Below you will find help with selected exercises from the book.

6-2, 4
6-8, 7
6-11, 4
6-13, 7

6-2, 4. Harvard now takes the position that its investment in urban redevelopment projects will be limited to projects that are environmentally friendly. Before you conclude that that is such a swell idea, stop and think. For a long time Harvard was one of the biggest slumlords in the country.

Inconsistency ad hominem. It is easy to spot the ad hominem thinking in this example; what sometimes causes more trouble is specifying which subspecies of the ad hominem it belongs to. Circumstantial ad hominem is easily eliminated, because Harvard's past does not commit it to environmental friendliness in the present. Neither personal attack nor poisoning the well is all wrong. But this example brings up a charge of inconsistency, which points us toward the inconsistency ad hominem as the best answer.

6-8, 7. Whenever legislators have the power to raise taxes, they will always find problems that seem to require for their solution doing exactly that. This is an axiom, the proof of which is that the power to tax always generates the perception on the part of those who have that power that there exist various ills the remedy for which can only lie in increased governmental spending and hence higher taxes.

Begging the question. The long sentence of abstract nouns can make the fallacy hard to spot. It helps to begin by looking for synonyms: "ills" merely restates "problems," as "remedy" echoes "solution." Once you translate the words into their equivalents, the argument's restatement of its own conclusion becomes more evident.

6-11, 4. Overheard: Should school kids say the Pledge of Allegiance before class? Certainly. Why shouldn't they?

Inappropriate burden of proof. Although this particular exercise tips off the fallacy with the final "Why shouldn't they?"--a common move when one misplaces the burden of proof--you should note that comments very similar to this one are legitimate. If the speaker had referred to multiplication tables instead of the Pledge of Allegiance, the remark would have sounded more appropriate. In such cases you need to apply the test of initial plausibility: It's so obvious that multiplication belongs in schools that the task of marshalling an argument rests on those who would oppose the practice.

6-13, 7. Aid to Russia? Gimme a break! Why should we care more about the Russians than about our own people?

Straw man. This makes a classic case, because it equates an unspecified quantity of foreign aid with excessive care for the Russian people. The speaker could improve the attack by filling in steps, arguing, for example, that foreign aid is money that could be spent domestically, and that all domestic problems should be solved before addressing a single foreign problem. Such an argument would have to rest on highly controversial claims, but it would get further than the specimen provided.