-
What is a fallacy?
- Logical fallacies are errors in logic.
- Failure to provide adequate evidence to support a claim
-
Why should fallacies be avoided?
- Weaken argument
- Recognizing fallacies when they appear in someone else’s argument will help you to assess the effectiveness of the argument
-
Bandwagon Appeal
- The bandwagon appeal makes the claim that everyone is thinking this or doing that.
- Fallacious because it asks us to get on board with it without weighing the evidence of what is being promoted.
-
Begging the Question
- Similar to circular reasoning, begging the question passes off as true something that needs to be proven.
- Begging the question often occurs when the claim is restated and passed off as evidence.
-
False Analogies
- A false analogy compares things that don’t match up feature for feature.
- A false analogy can also occur when ideas are compared that don’t connect or are their connection is pressed beyond legitimacy.
-
Either-or
- An either-or fallacy involves the simplification of complex issues into an either/or choice. For this reason, it is also often referred to as a “False Dilemma”.
- This type of fallacy doesn’t take the time to establish the issue or offer evidence to support the claim. Instead, it appeals to ignorance and prejudice.
-
Hasty generalization
- As the name indicates, a hasty generalization takes place when a writer arrives at a conclusion based on too little evidence.
- Hasty generalizations can also occur when a writer relies on evidence that is not factual or substantiated.
- Be wary of sweeping, uncritical statements such as always, all, none, never, only, and most.
-
Non sequitur
- From the Latin for “does not follow,” a non sequitur draws a conclusion that does not follow logically from the premise.
- A non sequitur ties together two unrelated ideas.
-
Post hoc
- From the Latin for “after this, therefore because of this,” a post hoc, ergo propter hoc argument is one that establishes a questionable cause-and-effect relationship between events.
- This type of fallacy suggests that because Y follows X, X caused Y.
- This fallacy is commonly found in arguments made by (or geared towards) superstitious people--people looking for big, simple explanations.
-
Slippery slope
- The slippery slope presumes that one event will inevitably lead to a chain of other events that end in a catastrophe—as one slip on a mountaintop will cause a climber to tumble down and bring with him/her all those in tow.
- The domino-effect reasoning is a fallacy because it depends more on presumption than hard evidence.
-
Straw Man
- This strategy refutes another person’s actual position by substituting an exaggerated or distorted version of that position.
- The straw man is a diversionary tactic that sets up another’s position in a way that can be easily rejected.
- What makes the straw man a fallacy is that the user declares the opponent’s conclusion to be wrong because of flaws in another, lesser argument: The straw man user presents a fictitious or misrepresented version of the opponent’s argument , and refutes that.
-
Oversimplification
This strategy minimizes the argument, not taking into consideration the vast complexities involved in most situations.
-
Rationalization
This strategy comes up with excuses and weak explanations for their own and others’ behavior.
-
Polarization
This strategy exaggerates positions and groups by representing them as extreme and divisive.
-
Name Calling
This strategy labels their opposition without clearly defining the terms they use.
-
Stacking the Deck
when writers give only the evidence that supports their premise, while disregarding contrary evidence
|
|