Fallacies of Over Loaded Question

8/8/2019 Fallacies of Over Loaded Question

1/15

Over Loaded QuestionsOver Loaded Questions


2/15

Rabia Khan (07.0256)

Ahmed Shabeeh (07.0054)


3/15

A word or phrase is "loaded" when it has a

secondary, evaluative meaning in addition to

its primary, descriptive meaning. Whenlanguage is "loaded", it is loaded with its

evaluative meaning. A loaded word is like a

loaded gun, and its evaluative meaning is thebullet.


4/15

Your father: Did you enjoy spoiling the dinnerfor everyone else?

Your mother: Well, I hope you enjoyed making a

fool of me in front of all my friends. Your boss: Can you begin to appreciate this

wonderful opportunity I'm making available toyou?

Your significant other:H

ave you finally stoppedflirting with Dana? Your critical thinking instructor: Aren't you

ashamed about how little effort you've made inthis class?


5/15

Hav y st pp taki g advantag f y rp siti nas anadvis r?"

Answering simply "yes" or "no" to this question, as withmost loaded questions, makes it sound as though you areadmitting that you used to take advantage of your positionas an advisor; the only difference is that in one case you'vestopped taking advantage, and in the other case youapparently continue to do so.

To answer a complex or loaded question, you need a

complex answer, such as: "I have never takenadvantage of my position as an advisor."


6/15

Are you happy with the mess yourinterruption has created?"

Did you interrupt?Did the interruption create amess? Neither of these questions can be addressed

by answering "yes" or "no" in this case, becausethose responses would seem only to affirm or deny thatyou are happy. To answer complex questions, avoid

simple responses. Here, you might say, "I didn'tmean to interrupt, and I can't see that Icaused any messes, but if I did,inadvertently, then I am certainly nothappy about it."


7/15

Are you happy with the job that the

repairmen have done?"

There is only one question here, about your satisfaction withthe work performed. To make this into a loaded question, wewould need to make the logical subject more complex. For

example, "Are you happy to have been the one

who prevented the repairmen from finishingthe job?"


8/15

Many q sti ns, also known as compl x q stion,

pr s pposition, loaded q estion, "trick

q estion", or "pl ri m interrogation" (Latin,"of many questions"), is an informal fallacy or logicalfallacy.


9/15

Loaded q estions: Contain an incriminatingassumption that the questioned person seems to admit to if

he answers the question instead of challenging it. Forexample, "Are you still beating your wife?" A loaded questionmay be asked to trick the respondent into admitting

something that the questioner believes to be true, and whichmay in fact be true. So the previous question is "loaded,"

whether or not the respondent has actually beaten his wife.


10/15

Buttering-up: Actually asks two questions, one that thequestioned person will want to answer "yes" to, and anotherthat the questioner hopes will be answered with the same"yes". For example, "Would you be a nice guy and loan me

five bucks?"


11/15


12/15

These two types of loaded questions are notconsidered as fallacies. But since, both areincluded in the types of loaded questions,therefore, heres a brief explanation.

Implied Dilemma A form of trick question to imposethe outcome of a negative response to validate the dilemma.For example, if a boss asks an employee, Do you have a futurehere?, even if the recipient answers with a positive response,the outcome of the positive response was never in therecipient's control to begin with

Legitimately complex questions A question thatassumes something that the hearer would readily agree to. Forexample, "Who is the Queen of the United Kingdom?" assumesthat there is a place called the United Kingdom and that it hasa queen, both true.


13/15

It is committed when someone asks a question that

presupposes something that has not been proven oraccepted by all the people involved. This fallacy is often used

rhetorically, so that the question limits direct replies to thosethat serve the questioner's agenda. An example of this is thequestion

"Are you still beating your wife?"

Whether the respondent answers yes or no, he will admit tohaving a wife, and having beaten her at some time in the

past.


14/15

A good response to the question "Do you still beat yourwife?" would be either "I have never beaten mywife" or "I have never had a wife." This removes theambiguity of the expected response, therefore nullifying thetactic.However, the askers of said questions have learned toget around this tactic by accusing the one who answers with

"dodging" the question. A rhetorical question such as

"Then please explain, how could I possibly havebeaten a wife that I've never had?" can be aneffective antidote to this further tactic, placing the burden onthe deceptive questioner either to expose his tactic or stopthe line of inquiry.


15/15

Documents

Fallacies of Over Loaded Question