(from the U.S. postal exam) How often did you take office supplies from your last job?

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Originally Posted by mnidetch

(from the U.S. postal exam) How often did you take office supplies from your last job?

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This fallacy is better know as, 'a loaded question'. A loaded question contains the presumption of guilt. Another example is, "So when have you stopped beating your wife?" This would NOT be loaded question if you have already admitted to beating your wife.



Tut

The fallacy is known as "wife beating."

As in: "When did you stop beating your wife? It's much worse than a loaded question, IMHO.

A loaded question might be, "Did you do your homework?" to someone that you suspect didn't!

Do you see the difference?

Sincerely,

SocialPsiTina

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Originally Posted by mnidetch

(from the U.S. postal exam) How often did you take office supplies from your last job?

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What fallacy is it?

First, let's determine what fallacy means.

In logic and rhetoric, a fallacy is incorrect reasoning in argumentation resulting in a misconception. By accident or design, fallacies may exploit emotional triggers in the listener or interlocutor (e.g. appeal to emotion), or take advantage of social relationships between people (e.g. argument from authority). Fallacious arguments are often structured using rhetorical patterns that obscure the logical argument, making fallacies more difficult to diagnose. Also, the components of the fallacy may be spread out over separate arguments.

So the question is, does everyone steal office supplies? Obviously they don't. So the fallacy, the incorrect reasoning leading to misconception, is that everyone steals office supplies.

The correct way to ask the question would be "Have you ever stolen office supplies?", or "did you ever steal office supplies from your last job?"

Yes, I agree with Altenweg's more complete explanation of it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by SocialPsiTina

The fallacy is known as "wife beating."

As in: "When did you stop beating your wife? It's much worse than a loaded question, IMHO.

A loaded question might be, "Did you do your homework?" to someone that you suspect didn't!

Do you see the difference?

Sincerely,

SocialPsiTina

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Hi Tina,

" Have you stop beating your wife?" is actually a loaded question for two important reasons.

Firstly, the question is of an 'interrogative' type.

Secondly, It is a loaded question because a 'yes' answer still implies that you have beaten her in the past.

The same type of argument applies to "How often did you take office supplies from you last job?" A 'no' answer implies you don't take office supplies often.


Regards

Tut

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Originally Posted by Altenweg

What fallacy is it?


So the question is, does everyone steal office supplies? Obviously they don't. So the fallacy, the incorrect reasoning leading to misconception, is that everyone steals office supplies.

The correct way to ask the question would be "Have you ever stolen office supplies?", or "did you ever steal office supplies from your last job?"

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Hi Alty,

What you have said is correct. But your example is slightly different to the one being put forward by said postal worker.

A fallacy is any sort of mistake in reasoning or inference. It is a term that can denote anything that can cause an argument to go wrong. How you have set it out suggests the fallacy lies in the inference or conclusion. And you are right. However, the examples I have given are not fallacies of inference because the conclusions are implied not given.

Regards

Tut

You're right-- people nowadays call it a "loaded question." However, the wife-beating question usually is asked under conditions of an unfounded assumption, whereby no such admission of having engaged in the deed has yet been made.