Download
1 / 33
330 likes | 354 Views
Fallacies!!!!. Fun to play with and criticize Terrible to actually use. Key Terms. Argument: a conclusion together with the premises that support it. Premise: a reason offered as support for another claim. Conclusion: a claim that is supported by a premise (ergo = therefore)
E N D
Fallacies!!!! Fun to play with and criticize Terrible to actually use
Key Terms Argument: a conclusion together with the premises that support it. Premise: a reason offered as support for another claim. Conclusion: a claim that is supported by a premise (ergo = therefore) Valid: an argument who premises genuinely support its conclusion Unsound argument: an argument that has at least one false premise. Fallacy: an argument that relies on false reasoning.
Valid Argument? Whichever basketball team scores the most points will win the game. Virginia scored more points than Duke. Therefore, Virginia won the game. John Elway was a great quarterback. Peyton Manning was a great quarterback. Therefore, they played for the same team.
What is a fallacy? A false or mistaken idea; an often plausible argument using false or invalid inferences
Qualities of Fallacies Sometimes very persuasive Hard to identify Weaken an argument
Why is knowing about fallacies important? Knowing about them will make them easier to pinpoint in your work as well as in others’ works • You automatically have the upper hand in a discussion if you can provide strong evidence as well as stay free from fallacies.
Three Categories • Ethical Fallacies—unreasonably advance the writer’s own authority or character • Logical Fallacies—depend on poor and faulty logic • Emotional Fallacies—unfairly appeal to the audience’s emotions **Keep in mind that rhetorical fallacies often overlap!
Ethical Fallacies Appeal to Authority/Testimonial: • Using a culture icon or someone with “authority” on the subject as “evidence” for your argument; Qualified?? This also occurs when someone offers personal authority as proof. • “My high school teacher said it, so it must be true.” • Pepsi commercial
Dogmatism Shuts down discussion by asserting that the writer’s beliefs are the only acceptable ones. • I am sorry, but I think the University of South Dakota Hounds is the best team and that’s that.
Moral Equivalence • Compares minor problems with much more serious crimes (or vice versa). • These mandatory seatbelt laws are fascist.
Attacks on the Individual Ad Hominem “To the Man”/Personal Attack: • Making a personal attack on the individual instead of arguing for themselves. Attacks of a person’s character rather than the person’s reasoning. • See this a lot in political ad campaigns
Guilt by Association • Assuming someone or something is not worth buying/trusting because he/she/it is associated with a certain group of people; calls someone’s character into question by examining the character of that person’s associates. • McCarthyism was a specific version of Guilt by Association in which an individual, organization, or idea was associated in some way with communism (civil rights supporter, etc.) • Sara’s friend Amy robbed a bank; therefore, Sara is a delinquent.
Straw Man -puts forth one of opponent’s weaker, less central arguments forward and destroys it, while acting like this argument is the crux of the issue; dismantle easily refutable arguments in order to misrepresent an opponent’s argument in order to defeat him My opponent wants to increase teachers’ pay but studies have shown that professors with tenure do not work as hard at their job to improve their performance and skill. Person A: We need to regulate access to handguns. Person B: My opponent believes that we should ignore the rights guaranteed to us as citizens of the United States by the Constitution. Unlike my opponent, I am a firm believer in the Constitution, and a proponent of freedom. Modern Family “Unplugged” episode
Logical Fallacies—poor and falsely developed Post hoc ergo propter hoc/False Cause: • Arguments confuse chronology with causation; one even can occur after another without being caused by it. Since Event B followed Event A, then A must have caused B. • Statistics show that at beaches this past summer, ice cream sales have gone up. So has the number of people drowning in the ocean. Ice cream must be the culprit. • Time Warner commercial example
Non sequitur/Latin for “It does not follow”: • A statement that does not follow logically or is not clearly related to anything previously said. An important logical step may be missing in such a claim. • “Tens of thousands of Americans have seen lights in the night sky which they could not identify. The existence of life on other planets is fast becoming certainty!“ • “If those protesters really loved their country, they would not question the government.”
