An Adolescent Is Arrested for Shoplifting Cigarettes at a Convenience

question 15

Multiple Choice

An adolescent is arrested for shoplifting cigarettes at a convenience store. Officer: "We'll be taking you down to the station, where you'll be formally charged with shoplifting." Adolescent: "Why punish me? I just did some other smoker a favor. Smoking is harmful, so by taking those cigarettes, I may have prevented another smoker's death." What fallacy in reasoning has the troubled teen committed?

• A) Faulty sign
• B) Sweeping generalization
• C) Red herring
• D) Appeal to authority

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Definitions:

Parental Conflict

A theory in evolutionary biology that predicts conflict between the evolutionary interests of parents over the allocation of parental resources.

Genomic Imprinting

A genetic phenomenon by which certain genes are expressed in a parent-of-origin-specific manner.

Molecular Level

Analysis or consideration of structures and processes at the scale of molecules, often used in biochemistry and molecular biology.