Appeal to Ridicule

1. Appeal to Ridicule Definition: fallacy in which ridicule or mockery is substituted for evidence in an “argument” this line of reason has the following form: (common names) = appeal to mockeryand horse laugh Other names: x is some form of ridicule is presented therefore claim C is false. This sort of “reasoning” is fallacies because mocking a claim does not show it is false.

2. 3) “There might also be a dragon with five legs in my house, but no one has ever seen it” (217) Act 3. 4)

3. Slippery Slope Definition: a fallacy in which someone states that some event must follow another without any argument for the inevitability of the event in question. Other words: Domino Effect, Chain Reaction, Chain of events,

4. Universal Example: Event X has occurred (or will or might occur). Therefore event Y will inevitably happen. Crucible: “Rebecca Nurse is no Bridget that lived three year with Bishop before she married him. John Proctor is not Isaac Ward that drank his family to ruin. (To Danforth) I would to God it were not so, Excellency, but these people have great weight yet in the town. Let Rebecca stand upon the gibbet and send up some righteous prayer, and I fear she’ll wake a vengeance on you.” (p.232) [Paris]

6. Hasty Generalization Def:when a person draws a conclusion about a population based on a sample that is not large enough (Stereotyping, Assumptions). Universal Ex: Sam is riding her bike in her home town in Maine, minding her own business. A station wagon comes up behind her and the driver starts beeping his horn and then tries to force her off the road. As he goes by, the driver yells "get on the sidewalk where you belong!" Sam sees that the car has Ohio plates and concludes that all Ohio drivers are jerks. Crucible Ex: “ They were murdered, r. Parris! And make this proof! Mark it! Last night my Ruth were ever so close to their little spirits; I know it, sir. For how else is she struck dumb now expect some power of darkness would stop her mouth? It is a marvelous sign, Mr. Parris”(173).

7. Appeal to Fear • A technique when a person tries to lead a person or a group of people into fear and prejudice toward a competitor. • Common name includes: • Scare tactics, appeal to force, and ad baculum • Universal Example: Hitler and the Nazi regime • “Let either of you breathe a word, or the edge of a word and I will come to you in the dark of some terrible night and I will bring a pointy reckoning that will shudder you.” (175)

8. Poisoning the Well Universal example: A student discredits that the teacher doesn’t know how to teach a certain subject and is a horrible teacher. When the teacher messes up with a problem or states a false fact, the students will all believe that the teacher doesn’t know anything about the subject. Believing everything the teacher says is false is a horrible teacher. Definition: To discredit a person, that anything else that person states is false.

9. Crucible Example: At first Abigail is being questioned by Hale and Abigail then proceeds to accuse Tituba is a liar and Tituba called the devil. After that everyone believes Tituba is a liar and that she is nothing but guilty.

10. Ad Populum Definition: an argument that concludes a proposition is true because many people/most people believe it (*appeal to the people) Common Names: -appeal to masses, appeal to belief, appeal to majority, democracy, argument by consensus , consensus fallacy, authority of the many, and bandwagon fallacy, and in Latin as argumentum ad numerum ("appeal to the number"), and consensus gentium ("agreement of the clans"). It is also the basis of a number of social phenomena, including communal reinforcement and the bandwagon effect. The Chinese proverb "three men make a tiger" concerns the same idea.

11. Examples: Universal Example: People who vote by majority, such as juries serving in courts is an example of “authority of many”. The Crucible Example: Abigail begins the mass hysteria through accusations of the people Of Salem, and the girls begin to abide by Abigail’s word. Abigail: …I go back to Jesus; I kiss His hand. I saw Sarah Good with the Devil! I saw Goody Osburn with the Devil! I saw Bridget Bishop with the Devil!Betty: I saw George Jacobs with the Devil! I saw Goody Howe with the Devil!...I saw Martha Bellow with the Devil!…Hale: It is broken, they are free!Abigail: I saw Goody Sibber with the Devil!Putnam: The marshal, I’ll call the marshal!Betty: I saw Alice Barrow with the Devil!Hale: Let the marshal bring irons!(Act 1, page 189)

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13. Fallacies • Ad Hominem • Red Herring • False Dilemma • Attacking a person’s character, rather than answering the question. • An irrelevant topic is presented in order to divert attention from the original issue. • Situation in which only 2 alternatives are considered when in fault there is at least 1 additional option.

14. Universal/Crucible Example • Universal- • Ad Hominem: Bill is a priest he says abortion is wrong Dave says he has to say that because he is a priest but Bill actually thinks abortion is wrong. • Red Herring: Making grad school requirements stricter • False Dilemma: Bill is dead or he is alive, Bill is not dead, Therefore is he alive. • Crucible • Ad Hominem: “Will you confess yourself befouled with Hell, or do you keep that black allegiance yet?” • Red Herring: “We are going to help you tear yourself free-” • False Dilemma: John Proctor confesses or he doesn’t. John Proctor confesses to continue living. He doesn’t confess and gets hanged.

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16. Loaded Question Definition: Question that is worded so that the answer is expected. Example: “Have you stopped cheating on examinations?”

17. Prejudicial Language Definition: Loaded or emotive terms are used to attach morals or values to believe in the proposition. Example: ”Good students who care about succeeding in life will always do their homework each and every night.”

18. Begging the Question Definition: A fallacy when a proposition relies on an premise within itself to establish the truth of the same proposition. -Using the statement itself as evidence against an issue.