Logical Fallacies Fallacies of Relevance Ad Hominem Refers to a personal attack on an arguer’s reputation or character rather than the argument itself. Usually seen in political debates Example: Teddy Roosevelt’s attacks on William Howard Taft’s obesity. Attacking the Motive Refers to focusing on an attack against an arguer’s supposed motivation or bias rather than focusing on the argument itself. Usually points to how the arguer would benefit from his own argument. Example: Flower
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1. argumentum ad baculum a. Chairman of the Board: "All those opposed to my arguments for the opening of a new department‚ signify by saying‚ ‘I resign.’" b. The Department of Transportation needs to reconsider the speed limit proposals on interstate highways for the simple reason that if they do not‚ their departmental budget for Department of Transportation will be cut by 25%. c. I’m sure you can support the proposal to diversify into the fast food industry because if I receive any opposition on
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An Encyclopedia of Errors of Reasoning The ability to identify logical fallacies in the arguments of others‚ and to avoid them in one’s own arguments‚ is both valuable and increasingly rare. Fallacious reasoning keeps us from knowing the truth‚ and the inability to think critically makes us vulnerable to manipulation by those skilled in the art of rhetoric. What is a Logical Fallacy? A logical fallacy is‚ roughly speaking‚ an error of reasoning. When someone adopts a position‚ or tries to persuade
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Logical Fallacies Logical fallacies have existed since the dawn of time. As defined by Bassham et al a logical fallacy "is an argument that contains a mistake in reasoning." With this definition one must keep in mind that the definition of an argument according to Bassham et al is "a claim put forward and defended by reasons." The ability to recognize logical fallacy will enable one to break down an argument. This ability is crucial to the critical thinking process. Logical fallacies can be
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Fallacies in Advertising According to Bassham et al. (2002)‚ a logical fallacy is “an argument that contains a mistake in reasoning” (p. 140). There are two types of logical fallacies‚ fallacies of relevance‚ and fallacies of insufficient evidence. Fallacies of relevance happen when the premises are not logically relevant to the conclusion. Fallacies of insufficient evidence occur when the premises do not provide sufficient evidence to support the conclusion. Though there are several logical fallacies
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INFORMAL FALLACIES FALLACIES IN GENERAL A fallacy is a defect in an argument that consists in something other than the false premises alone. Fallacies are usually divided into two groups: formal and informal. A formal fallacy is one that may be identified by merely examining the form or structure of an argument. Informal fallaciesare those that can be detected only by examining the content of the argument. Informal fallacies can be further classified as Fallacies of Ambiguities‚ Relevance‚ and
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Practices for tutorial. Part 1: Try to identify whats wrong with the following arguments. What fallacies are committed? Explain. 1. How can anyone seriously believe in evolution? I certainly don’t. How can you take seriously a theory that claims humans are just monkeys with less hair and that our ancestors were apes? 2. A recent study showed that students who cram immediately before examinations usually get lower grades than those who do not. Well‚ I certainly won’t make that mistake this
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FALLACIES OF RELEVANCE 1. Appeal to Force If you suppose that terrorizing your opponent is giving him a reason for believing that you are correct‚ then you are using a scare tactic and reasoning fallaciously. Example: David: My father owns the department store that gives your newspaper fifteen percent of all its advertising revenue‚ so I’m sure you won’t want to publish any story of my arrest for spray painting the college. Newspaper editor: Yes‚ David‚ I see your point. The story really
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across a person who makes logical fallacies. Such discussions may prove futile. You might try asking for evidence and independent confirmation or provide other hypotheses that give a better or simpler explanation. If this fails‚ try to pinpoint the problem of your arguer’s position. You might spot the problem of logic that prevents further exploration and attempt to inform your arguer about his fallacy. The following briefly describes some of the most common fallacies: ad hominem: Latin for "to the
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conclusion is true Fallacies Logical fallacies are arguments based on faulty reasoning. They often appear true at first‚ but they do not remain viable under scrutiny. A fallacy is an “argument” in which the premises given for the conclusion do not provide the needed degree of support. A deductive fallacy is a deductive argument that is invalid (it is such that it could have all true premises and still have a false conclusion). An inductive fallacy is less formal than a deductive fallacy. They are arguments
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