False Analogy/Comparison: • Using analogies often make poor evidence because the two things are not alike in all aspects - the assumption is that two things are more alike than they really are. Inaccurate, inappropriate, or misleading comparison between two things. • “Letting prisoners out on early release is like absolving them of their crimes.” Rolling socks makes you feel younger?!?!
Missing the Point—the premise of the argument supports a specific conclusion but not the one the author draws. Antidepressants are overly prescribed which is dangerous, so they should clearly be made illegal.
An Equivocation • A half-truth, or a statement that is partially correct but that purposefully obscures the entire truth. • “Giving money to charity is the right thing to do, so charities have the right to our money.”
The Spotlight Fallacy—the author assumes that the cases that receive the most publicity are the most common cases. Ninety percent of news reports talk about negative events, therefore, 90% of events that occur in the real world are negative.
Hasty Generalization --When the proponent uses too small of a sample size to support a sweeping generalization; scanty evidence. Claire could not find anything to wear at the new boutique, nor could Susie; therefore, there are no good clothes at the new boutique.
Begging the Question/Circular Reasoning: • Occurs when a writer simply restates the claim in a different way; such an argument is circular (not going anywhere) • “Why did he do that? Did he have a reason?” • “Of course he had a reason, or he wouldn’t have done it.” • “His lies are evident from the untruthful nature of his statements. Loaded Question: • Asking a question that assumes something that has not been proven yet - forces an answer based on false or controversial premises. • “Do you know how fast you were going?” • Answer yes: admit to speeding • Answer no: admit not paying attention/speeding
Stacked Evidence • Represents only one side of the issue, thus distorting the issue. • “Cats are superior to dogs because they are cleaner, cuter, and more independent.”
Appeal to Ignorance -appealing to ignorance for evidence of something. Because we have no knowledge of alien visitors, we can know they do not exist.
Emotional Fallacies Red Herring—argument diverts attention by changing the subject; uses misleading or unrelated evidence to support a conclusion. Why is it named this?
Limited Options/Either-Or Assuming there are only two sides to an argument or offering only two choices; reduce complicated issues to only two possible courses of action. • “Either she comes to my party or she’s not my real friend.” • “The patent office can either approve my generator design immediately or say goodbye forever to affordable energy.”
Bandwagon: • “Everyone’s doing it” - fear of rejection if you don’t join in… • “Four out of five dentists surveyed preferred Crest toothpaste over the other leading brands.” • Advertisers who urge consumers to buy “the brand that's number one” are using bandwagon appeal. • Numbers may not exactly be true or skewed to appeal to the consumer. (5 Hour Energy Ad) • “Many people…” - general claim!
Slippery Slope— arguments suggest that one thing will lead to another, oftentimes with disastrous results; take us on a “slippery slope” we will not be able to get off from). • If we allow doctor assisted suicide, then eventually the government will control how we die. • If you get a B in this class, you will not get into the college of your choice, and therefore will never have a meaningful career.
Appeal to Faith argument relies on faith as the BASES for an argument; faith, by definition, relies on a belief—not logic or evidence. Sentimental Appeals Use emotion to distract the audience from the facts. “The thousands of baby seals killed in the Exxon Valdez oil spill have shown us that oil is not a reliable energy source.”
Scare Tactics • Try to frighten people into agreeing with the arguer by threatening them or predicting unrealistically dire consequences. • “If you do not support the party’s tax plan, you and your family will be reduced to poverty.”
False Need • Arguments create an unnecessary desire for things. • “You need an expensive car or people won’t think you are cool.” • Children use this often.
Who Can Write the Worst Ad? • In groups of three, decide on a product. This could be something we all know about, something made up, or even a person (think of political ads or “changed” celebrities) • Create a visual ad. (Magazine spread? Billboard? Cartoon?) • Must tell us: What the product is. Why we should all have/believe this product. • This ad must be LOADED with fallacies. At least 3 • Define and explain fallacies used on the back. • Must be colorful and creative. • 50 point assessment grade
