This & That, Ceci et Cela

All these recent improper arguments caused me to dig up old college notes on Fallacies of Arguments. Although I try not to, I’m probably not exempt from perpetrating one of these once in a while…

[From the bk 'Critical Reasoning, Understanding and Criticizing Arguments and Theories' (J. Cederblom and D.W. Paulsen) via Brimstone]

What is a Fallacy? A Fallacy is an argument that is flawed by its very nature or structure. Fallacies are not absolute; depending on context, some fallacies can be appropriate to certain situations.

SLEIGHT OF HAND: DISTRACTION

False Dilemma

Either we pass a constitutional amendment requiring a balanced budget or we let deficits ruin us.

Slippery Slope

Now it’s register hanguns. Next it will be all guns. Then they’ll ban guns, and we’ll be set up for a police state.

Straw Man

People who believe we should spend less for defense apparently believe no one will ever attack us.

SLEIGHT OF HAND: COUNTERFEIT

Affirming The Consequent

If the economy is healthy, unemployment is down. Unemployment is down. So the economy is healthy.

Denying The Antecedent

If she loves you, she’ll marry you. She doesn’t love you. So she won’t marry you.

Equivocation

Insane people shouldn’t be punished. Someone who commits murder must be insane. So murderers should not be punished.

Begging The Question (Petitio Principii)

The Bible says God exists. Everything in the Bible is true, since God wrote it. So God does exist.

MOTIVE IN PLACE OF SUPPORT

Appeal To Force (Ad Baculum)

If you want to keep working here, you’d better reconsider your criticisms of company policy.

Appeal To Pity (Ad Misericordiam)

I am qualified

I have some experience and I really need the money.

Prejudicial Language (Poisoning The Well)

I doubt that you would be so naive as to doubt the generally accepted fact that the finest painters were French.

DOUBLE TROUBLE

Appeal To Authority

A majority of doctors think that the morals of young people have declined.

Attacking The Person (Ad Hominem)

Ad hominem abusive

Discipline is important in education. Rousseau opposed discipline, but he was a pervert.

Ad hominem circumstantial

Senator Thorpe says an arms limitation treaty would be dangerous. But he’s from a state that produces planes and missiles.

Tu quoque

You’re telling me I should drink less? You haven’t been sober in a year.

Fallacies of Emotional Argument

Use of excessive or inappropriate emotionalism

Scare tactics - exaggerating dangers or reducing complicated issues to threats

Either/Or choices - require people to choose 1 of 2 options - oversimplify

Slippery Slope - threatens dire consequences for small actions

Fallacies of Emotional Argument (II)

Sentimental Appeals - using excessive emotions to distract from the facts - often entail a guilt trip

Bandwagon Appeals - suggest that the reader should be persuaded because everyone else is

Fallacies of Ethical Argument

Abusing character arguments

Appeals to false authority - offering an authority as sufficient warrant for believing a claim (X is true because I / George Washington say(s) it is

Dogmatism - implying that a particular view is the only one acceptable within a particular community

Fallacies of Ethos (II)

Moral Equivalence - serious wrongdoings don’t differ from peccadilloes or minor offenses are the same as major crimes

Ad Hominem (to the man) - assaulting a debater’s character, rather then the logic of his/her argument

Fallacies of Logical Argument

Claims are invalid, insufficient or disconnected

Hasty Generalization - an inference drawn from insufficient evidence

Faulty Causality (post hoc ergo propter hoc: after this, therefore because of this) - assuming that because one event follows another, the first caused the second

Fallacies of Logical Argument (II)

Begging the Question - assuming as true the very claim that is being disputed

Equivocation - a half-truth, usually involving a trick of language (Macbeth could not be killed by man of woman born)

Non sequitur - the logic of the argument is not connected: I stole the lipstick because the sky was blue.

Fallacies of Logical Argument (III)

Faulty Analogy - comparisons that are inappropriate or inaccurate

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