...Master List of Logical Fallacies Fallacies are fake or deceptive arguments, arguments that prove nothing. Fallacies often seem superficially sound, and far too often have immense persuasive power, even after being clearly exposed as false. Fallacies are not always deliberate, but a good scholar’s purpose is always to identify and unmask fallacies in arguments. Ad Hominem Argument: Also, "personal attack," "poisoning the well." The fallacy of attempting to refute an argument by attacking the opposition’s personal character or reputation, using a corrupted negative argument from ethos. E.g., "He's so evil that you can't believe anything he says." See also Guilt by Association. Also applies to cases where potential opposing arguments are brushed aside without comment or consideration, as simply not worth arguing about. Appeal to Closure. The contemporary fallacy that an argument, standpoint, action or conclusion must be accepted, no matter how questionable, or else the point will remain unsettled and those affected will be denied "closure." This refuses to recognize the truth that some points will indeed remain unsettled, perhaps forever. (E.g., "Society would be protected, crime would be deterred and justice served if we sentence you to life without parole, but we need to execute you in order to provide some sense of closure.") (See also "Argument from Ignorance," "Argument from Consequences.") Appeal to Heaven: (also Deus Vult, Gott...
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...Persuading someone solely on the basis of fear is the fallacy known as the Appeal to Fear. Using this fallacy, one can argue that negative outcomes will occur if the desired option is not chosen. Fear is the only motivator in this type of argument; logical reasoning is not used. When emotions are used in an argument, any sense of facts and logic go right out the window. This fallacy is useful in marketing and the selling of products that persuade the consumer to buy their product over the competitor. An example of this fallacy is when a smoke detector manufacturer uses the sales pitch, “Fires kill hundreds of people around the country each year. Therefore, not having our state of the line smoke detector in your home puts your family at risk...
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...PHI221_3_20140728M_OL_Introduction to Logic Saturday, August 16th 2014 Daniel Marcelle Bandwagon Jumper The bandwagon fallacy stands out to me and makes the most sense. I’ve always been a firm believer in understanding and comprehending the world around through your eyes and ears. In the video, comedian Jason Sudeikis illustrates that if one person is to yell out during a presidential speech it is misconduct but if everyone yells out at the same time then it is preserved in a different way. He also brings up a valid point during the skit. He says, “It’s like being in grade school again, if one person does it then they get in trouble but if everyone does it no one gets in trouble. This is a great example of what the bandwagon foundation is built on. There have been many sayings in life that can be chalked up to the bandwagon fallacy, such the countless headers of magazines or commercials that read or say, “7 in 10 doctors recommend…..” Another famous one that never shies away from the history books is, “the entire world used to believe the earth was flat,” not exactly backed by hard facts but still we see it as if it were. No matter what the capacity, just because a celebrity, or doctor or a great commercial endorses something, by no means does that make it any more or any less of difference. It basically boils down to how people perceive it, either way they are still part of the bandwagon fallacy. There are ways to avoid falling into the bandwagon fallacy; it just takes some logical...
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...Title: Unit 5 Fallacies Kaplan University February 11, 2014 Unit 5 Fallacies Part I: Mom, you know how much I love animals, right? Well, yesterday I just happened to be passing by an animal shelter, and wanted to stop in and take a look at all of those poor dogs that are going to be put to sleep. I know you told me that I couldn’t have any more pets, but there was this one dog; his name is “Butterscotch," and he was scheduled to be executed that same day, and well; I just couldn’t let them stick those huge needles in him, hurting him, and killing him for no reason. Anyway, I hope you don’t mind, but I brought him home with me. You know; I remember you telling me when you were a kid; you did the same thing, so I can’t see how this would be any different from what you used to do. Besides, I’ll take care of him, feed him, and you won’t have to do anything; I promise. If you let me keep him, I will promise to do all of my chores and never argue with you again, please! You know; I was talking to my friend the other day, and she told me that shelters actually like killing dogs, they sell the dog remains to a company that makes dog food out of them. I’m not sure where she heard this, but she loves dogs, so I know she’s right. My friend said they make more money that way, so they really don’t care about these dogs at all; it’s always about people's greed and how much money they can make. If I can save at least one dog from becoming dog food, I would be happy. ...
