LOGICAL FALLACIES in
office
1) Michael: "No, I'm not going to tell them about downsizing. If
a patient has cancer, you don't tell them."
2) Michael (explaining the importance of the Dundie
Awards): "You know, an employee will go home, and he'll tell
his neighbor, 'Hey did you get an award?'And the neighbor'll
say, 'No, man. I mean, I slave all day. Nobody notices me.
Next thing you know, employee smells something terrible
coming from the neighbor's house. Neighbor's hanged himself
due to lack of recognition."
the
Directions: For each quote from The Office, identify the
matching logical fallacy from the list on the right. Fallacies
may be used more than once or not at all.
Name:
Date:
3) Michael: "Only good friends show up to parties early.
Therefore, if I show up early I will be a good friend."
4) Michael: "Back in olden days, they would not even let you
vote unless you owned property, and they'd throw you in the
stocks and humiliate you."
Dwight: "And it worked. They should bring the stocks back,
people would obey the law. There'd be less troublemakers."
Michael: "Maybe."
5) Toby: "We should really have the office's air quality
tested. We have radon from below. We have asbestos in the
ceilings. These are silent killers.
Michael: "You are the silent killer."
6) Michael: "I did not go to business school. You know who
else didn't go to business school? LeBron James, Tracy
McGrady, Kobe Bryant. They went straight from high school to
the NBA."
7) Oscar: "Hey, what's the deal, Michael? Why are you spying
on our computers?"
Michael: "Oh no, everybody, Oscar's gone crazy. What other
ghost stories do you have for us? That I'm a robot? [in a robot
voice] I will destroy everything in my path. Beep. Boop."
8) Dwight: "Whose side are you on? Him or me? I cannot
work with Jim anymore! Either he goes, or I go. You choose!
One of us is out of here by the end of today!"
9) Toby: "Actually, I didn't think it was appropriate to invite
children [to the casino night] since, you know, there's gambling
and alcohol, and it's in our dangerous warehouse, and it's a
school night, and you know, Hooters is catering. Is that
enough? Should I keep going?"
Michael: "Why are you the way that you are? Honestly, every
time that I try to do something fun or exciting, you make it not
that way. I hate so much about the things that you choose to
be."
10. Kelly: "Dwight's so weird."
Angela: "He's not weird. He's just...individualistic."
Kelly: "He's a freak."
Angela: "You're a freak!" (storms off).
A. AD HOMINEM
B. STRAW MAN
C. SLIPPERY SLOPE
D. FALSE DILEMMA
E. FALSE ANALOGY
F. CIRCULAR REASONING
G. HASTY GENERALIZATION
H. BANDWAGON
I. TU QUOQUE
J. POST HOC ERGO PROPTER HOC
K. POISONING THE WELL
L. APPEAL TO TRADITION
M. APPEAL TO FALSE AUTHORITY
N. APPEAL TO EMOTION
O. APPEAL TO FEAR
WORLD'S
BEST
BOSS