Day 19 Research

1. Day 19 Research • Outline due • Drafting Wednesday and Thursday • Draft due Friday for editing • Draft for grading due Monday • Timed Reading • Review Previewing • Purpose • Fallacies of Relevance

2. Fallacies of Insufficient Evidence “The foolish and the dead alone never change their opinion.” - James Russell Lowell

3. 4.2 Fallacies of Insufficient Evidence Arguments in which the premises, though logically relevant to the conclusion, fail to provide sufficient evidence to support the conclusion.

4. 4.2 Fallacies of Insufficient Evidence

5. 4.2.1 Inappropriate Appeal to Authority Inappropriate Appeal to Authority Citing a witness or authority that is untrustworthy. Example: My dentist told me that aliens built the lost city of Atlantis. So, it’s reasonable to believe that aliens did build the lost city of Atlantis. • Authority Assessment • Is the source an authority on the subject at issue? • Is the source biased? • Is the accuracy of the source observations questionable? • Is the source known to be generally unreliable? • Has the source been cited correctly? • Does the source’s claim conflict with expert opinion? • Can the source’s claim be settled by an appeal to expert opinion? • Is the claim highly improbable on its face? Tips

6. “Not proven, therefore false” • If such reasoning were allowed, we could prove almost • any conclusion. Remember 4.2.2 Appeal to Ignorance Appeal to Ignorance Claiming that something is true because no one has proven it false or vice versa. Example: Yoda must exist. No one has proved that he doesn’t exist. Agree I do!

7. 4.2.3 False Alternatives False Alternatives Posing a false either/or choice. Example: The choice in this MPM election is clear: Either we elect Zubaidah as our next president, or we watch our MPM unity slide into anarchy and frustration. Clearly, we don’t want that to happen. Therefore, we should elect Zubaidah as our next president. • Fallacy of false alternatives can involve more than • two (2) alternatives. It can also be expressed as a • conditional (if-then) statement. Remember

8. To respond to a loaded question effectively, one must • distinguish the different questions being asked and respond • to each individually. Tip 4.2.4 Loaded Question Loaded Question Posing a question that contains an unfair or unwarranted presupposition. Example: Lee: Are you still friends with that loser Richard? Ali: Yes. Lee: Well, at least you admit he’s a total loser.

9. 1. A and B are associated on a regular basis. • 2. Therefore A is the cause of B. Pattern 4.2.5 Questionable Cause Questionable Cause Claiming, without sufficient evidence, that one thing is the cause of something else. Example: Sarah gets a chain letter that threatens her with dire consequences if she breaks the chain. She laughs at it and throws it in the garbage. On her way to work she slips and breaks her arm. When she gets back from the hospital she sends out 200 copies of the chain letter, hoping to avoid further accidents.

10. 1. A biasedsample is one that is not representative of the target population. • 2. The target population is the group of people or things that the • generalization is about. • 3. Hasty generalizations can often lead to false stereotypes. Pattern 4.2.6 Hasty Generalization Hasty Generalization Drawing a general conclusion from a sample that is biased or too small. Example: Norwegians are lazy. I have two friends who are from there, and both of them never prepare for class, or do their homework.

11. 4.2.7 Slippery Slope Slippery Slope Claiming, without sufficient evidence, that a seemingly harmless action, if taken, will lead to a disastrous outcome. Examples: • “The Malaysian militarily shouldn't get involved in other countries. Once the government sends in a few troops, it will then send in thousands to die." • If 10th graders are allowed to go out for lunch, they will be late to class, fail out of school and become wandering vagrants. • The arguer claims that if a certain seemingly harmless action, A, is permitted, A will lead to B, B will lead to C, and so on to D. • The arguer holds that D is a terrible thing and therefore should not be permitted. • In fact, there is no good reason to believe that A will actually lead to D. Pattern

12. 4.2.8 Weak Analogy Weak Analogy Comparing things that aren’t really comparable. Example: Nobody would buy a car without first taking it for a test drive. Why then shouldn’t two mature college students live together before they decide whether to get married? • 1. List all important similarities between the two cases. • 2. List all important dissimilarities between the two cases. • 3. Decide whether the similarities or dissimilarities are • more important. Tip

13. 4.2.9 Inconsistency Inconsistency Asserting inconsistent or contradictory claims. Example: Note found in a Forest Service Suggestion box: Park visitors need to know how important it is to keep this wilderness area completely pristine and undisturbed. So why not put up a few signs to remind people of this fact? • It is also a mistake to cling stubbornly to an old idea when new • information suggests that the idea is false. • Open-minded to new ideas = Learning Remember

14. 4.2 Mini Quiz – Question 1 What's to say against [cigars]? They killed George Burns at 100. If he hadn't smoked them, he'd have died at 75. (Bert Sugar, quoted in New York Times, September 20, 2002) • Which fallacy? • Questionable Cause • Hasty Generalization • Slippery Slope • Weak Analogy

15. 4.2 Mini Quiz – Question 2 According to North Korea's official state-run news agency, "a war between North Korea and the United States will end with the delightful victory of North Korea, a newly emerging military power, in 100 hours. . . . The U. S. [will] be enveloped in flames. . . and the arrogant empire of the devil will breathe its last". Given that this prediction comes from the official North Korean news agency, it is probably true. (Passage quoted in Nicholas D. Kristof, "Empire of the Devil," New York Times, April 4, 2003) • Which fallacy? • Inappropriate Appeal to Authority • Appeal to Ignorance • False Alternatives • Loaded Question

16. 4.2 Mini Quiz – Question 3 Jurors in tobacco lawsuits should award judgments so large that they put tobacco companies out of business. Respecting the right of tobacco companies to stay in business is akin to saying there are "two sides" to slavery... (Anti-tobacco lawyer, quoted in George F. Will, "Court Ruling Expresses Anti-Smoking Hypocrisy," Wilkes-Barre Times Leader, May 25, 2003) • Which fallacy? • Loaded Question • Hasty Generalization • Slippery Slope • Weak Analogy

17. Group Activity • Break into groups of 4 - 6, and construct five (5) fallacious arguments. • Each group can choose any of the 20 fallacies discussed, but must construct at least two fallacious arguments of each category: Fallacies of Relevance & Fallacies of Insufficient Evidence). • The constructed fallacious arguments must discuss the topics specified in the template provided (Business, Education, Information Technology, Environment, and Tourism).

18. Summary – 20 Common Fallacies

19. References Book • Chapter 5 (Logical Fallacies -1) & 6 (Logical Fallacies -2): G Bassham, W Irwin, H Nardone, J M Wallace, Critical Thinking: A Student's Introduction, McGraw-Hill International Edition, 2007 Online Resources • Fallacies (The Nizkor Project): http://www.nizkor.org/features/fallacies/ • Cool Optical Illusions: http://www.coolopticalillusions.com/

20. Contact Details Zaid Ali Alsagoff UNIVERSITI TUN ABDUL RAZAK 16-5, Jalan SS 6/12 47301 Kelana Jaya Selangor Darul Ehsan Malaysia E-mail:zaid.alsagoff@gmail.comTel: 603-7627 7238 Fax: 603-7627 7246