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...Fallacy Exercises, part 3 I. Identify the fallacies committed by the following arguments, giving a brief explanation for your answer. If no fallacy is committed, write "no fallacy."[1] NOTE: If an argument is followed by “IGNORE” it is an eample that we didn’t cover and you are not responsible for it. 1. Either we require forced sterilization of Third World peoples or world population will explode and all of us will die. We certainly don't want to die, so we must require forced sterilization. False Dichotomy. These aren’t the only two possibilities. People could control the population by other means. 2. James said that he saw a picture of a beautiful girl stashed in Stephen's locker. We can only conclude that Stephen has broken the rules, because girls are not allowed in the locker room. Accident – the rule applies to real girls, not pictures of girls. 3. Why is it so difficult for you to reach a decision? Complex Question. The thing being assumed is that it is difficult for the person to reach a decision. 4. People who lack humility have no sense of beauty because everyone who has a sense of beauty also has humility. Circular argument. The conclusion says nothing different than the premise. 5. Butane is combustible. Therefore, it burns. Circular argument. “Combustible” means “burns”. 6. Honey, this postcard just arrived, and it says we have won a free airline trip. All we have to do is call the toll-free number...
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...Stereotype Paper Leona Wolford PHI 103: Informal Logic Erik Hudak December 17, 2012 A stereotype is a generalization that people make about the characteristics of another person or group of people. I have stereotyped against other people and have been stereotyped by others. Stereotypes are created about people of specific cultures, races, gender or sexual orientation. A professor from the University of Toronto, Scarborough, Dr. Michael Inzlicht, indicated that “past studies have shown that people perform poorly in situations where they feel they are being stereotyped” (Kemick, 2010, para. 2). The first stereotype I will discuss is about African Americans. They have many stereotypes. The first common stereotype is that they’re all athletic. The argument for this stereotype could be: Michael Jordan was a talented basketball player Jerry Rice was one of the best wide receivers in the NFL Joe is African American, therefore, he must be a talented athlete The fallacy we see in this argument is hasty generalization. Our text states that the “fallacy of hasty generalization is committed when the conclusion is based on insufficient information: a generalization is made too quickly” (Mosser, 2011, p. 4.2). The assumption that Joe is a talented athlete just because of his racial background and color does not provide enough evidence to substantiate and prove the claim. Joe may not be athletic whatsoever, and may be more of a bookworm or be involved in activities other...
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...What type of fallacies do you detect? In this picture there are many fallacies I detected, some more apparent than others. The first being the “Red Herring” witch states the claim provides unrelated and misleading support for said claim. Being a circular reasoning argument it easy to see why this fallacy fits. I’ve seen this type of logic first hand, were I could propose a fact from a creditable source and another person retorts with a wild claim like “Because GOD said so/did it.” Not backing said claim with proof (Using this circular reasoning as a defense.) One other type of fallacy I can see that fits this criteria is the “Stacked Evidence” witch represents only one side of an issue not acknowledging the other side. I see this fallacy to fit this example because, when arguing with a pro-monotheist person it’s hard to even propose any other way of thinking because it goes against their way of life, and they don’t want to hear anything to penetrate their own outlook on life. What, specifically, makes them flawed or faulty? In my own option I believe that reading a book that’s been rewritten multiple times down past many years, and the person can pick and choose what they want follow and practice is dumb-founding to me. To think that praying to an invisible man will make your life better is stupid. (In my opinion.) In what ways do these changes make the argument stronger? One major way people can change this way of think is to INFORM people to the facts of how...
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...2012. This paper criticize the weakness of the essay, which is the usage of SANA, and the two fallacies, which are appeal to the crowd in paragraph two and non-sequitur in paragraph five. Firstly, the omission of this article is the writer did not show a method of SANA. It is a tool that uses video, image and text for helping people, and people are able to download it for their health. Sana is a cell phone facilitated clinical information system that connects community health workers and medical specialists (Behar, 2012). Author wants to demonstrate that SANA helps people, but he did not tell the readers how SANA saves people life. One study shows that SANA collects data and interviews the patient through the clinical protocol by healthcare workers. When the data is collected and uploaded, the partner hospital’s doctors will read the information about the patients and make an effective diagnosis recommendation for the patients. If the doctors has a question, they are able to ask the patients by using SANA application (Dmjue, 2014). According to Bettex 2010, SANA sent the team to India to train healthcare workers and teach how to use SANA. SANA concerns about training other countries rather than giving them the technology. Therefore, author should show the usage of SANA and the activities that SANA is working to approve societies. Secondly, the writer made a logical fallacy called “appeal to the crowd” when he said “many...
