Question

The leader of that student organization argues that we must have more student participation in the administration's decision-making process. But such arguments must be rejected. We can't just let the students run the school. If such proposals are implemented, chaos will ensue. Teachers and administrators will have no authority, and the school will no longer be a place of learning. This passage (does/does not) commit a fallacy; specifically, it (does/does not) commit an appeal to fear fallacy.

Answer 1

Answer: This passage does commit a fallacy; specifically, it does commit an appeal to fear fallacy.

Explanation:

Appeal to fear is a type of informal fallacy that seeks to convince supporters to back an idea by creating fear towards the opposite option. It´s a fallacy that evokes the fear of something terribly wrong happening in the present or in the future in order to convince people of accepting a specific idea to be right.

In this case, the student´s participation in the administration's decision-making process is presented as an option that can only lead to chaos.