Instructions: For each example, identify the specific fallacy of ambiguity (Equivocation or

Amphiboly) and clearly explain how the ambiguity leads to a fallacious conclusion.
Consider the newspaper headline: "Squad helps dog bite victim."
○ Question: Which fallacy is at play here due to the grammatical structure of the
sentence? Provide two different possible interpretations of the headline.

1 answer

The headline "Squad helps dog bite victim" exhibits the fallacy of amphiboly due to its ambiguous grammatical structure. The ambiguity in this case arises from the way the sentence is constructed, allowing for multiple interpretations based on the arrangement of words.

Here are two different possible interpretations of the headline:

  1. Interpretation 1: A group (the squad) is assisting a person who has been bitten by a dog. In this understanding, "dog bite victim" is taken as a compound noun phrase describing a person who has suffered from a dog bite, and the focus is on the squad providing aid to this individual.

  2. Interpretation 2: The squad is helping a dog that has bitten a victim. Here, "dog bite victim" is interpreted as a description of the dog itself (i.e., a dog that is a "victim" of some circumstance), implying that the squad is attending to a dog involved in a biting incident, perhaps indicating the dog requires help after an altercation.

The fallacy of amphiboly arises from the grammatical configuration of the sentence, as the structure does not make clear what the relationship between the squad, the dog, and the victim is. As a result, the headline can mislead readers into interpreting the situation differently, thus failing to convey a precise meaning and leading to potentially misleading conclusions.