GRE General TestAnalytical WritingMedium
A politician asserts that a proposed tax cut will stimulate the economy and create thousands of jobs, stating, 'Just as watering a plant makes it grow, reducing taxes will make our economy flourish.' Which of the following best describes the logical fallacy committed by the politician?
- AFaulty Analogy
- BSlippery Slope
- CAd Hominem
- DFalse Dichotomy
Show answer & explanationAnswer & explanation
Correct answer: A. Faulty Analogy
The politician compares the economy to a plant and tax cuts to watering. While analogies can be illustrative, this comparison is flawed because the complexities of an economy and tax policy are vastly different from the simple act of watering a plant, rendering the analogy unreliable for drawing a strong conclusion. This is a faulty analogy.
Why the other options are wrong
- B. Slippery Slope argues that one action will inevitably lead to a chain of negative consequences.
- C. Ad Hominem attacks the person, not the argument.
- D. False Dichotomy presents only two options as if they are the only ones available.
Faulty Analogy
A faulty analogy is a logical fallacy where an argument relies on an analogy between two things that are not alike in the relevant aspects to support a conclusion.
- Compares two dissimilar things.
- Assumes similar properties where none exist.
- Weakens the argument's validity.
Memory trick: Comparisons can be flawed, if the similarities are awed.