#4 - Columnist: The country is presently debating legislation that, if passed, would force

[Administrator]

Complete Question Explanation

Flaw in the Reasoning. The correct answer choice is (B).

Answer choice (A):

Answer choice (B): This is the correct answer choice.

Answer choice (C):

Answer choice (D):

Answer choice (E):

This explanation is still in progress. Please post any questions below!

[Cflores17]

Ad Hominem Flaw?

[Robert Carroll]

Cflores,

Yes, that's correct. The fact that the supporters are nasty people does nothing to prove that the legislation is bad. Otherwise, we could never actually judge that any legislation is good - what if, unbeknownst to us, some nasty person were supporting that legislation? This is an absurd, illogical outcome. That's why attack on the source (or ad hominem) is a flaw.

Note, as an aside, that things would be different if the character of the supporters WERE relevant. Let's say there's proposed legislation granting a commendation to certain people. And let's say that those people are supporters of the legislation, and THEY aren't very nice people. It might be valid to consider someone's character in such a situation. That's not what we have here, though - the legislation has nothing to do with the character of those supporting it.

Robert Carroll