Paulina Cabrera, Celina Palafox, Daniela Gomez, Cynthia Avalos

FALLACIES

Definition: A fallacy is a mistaken belief especially one based on unsound argument (misconception)

Any apparently logical argument can reveal serious flaws if you examine it carefully

Fallacies are often unintentional, we might think we have engaged in a strong argument but have actually engaged in flawed reasoning

While some can in fact be strong strategies for arguments, if we are concerned about truth we should stray away from using fallacies

INTRO TO FALLACIES

Pity Justified when closely related to whatever is being argued Becomes weak when appeal to pity is the only support

used, or distracts from the more important factors Prejudice

Benefit from appealing to readers values Fallacious when used as a crowd pleasing device or with

an excessive amount of loaded words Tradition

Fallacious when it becomes the only reason for justifying a position Ex) “ It’s always been this way, so it always has to be this

way…”

APPEALING

Visual Examples

Pity Tradition

Effective when reasoning inductively: Be sure the things you are comparing have several things in common and are relevant

Involves speculating and therefore you can reach a conclusion likely to be true, but not guaranteed Ex) A candidate asks for your vote because of

their outstanding record as a football player and claims like football, politics involves teamwork (Wrong)

Differences between football and politics outnumber the similarities

Often misused, fallacious if compared inappropriately

ARGUING BY ANALOGY

Attack on opponents Equivocating Making personal

attacks on opponents while ignoring what they have to say or distracting attention from it = ad hominem (Latin for “to the man”)

It’s always better to give a thoughtful response

Using vague/ambiguous language to mislead an audience

Form: using one word in several different senses without acknowledging the change in meaning

Watch out for the abuse of: right, society, freedom, law

Make sure meaning does not shift and is clear

ATTACKING THE CHARACTER OF OPPONENTS & EQUIVOCATING

Attacking the opponent

Guilt by Association False Cause Seen in politics especially

toward the end of a close campaign when negative associations are given to candidates

Associations usually created through hints and innuendos Ex) The only president

we’ve ever had who was catholic was John F. Kennedy

Assuming an event is the result of something that occurred before it Ex) Everything was going

fine until the lunar eclipse last month, that's why the economy is in trouble

Logic should always recognize the distinction between causes and what might seem like coincidences

ATTRIBUTING

John F. Kennedy

Begging the Question Ignoring the Question Premises claim that the

conclusion/assumption is true

It is easier to claim that something is true rather than prove it is

Ex. “Courses like first-year Composition are a waste of time so first-year composition should not be a required course.”

Often used when people don’t want to pinned on a subject.

Ex. “I’m glad you asked that question!” *continues on talking about something else*

BEGGING/IGNORING THE QUESTION

Jumping to Conclusions

Opposing the Straw Man

Conclusion has not been supported by sufficient evidence.

Avoid this by having more than one example to support an argument, be skeptical of arguments that seem to heavy on opinion.

Arguing against a claim that no one actually holds

The most common form of the straw man is exaggerating the views of others or responding only to an extreme view that does not adequately represent the arguments of ones opponents.

JUMPING TO CONCLUSIONS/OPPOSING THE

STRAW MAN

Opposing the Straw Man

Presenting a false dilemma

Sliding down a slippery slope

Speaker poses a choice between 2 alternatives while overlooking other possibilities and implying that no other possibilities exist.

Ex. “Whats wrong with low grades? Is cheating any better?”

Assuming that one step will inevitably lead to a undesirable end.

This fallacy ignores the possibility of a middle ground and assumes a direct transition from category A to category B.

Ex. People may begin to think of gun ownership as a privilege rather than a right, and thus regard gun confiscation less seriously.

PRESENTING A FALSE DILEMMA/SLIDING DOWN A SLIPPERY SLOPE

Sliding down a slippery slope Presenting a false dilemma

An inference that does not logically follow from the premise.

The most common form of this fallacy is when the subordinate clause does not correspond directly to the main clause.

Ex. “All men are humans. Mary is human. Therefore, Mary is a man.”

REASONING THAT DOES NOT FOLLOW

The use of emotional arguments is the most powerful to appeal to your reader’s emotions.

However, sometimes it could be ineffective. This is because emotion is complex and poorly understood and sometimes it is impossible to predict what emotion a certain argument may evoke.

Arguments about controversial issues are fertile ground for emotional appeals.

Ex. UNICEF/PETA commercials. (they use loaded words and images that appeal strongly to your emotions)

EMOTIONAL ARGUMENTS

Unicef