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...Anti-Gay Controversy Article Rebuttal Paper: James Lee University of Phoenix BCOM/275 Anti-Gay Controversy Article Rebuttal It is hard to argue that issues regarding gay rights have been under a great deal of scrutiny in recent years. Though much news has been geared towards same-sex marriage in relation to the recent presidential elections, gay rights have also been sparking upheaval in relation to the workplace. Specifically, in a Huffington Post article “Chick-fil-A Anti-Gay Controversy: Gay Employees Speak Out,” Lila Shapiro writes on the effects of Dan Cathy’s, founder and owner of Chic-Fil-A, coming out against gay marriage. Though clear, fair, and evidence based arguments can be given for both opponents and proponents on gay marriage, Shapiro only whimsically urges readers to wake up to Cathy’s mistakes with an argument from pity while also begging the question; claiming that his choices were a biased hatred towards the gay community. The article fails to show both sides of the argument and only makes an attempt to pull sympathy from readers by one sided views of those opposing Cathy’s business and religious choices to accept the writer’s views. For example, from one of the many stories she lists to support her claims, she writes: One gay employee who works at Chick-fil-A headquarters in Atlanta, Ga., and asked to remain anonymous for fear of losing his job, says he is getting it from both sides. On the one hand, there is the customer who came in and said he...
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...Love Is a Fallacy - Written by Max Shulman Cool was I and logical...My brain was as powerful as a dynamo, as precise as a chemist's scales, as penetrating as a scalpel. And-think of it!-I was only eighteen. It is not often that one young has such a giant intellect. Take, for example, Petey Burch, my roommate at the University of Minnesota. Same age, same background, but dump as an ox. A nice enough fellow, you understand, but nothing upstairs... One afternoon I found Peter lying on his bed with an expression of such distress on his face that I immediately diagnosed appendicitis. "Don't move," I said. "Don't take a laxative. I'll get a doctor." "Raccoon," he mumbled thickly. "Raccoon?" I said, pausing in my flight. "I want a raccoon coat," he wailed. I perceives that his trouble was not physical, but mental. "Why do you want a raccoon coat?"... "All the Big Men on Campus are wearing them. Where've you been?" "In the library," I said, naming a place not frequented by Big Men on Campus. He leaped from the bed and paced the room, "I've got to have a raccoon coat," he said passionately. "I've got to!" "Peter, why? Look at it rationally. Raccoon coats are unsanitary. They shed. They smell bad. They weigh too much. They're unsightly. They-" "You don't understand," he interrupted impatiently. "It's the thing to do... I'd give anything for a raccoon coat. Anything!" My brain, that precision instrument, slipped into high gear. "Anything?" I asked, looking...
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...Fallacy Exercises, part 3 I. Identify the fallacies committed by the following arguments, giving a brief explanation for your answer. If no fallacy is committed, write "no fallacy." NOTE: If an argument is followed by “IGNORE” it is an eample that we didn’t cover and you are not responsible for it. 1. Either we require forced sterilization of Third World peoples or world popula¬tion will explode and all of us will die. We certainly don't want to die, so we must require forced sterilization. False Dichotomy. These aren’t the only two possibilities. People could control the population by other means. 2. James said that he saw a picture of a beautiful girl stashed in Stephen's locker. We can only conclude that Stephen has broken the rules, because girls are not allowed in the locker room. Accident – the rule applies to real girls, not pictures of girls. 3. Why is it so difficult for you to reach a decision? Complex Question. The thing being assumed is that it is difficult for the person to reach a decision. 4. People who lack humility have no sense of beauty because everyone who has a sense of beauty also has humility. Circular argument. The conclusion says nothing different than the premise. 5. Butane is combustible. Therefore, it burns. Circular argument. “Combustible” means “burns”. 6. Honey, this postcard just arrived, and it says we have won a free airline trip. All we have to do is call the toll-free number to claim it. If we call the number, we can...
