choice (C) represents the
argumentum ad hominem, or the argument that makes its point by attacking someone else. In some cases (and specifically in this case), the attack might be unrelated to the argument at hand (i.e., the connection between using animals for medical research and purchasing an SUV). This is definitely a logical fallacy, but it is not the fallacy of special situation = rule. Answer choice (C) cannot be correct.