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11.9 Quiz: Prima Facie Reasonable vs. Prima Facie Unreasonable Appeals to Authority

by Gary Jason | Oct 30, 2018

Instructions: For each of the following passages, characterize the appeal to authority as either prima facie (i.e., on the face of it, assuming no other information) reasonable, por prima facie unreasonable, and indicate why.

Note: You should take the practice tutorial before taking this quiz, since your grade will be recorded and sent to your instructor.

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Question 1 of 5

1. Question
Vijay Singh advises you to slightly overlap your hands on the golf club when you hit the ball on the golf course. Singh is the club pro at the country club to which you belong—meaning that he is paid by the country club to give instruction to the members.
- Prima facie unreasonable. Singh is being paid, so is biased in his advice.
- Prima facie reasonable. Singh is a pro, meaning that he plays the game at the professional level. So his advice is worth listening to.
- Prima facie reasonable. Singh is clearly sincere in his advice to you, so you can believe him.
- Prima facie unreasonable. Golf originated in Scotland, so you should only listen to advice from Scotsmen on how to play it. But Singh is Indian, not Scottish.
Question 2 of 5

2. Question
Alisha Patel is a famous Bollywood star, whose musicals are considered among the very best. She is featured on ads urging that the people of the world unite in pushing their governments to outlaw nuclear weapons.
- Prima facie unreasonable. Patel is Indian, and India itself has a formidable arsenal of nuclear missile. She is being hypocritical.
- Prima facie reasonable. Patel is an artist, and artists feel deep emotions. She obviously gears deeply for the future of the human race.
- Prima facie reasonable. Patel is Indian, and her nation has historically been non-aligned among the major military powers.
- Prima facie unreasonable. Patel is certainly entitled to her opinion, and she may indeed be a sincere, well-meaning and deeply feeling person. But a speaker’s sincerity, goodness of intention, and depth of feeling say nothing about the speaker’s genuine expertise. Patel is no more competent to talk about the wisdom of nuclear disarmament than anyone else.
Question 3 of 5

3. Question
Rav Natraj is an Indian chef trying to teach you how to cook Indian dishes. He is paid by a group of students, including you, to teach them these culinary skills. Natraj has been head chef at the finest Indian restaurants in Southern California. He advises you that to prepare the potato stuffing for the samosas (a type of appetizer) you should use a certain brand of spice. He is part owner of the company that imports that spice into America.
- Prima facie reasonable. Natraj is obviously a first rate Indian chef, and he is advising you on cooking and Indian appetizer.
- Prima facie unreasonable. Natraj is paid to teach you, so has a personal bias.
- Prima facie unreasonable. Natraj is paid for teaching, which is not a bias. But he is recommending that you use a certain spice, that he has a special bias in recommending.
- Prima facie reasonable. Natraj is Indian, so he knows how to cook Indian food.
Question 4 of 5

4. Question
Rita Patel is your cardiologist, and has been for years. She got her MD from Harvard, and successfully repaired your heart valve. She advises you to wear tweed coats, because it makes you look really attractive.
- Prima facie unreasonable. Patel is no doubt an expert in medical issues, especially heart related ones. But she probably knows nothing special about fashion matters.
- Prima facie reasonable. Patel has your welfare at heart, which is clear.
- Prima facie unreasonable. Because you are yourself not of Indian descent, Patel can’t really judge what would look good on you.
- Prima facie reasonable. You are a person suffering heart disease, and Patel is clearly well-trained in that field.
Question 5 of 5

5. Question
Alisha Singh is a licensed therapist with an MFC license and a Ph.D. in psychology, helping you work through your grief over the sudden death of your spouse. Singh recommends that you go on a low dose of a mood elevating drug called Happior. Singh gets free trips to a resort every year every year to hear about the new drugs developed by DrugMax, a major pharmaceutical company that makes Happior.
- Prima facie reasonable. Singh has the terminal degree in counseling, so her advice is worth listening to.
- Prima facie unreasonable. Singh is not a medical doctor, only a psychologist, so her recommendation is not credible.
- Prima facie unreasonable. Singh has a financial interest in the drug she recommends.
- Prima facie reasonable. Singh is a therapist and you are in pain. Normal human sympathy is at work here.