Informal Fallacies
Informal fallacies
8am-11am Saturday
Group 7
Fallacies
An error in argumentation
An error in reasoning
False argument that has the appearance of truth
FALLACY
OF
COMPLEX QUESTION
Fallacy of Complex Question
(plurium interrogationum)
(also known as: many questions fallacy, fallacy of presupposition, loaded question, trick question, false question, loaded question)
Fallacy of Complex Question
involves phrasing the question in such a way that answering it commits the other person to a certain hidden presumption
A question that presupposes the truth of a questionable claim that has not been adequately supported.
What makes it fallacious?
It is a form of misleading discourse, and it is a fallacy when the audience does not detect the assumed information implicit in the question, and accepts it as a fact
It is not always in the form of question
EXAMPLES:
Example:
We should favor extending federal aid to parochial schools and violating thereby the First Amendment regarding the separation of Church and State. You should let your Congressman know where you stand.
( Two otherwise unrelated points are conjoined and treated as a single proposition. The reader is expected to accept or reject both together, when in reality one is acceptable while the other is not.)
Fallacy of accent
Fallacy of Ambiguity
This is a case where a word or phrase is used unclearly. This can occur in two ways.
• The word or phrase may be ambiguous, in which case it has more than one distinct meaning.
• The word or phrase may be vague, in which case it has no distinct meaning.
Fallacy of Accent
Definition: Emphasis is used to suggest a meaning different from the actual content of the proposition. Accent is a kind of fallacy of ambiguity.
Depends upon stressing a word / phrase in a sentence thereby changing the meaning of the whole sentence.
It is a fallacy of ambuity due to the different ways a word is
8am-11am Saturday
Group 7
Fallacies
An error in argumentation
An error in reasoning
False argument that has the appearance of truth
FALLACY
OF
COMPLEX QUESTION
Fallacy of Complex Question
(plurium interrogationum)
(also known as: many questions fallacy, fallacy of presupposition, loaded question, trick question, false question, loaded question)
Fallacy of Complex Question
involves phrasing the question in such a way that answering it commits the other person to a certain hidden presumption
A question that presupposes the truth of a questionable claim that has not been adequately supported.
What makes it fallacious?
It is a form of misleading discourse, and it is a fallacy when the audience does not detect the assumed information implicit in the question, and accepts it as a fact
It is not always in the form of question
EXAMPLES:
Example:
We should favor extending federal aid to parochial schools and violating thereby the First Amendment regarding the separation of Church and State. You should let your Congressman know where you stand.
( Two otherwise unrelated points are conjoined and treated as a single proposition. The reader is expected to accept or reject both together, when in reality one is acceptable while the other is not.)
Fallacy of accent
Fallacy of Ambiguity
This is a case where a word or phrase is used unclearly. This can occur in two ways.
• The word or phrase may be ambiguous, in which case it has more than one distinct meaning.
• The word or phrase may be vague, in which case it has no distinct meaning.
Fallacy of Accent
Definition: Emphasis is used to suggest a meaning different from the actual content of the proposition. Accent is a kind of fallacy of ambiguity.
Depends upon stressing a word / phrase in a sentence thereby changing the meaning of the whole sentence.
It is a fallacy of ambuity due to the different ways a word is