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Logical fallacies
- 1. Logical Fallacies Continuing our foray into the world of Argument Courtesy of: http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/fallacies.html
- 2. What is Fallacy? • Fallacies are defects that weaken arguments. • First, fallacious arguments are very, very common and can be quite persuasive, at least to the causal reader or listener. You can find dozens of examples of fallacious reasoning in newspapers, advertisements, and other sources. • Second, it is sometimes hard to evaluate whether an argument is fallacious. • An argument might be very weak, somewhat weak, somewhat strong, or very strong. An argument that has several stages or parts might have some strong sections and some weak ones.
- 3. Hasty Generalization • Definition: Making assumptions about a whole group or range of cases based on a sample that is inadequate (usually because it is atypical or just too small). – Stereotypes about people ("frat boys are drunkards," "grad students are nerdy," etc.) are a common example of the principle underlying hasty generalization. • Example: "My roommate said her philosophy class was hard, and the one I'm in is hard, too. All philosophy classes must be hard!" – Two people's experiences are, in this case, not enough on which to base a conclusion.
- 4. Post hoc (false cause) This fallacy gets its name from the Latin phrase "post hoc, ergo propter hoc," which translates as "after this, therefore because of this." • Definition: Assuming that because B comes after A, A caused B. – Of course, sometimes one event really does cause another one that comes later--for example, if I register for a class, and my name later appears on the roll, it's true that the first event caused the one that came later. But sometimes two events that seem related in time aren't really related as cause and event. That is, correlation isn't the same thing as causation. • Examples: "President Jones raised taxes, and then the rate of violent crime went up. Jones is responsible for the rise in crime.“ – The increase in taxes might or might not be one factor in the rising crime rates, but the argument hasn't shown us that one caused the other.
- 5. Slippery Slope • Definition: The arguer claims that a sort of chain reaction, usually ending in some dire consequence, will take place, but there's really not enough evidence for that assumption. – The arguer asserts that if we take even one step onto the "slippery slope," we will end up sliding all the way to the bottom; he or she assumes we can't stop halfway down the hill. • Example: "Animal experimentation reduces our respect for life. If we don't respect life, we are likely to be more and more tolerant of violent acts like war and murder. Soon our society will become a battlefield in which everyone constantly fears for their lives. It will be the end of civilization. To prevent this terrible consequence, we should make animal experimentation illegal right now." – Since animal experimentation has been legal for some time and civilization has not yet ended, it seems particularly clear that this chain of events won't necessarily take place. Also known as “the Camel’s Nose
- 6. Appeal to Authority • Definition: Often we add strength to our arguments by referring to respected sources or authorities and explaining their positions on the issues we're discussing. – If, however, we try to get readers to agree with us simply by impressing them with a famous name or by appealing to a supposed authority who really isn't much of an expert, we commit the fallacy of appeal to authority. • Example: "We should abolish the death penalty. Many respected people, such as actor Guy Handsome, have publicly stated their opposition to it." – While Guy Handsome may be an authority on matters having to do with acting, there's no particular reason why anyone should be moved by his political opinions--he is probably no more of an authority on the death penalty than the person writing the paper.
- 7. Straw Man • Definition: One way of making our own arguments stronger is to anticipate and respond in advance to the arguments that an opponent might make. The arguer sets up a wimpy version of the opponent’s position and tries to score point by knocking it down. • Example: "Feminists want to ban all pornography and punish everyone who reads it! But such harsh measures are surely inappropriate, so the feminists are wrong: porn and its readers should be left in peace." – The feminist argument is made weak by being overstated--in fact, most feminists do not propose an outright "ban" on porn or any punishment for those who merely read it; often, they propose some restrictions on things like child porn, or propose to allow people who are hurt by porn to sue publishers and producers, not readers, for damages.
