Question

In the textbook, Sternberg identified four fallacies in thinking that otherwise smart people make. Which fallacy is consistent with the following statement, "I don't need to quit smoking; the statistics about smoking don't apply to me since I exercise all the time."?

Answer 1

Answer:

The omnipotence fallacy

Explanation:

The omnipotence paradox or fallacy arise if one assumes that an omnipotent being has no limits and is capable of realizing any outcome or result and even logically contradictory ideas such as creating square circles. This family of fallacies hinges on the understanding of the word "omnipotent" which is the nature of God.

The most well-known version of the omnipotence paradox is the paradox of the stone "Could God create a stone so heavy that even He could not lift it? This phrasing of the omnipotence paradox is vulnerable to objections based on the physical nature of gravity, such as how the weight of an object depends on what the local gravitational field is. Other statements of the paradox that do not involve such difficulties include "If given the axioms of Euclidean geometry, can an omnipotent being create a triangle whose angles do not add up to 180 degrees?" and "Can God create a prison so secure that he cannot escape from it

Relating this to the question, smart think that they are all powerful and they can do whatever they want and will not come to any harm. This is a case of omnipotent fallacy. He feels all powerful.

And believes that because he exercises, smoking (which is dangerous to health) will not cause him any harm, and hence he shouldn't be in the statistics of smokers.

Answer 2

Answer:

Omnipotence Fallacy

Explanation:

Omnipotence Fallacy, is a kind of fallacy committed by those people who believe that  an omnipotent being can unilaterally bring about any logically possible state of affairs, such that the individual believes that he or she is all powerful and can do whatever he wants.

Hence, in this case, the argument is considered to be consistent with Omnipotence fallacy, because it is based upon the implicit, but false, assumption that doing exercise all the time, makes him not to need to quit smoking.