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...Introduction to Philosophy Φιλοσοφια BRANCHES OF PHILOSOPHY: Epistemology, Metaphysics, Logic, Ethics * Epistemology - Studies how human beings acquire knowledge Proponents: John Locke: we came into this world naked both physically and intellectually Empiricism – All knowledge comes from experience which is made possible through sense perceptions Example: I have an idea of an apple because I see an apple Immanuel Kant: proposed that categories in the mind exists; contradicts empiricism and believes in innate ideas Example: ideas pertaining to mathematics e.g. The idea of “1” exist in the mind; all else outside of the mind are merely manifestations of “1” in the mind. * Metaphysics - Attempts to study the whole of reality by identifying the fundamental properties of being: Essence and Existence * Essence is that something which endures and allows us to recognize a being as it is * Existence is the fundamental property of being which all of us share. * Logic - The science of correct reasoning Example: * “Practice makes perfect, but no one is perfect. Why practice?” * “A ruler is 12 inches long. Queen Elizabeth is a ruler. Therefore, Queen Elizabeth is 12 inches long.” * Ethics - The science of the morality of the human conduct and of the good life. * Concerned with what is good and what is evil * However, these qualities (good & evil) do not apply to all beings. It only applies to rational beings ...
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...Fallacy Summary and Application Paper Introduction Logical Fallacies are methods in argumentations or persuasions that may look or sound good and truthful but do not stand up to critical analysis. These are errors of reasoning that may be recognized by prudent thinkers (Downes, 1995). Fallacies are more than just mistaken belief, it is a flaw in argument that may be intentionally created by a person who has an agenda or may be due to a simple error. On the other hand, Fischer (1970; p. 306) in contrast with fallacy explains logic as follows: “Logic is not everything. But it is something something which can be taught, something which can be learned, something which can help us in some degree to think more sensibly about the dangerous world in which we live.” Logical fallacies are commonly used in order to manipulate a situation or worse when an individual does not recognize the fallacies in the argument, he can be manipulated during the decision making process. As such it is necessary for every individual to use critical thinking particularly during the decision-making process for him or her to become aware of logical fallacies and how these relate to decision-making. Critical thinking as against logical fallacies is a process being used particularly in resolving a problem. It is a mental process of analyzing and evaluating information such as statements or propositions being offered as truth. This process involves reflection of the meaning of statements given, examinations...
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...GEN480 - Case Study Assignment Part #01 Analysis 2. Assumptions made a. Kelly Kelly makes several significant assumptions in this case study: i. That Pat has no experience in quality control; ii. That Pat’s previous work experience would not be helpful for this project; iii. That the budget is not realistic; iv. That there is not enough staff for such a large project; v. That this is the only reasonable project; and iv. That the timeframe for the project is too short. b. Pat Pat also makes many assumptions, including: i. That she and Kelly will not work well together; ii. That the new project will be complete by August; iii. That there are not enough staff members to complete the project on time; iv. That the project will be profitable; v. That there is a need to spread into new markets; vi. That the team will have internal conflicts; and vii. That the project will be difficult. c. Cliff Cliff makes various assumptions, as well, including: i. That the iScanner will be incredibly difficult to surpass; ii. That creativity and innovation is necessary for this project; iii. That the iScanner will not leave the market; iv. That the budget can be managed without layoffs; and v. That more can be produced under the new budget. d. Chris Chris also makes significant assumptions, including: i. That layoffs would not work to cut costs; ii. That costs need to be cut in this department; iii. That product...
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...Zahraa Rahal Mrs. Nina Shalhoub English 204 1 October 2015 A Critique of “The common App Fallacy” by Damon Beres Damon Beres, a columnist for New York University’s Washington Square News, professes his point view on the Common College Application and lists what he believes to be wrong with it. Beres presents the main bulk of his argument in a conversational tone, which has emphasis over conciseness and logic rather than fact. It is clear from the beginning that Beres’ target audience is: college students, roughly his age, who read the NYU school journal. In his article “The Common App Fallacy,” Damon Beres blasts the Common College Application, citing how the one-size-fits-all application is ruining the college application process. With students just pointing, clicking and applying, colleges are reaping in a new application tithe, leading Beres to postulate that, “it’s a cheap, money making scheme that homogenizes applicants and schools alike.” This rapid fire, mass spamming of applications is what he believes to be pauperizing the college application process. By not engaging in a personalized search for the right college, Beres reflects that students are misappropriating collegiate stock and saturating colleges’ application slots, preventing more invested students from making the cut--shockingly to him, something Beres reasons that the College Board and colleges are indisputably extorting. Beres’ article is most certainly intriguing, if not informative. He illustrates...
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