- 8. Red Herring • Definition: Partway through an argument, the arguer goes off on a tangent, raising a side issue that distracts the audience from what's really at stake. Often, the arguer never returns to the original issue. • Example: "Grading this exam on a curve would be the most fair thing to do. After all, classes go more smoothly when the students and the professor are getting along well." Let's try our premise-conclusion outlining to see what's wrong with this argument: – Premise: Classes go more smoothly when the students and the professor are getting along well. – Conclusion: Grading this exam on a curve would be the most fair thing to do. • When we lay it out this way, it's pretty obvious that the arguer went off on a tangent--the fact that something helps people get along doesn't necessarily make it more fair; fairness and justice sometimes require us to do things that cause conflict. But the audience may feel like the issue of teachers and students agreeing is important and be distracted from the fact that the arguer has not given any evidence as to why a curve would be fair.
- 9. Begging the Question • Definition: A complicated fallacy, an argument that begs the question asks the reader to simply accept the conclusion without providing real evidence – the argument either relies on a premise that says the same thing as the conclusion (which you might hear referred to as "being circular" or "circular reasoning"), or simply ignores an important (but questionable) assumption that the argument rests on. – Sometimes people use the phrase "beg the question" as a sort of general criticism of arguments, to mean that an arguer hasn't given very good reasons for a conclusion, but that's not the meaning we're going to discuss here. • Examples: "Active euthanasia is morally acceptable. It is a decent, ethical thing to help another human being escape suffering through death." Let's lay this out in premise-conclusion form: – Premise: It is a decent, ethical thing to help another human being escape suffering through death. – Conclusion: Active euthanasia is morally acceptable. • If we "translate" the premise, we'll see that the arguer has really just said the same thing twice: "decent, ethical" means pretty much the same thing as "morally acceptable," and "help another human being escape suffering through death" means "active euthanasia." So the premise basically says, "active euthanasia is morally acceptable," just like the conclusion does! The arguer hasn't yet given us any real reasons why euthanasia is acceptable; instead, she has left us asking "well, really, why do you think active euthanasia is acceptable?" Her argument "begs" (that is, evades) the real question (think of "beg off").
- 10. Can you name this Fallacy? 1) It is ridiculous to have spent thousands of dollars to rescue those two whales trapped in the Arctic ice. Why look at all the people trapped in jobs they don’t like. RED HERRING
- 11. Can you name this Fallacy? 2) Plagiarism is deceitful because it is dishonest. BEGGING THE QUESTION
- 12. Can you name this Fallacy? 3) Water fluoridation affects the brain. Citywide, student’s test scores began to drop five months after fluoridation began. POST HOC (false cause)
- 13. Can you name this Fallacy? 4) I know three redheads who have terrible tempers, and since Annabel has red hair, I’ll bet she has a terrible temper too. HASTY GENERALIZATION
- 14. Can you name this Fallacy? 5) Supreme Court Justice Byron White was an All-American football player while in college, so how can you say that athletes are dumb? HASTY GENERALIZATION
- 15. Can you name this Fallacy? 6) Why should we put people on trial when we know they are guilty? BEGGING THE QUESTION
- 16. Can you name this Fallacy? 7) You support capital punishment just because you want an “eye for an eye,” but I have several good reasons to believe that capital punishment is fundamentally wrong… STRAW MAN
- 17. Can you name this Fallacy? 8) The meteorologist predicted the wrong amount of rain for May. Obviously the meteorologist is unreliable. HASTY GENERALIZATION
- 18. Can you name this Fallacy? 9) You know Jane Fonda’s exercise video’s must be worth the money. Look at the great shape she’s in. POST HOC (false cause)
- 19. Can you name this Fallacy? 10) We have to stop the tuition increase! The next thing you know, they'll be charging $40,000 a semester! SLIPPERY SLOPE
- 20. Can you name this Fallacy? 15) I'm not a doctor, but I play one on the hit series "Bimbos and Studmuffins in the OR." You can take it from me that when you need a fast acting, effective and safe pain killer there is nothing better than MorphiDope 2000. That is my considered medical opinion. APPEAL TO AUTHORITY