Complex Question
Definition:
Two otherwise unrelated points are treated as a single proposition. The reader is expected to accept or reject both together, when in reality one may be acceptable while the other is not. A complex question is an illegitimate use of the "and" operator.
Examples:
(i) You should support home schooling and the God-given right of parents to raise their children according to their own beliefs. (Whether parents have a right to choose how to raise their children and whether that right includes home schooling is an entirely different issue. There is an additional complex question here since one might believe that a certain right exists but not believe it comes from God.)
(ii) Do you support freedom and the right to bear arms? (What if I think people ought to be free to bear arms but that it isn't a right? What if I think it is a right, but I don't think it matters what rights people have?)
(iii) Have you stopped beating your wife? (This implicitly asks two questions: did you beat your wife, and did you stop?)
Proof:
Identify the two propositions illegitimately conjoined and show that one doen't imply the other.
References:
Cedarblom and Paulsen: 86, Copi and Cohen: 96
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