Fallacious Arguments: An Introduction To Logic
1. Fallacious Arguments Considering the fallacies discussed in Chapter Four of An Introduction to Logic, construct three different arguments that display distinct fallacies. Give an explanation of why each makes a mistake in drawing the conclusion it does. Review your classmates’ examples and see if they, in fact, commit the fallacy identified.
Before getting to examples of different arguments that display distinct fallacies I will define a fallacious argument. In our text fallacy is defined as “a mistake in reasoning that fails to provide appropriate support for a conclusion”. (mosser, 2011) With that said a fallacious argument is one of those arguments that just don’t have reasonable evidence to support its conclusion.
Examples: …show more content…
Wearing the same socks does not guarantee that John will always finish in first place. 2. The soldier will not fail the physical fitness test if he/she is 1lb overweight
The Soldier will not fail the physical fitness test if he/she is 2lb overweight
But the Soldier will be counseled for being overweight if he/she keeps gaining weight and may get chaptered out of the Army.
This example demonstrates what is known as a slippery slop fallacy. Within these types of arguments “often the idea is that if an exception is allowed to a rule, then more and more exceptions will follow, leading to the inevitable result that few people, if any, will follow the rule”. (Mosser, 2011) The Soldier may get away with gaining a couple of pounds but the more he or she gains increases the chances of being put out of the Army.
Mosser, K.. (2010). Critical Thinking, Eighth Edition. New York: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
3. The Brazilian steakhouse parking lot is always full; it must be really cheap.
This is an example of Appeal to Popularity Fallacy, because this argument is saying that since there are a lot of cars and people at the restaurant it must be cheap. There are many other reasons as to why the restaurant draws such a crowd and not necessarily because it is
Before getting to examples of different arguments that display distinct fallacies I will define a fallacious argument. In our text fallacy is defined as “a mistake in reasoning that fails to provide appropriate support for a conclusion”. (mosser, 2011) With that said a fallacious argument is one of those arguments that just don’t have reasonable evidence to support its conclusion.
Examples: …show more content…
Wearing the same socks does not guarantee that John will always finish in first place. 2. The soldier will not fail the physical fitness test if he/she is 1lb overweight
The Soldier will not fail the physical fitness test if he/she is 2lb overweight
But the Soldier will be counseled for being overweight if he/she keeps gaining weight and may get chaptered out of the Army.
This example demonstrates what is known as a slippery slop fallacy. Within these types of arguments “often the idea is that if an exception is allowed to a rule, then more and more exceptions will follow, leading to the inevitable result that few people, if any, will follow the rule”. (Mosser, 2011) The Soldier may get away with gaining a couple of pounds but the more he or she gains increases the chances of being put out of the Army.
Mosser, K.. (2010). Critical Thinking, Eighth Edition. New York: The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
3. The Brazilian steakhouse parking lot is always full; it must be really cheap.
This is an example of Appeal to Popularity Fallacy, because this argument is saying that since there are a lot of cars and people at the restaurant it must be cheap. There are many other reasons as to why the restaurant draws such a crowd and not necessarily because it is