the Fallacies of Rhetoric

1. the Fallacies of Rhetoric Rhetorical Analysis Background Information

2. What is a fallacy? • Fallacy: an incorrect argument in logic and rhetoric resulting in a lack validity, or more generally, a lack of soundness • In other words, a fallacy is a strategy that someone uses in a piece of rhetoric to persuade the listener or reader, masking him or her from the real truth • We are going to be learning about 26 fallacies in preparation for your paper • THERE WILL BE A QUIZ

3. Appeals of Prejudice or Stereotypes • Judging someone’s credibility by race, religion, sex or other categorization rather than by the facts • Example:

4. Appeals for Sympathy • Using sympathy instead of facts to back a statement • Example:

5. Appeals of Tradition and Custom • Justifying arguments with traditional and customary excuses rather than facts • Example:

6. Arguing in a Circle • Circulating arguments with meaningless answers rather than resolving them • Example:

7. Bandwagon • Everyone else is doing something, so should you! • Example:

8. Begging the Question • Taking for granted ideas are true without proving them to be • Example:

9. Card Stacking • Presenting only one side of an issue; one point of view in favor of or against • Example:

10. Deduction • Generalizing the whole to specific parts • Example:

11. Equivocation • Using two dissimilar situations and comparing them as the same to persuade • Example:

12. Exigency • Tries to convince that there is a good reason to do something in a short amount of time. Consequences will result if too much time is taken. • Example:

13. Flag waving • Stars and stripes or you are not patriotic • Example:

14. Free Bargain • A technique of making someone believe they are getting something for nothing • Example:

15. Glittering Generality • A word or phrase used to draw a positive response but to give no information • Example:

16. Hasty Generalization • Use of magnificent or non-sufficient evidence to support a broad conclusion • Example:

17. Induction • Believing a specific example can be generalized to a whole. • Example:

18. Innuendo • Hints indirectly that wrongdoing is present without proof • Example: When Regina George calls a guy’s girlfriend’s mother pretending to be Planned Parenthood with test results. This implies that the woman’s daughter is pregnant.

19. Just Plain Folks • To use blue collar and middle class values rather than the facts • Example:

20. Name Calling • Labeling someone or something good or bad without sufficient evidence • Example:

21. Non Sequitur • Using an inconsistent argument. “It does not follow.” • Example:

22. Oversimplification • Easier said than done • Example:

23. Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc • After this, therefore, because of this • Example:

24. Repetition • Repeating statements to persuade • Example:

25. Substitution of Prestige • Avoiding facts by thinking well of something because of clout or status • Example:

26. Substitution of Ridicule or humor • Not using facts but making a joke or derogatory comment to discredit • Example:

27. Testimonial • Opinion of a well known person or subject when he or she has no expertise to talk about it • Example:

28. Value Charged Appeals • Use of highly charged emotional words to persuade • Example: