Question

ate your own argument that displays the same fallacy
ind fallacy has the following form.
x and y are two extreme positions on a question.
z, which lies between x and y, must be correct.
senator peters supports a large tax cut, and senator willis supports no
cut. that means a small tax cut must be best.

to be a z because it is implied.
c. let x be no tax cut and y be a tax cut. a small tax cut lies
between no tax cut and a tax cut. let z be a small tax cut.
d. let z be the decision for no tax cut, which is not an extreme
position.
create an argument that displays the same fallacy. choose the correct
answer below.
a. you own two dogs, and your neighbor does not have any pets.
on average, you and your neighbor have one dog each.
b. you want to order a pizza for dinner, but your roommate does not
want to order a pizza. therefore, you should order half of a pizza.
c. the national debt has been increasing by $500 billion per year, on
average. if this trend continues, the national debt will increase
by $2 trillion over the next four years.
d. senator peters supports raising subsidies on corn, and senator
willis supports raising subsidies on wind power. that means
raising subsidies on both corn and wind power must be best.

Explanation:

The fallacy in the original argument is the "middle ground" fallacy, where the middle position between two extremes is assumed to be correct. Let's analyze each option:

• Option A: This is about calculating an average, not the middle - ground fallacy. It's a simple arithmetic average of the number of pets, not assuming a middle position is correct.
• Option B: You want to order a pizza (extreme X: order a pizza) and your roommate does not want to order a pizza (extreme Y: no pizza). The conclusion is to order half a pizza (Z, the middle ground), which follows the same middle - ground fallacy as the original argument.
• Option C: This is a prediction based on a trend (linear extrapolation), not a middle - ground fallacy.
• Option D: The two positions are about different subsidies (corn and wind power), not extreme positions on the same question, so it doesn't follow the middle - ground fallacy.

Answer:

B. You want to order a pizza for dinner, but your roommate does not want to order a pizza. Therefore, you should order half of a pizza.