1 II. IRRELEVANT INFORMATION. 2 IRRELEVANT INFORMATION IRRELEVANT immaterial, unrelated,...

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II. IRRELEVANT INFORMATION

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IRRELEVANT INFORMATION

IRRELEVANT

• immaterial, unrelated, inappropriate • off-topic, extraneous, beside the point• The data is NOT germane to the present case.• One of the premises is not relevant to the conclusion.• Often diversionary.

Not related to

the argument at hand

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DIVERSIONARY TACTICS

• They introduce ideas that are off-topic.• Their data is NOT germane to the present case.

Diversions, Distractions

from the argument at hand

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1) AD BACULUM:

• intimidation• threat of harm:– physical or psychological *– economical, political, environmental

• extortion, blackmail• Baculum: – backed into a corner– with your back against the wall

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*EXAMPLES of AD BACULUM:

• “If citizens don’t start patronizing downtown stores, then businesses will be forced to close and then the city will be in ruin.”

• “If you don’t (believe in God, convert to our religion, illegalize that practice), then you’ll burn in Hell!

• “... In any case, I know your phone number and I know where you live. Have I mentioned I am licensed to carry concealed weapons?”

• “If we make abortions illegal, women will be getting butchered again in back alleys.” (ad misericordiam, slippery slope)

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2) AD HOMINEM:

• *name calling• personal attack, insultsattack the person, not the facts, issue, or argument/claim• a way to avoid dealing with the issue (*diversion)

• Hominem: “homo” = “man”– species Homo habilis, erectus, neanderthalensis, sapiens – foreign words for man: hombre or hommé

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*PLEASE NOTE*

1. A bad person does not necessarily mean a bad argument (conclusion, point).

– (even a broken clock…)

2. Accusations against the person are NOT a fallacy IF the characteristics under attack are relevant to the argument.

– For example, if a politician is irresponsible & dishonest in her/his personal life, then it is reasonable to think that s/he may be the same in public office.

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*EXAMPLES of AD HOMINEM:

• “What does he know; look at the way he’s dressed.” • “What can a priest tell us about marriage since he’s

never been married himself.” (AA)• “My doctor is overweight, so why should I listen to

anything he has to say.” (Dr. Adkins) • “I won’t see a Jayne Smith movie because she’s a drug

addict.” (private life vs. professional record)• “Since you don’t support gay marriages, you must be a

homophobe.” (racist, sexist)

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*EXAMPLES of AD HOMINEM:

• “You claim that atheists can be moral — yet I happen to know that you abandoned your wife and children.”

• “Hitler would be very proud of you” (in response to practically any conclusion or decision).

• “Therefore, it is perfectly acceptable to kill animals for food. I hope you won’t argue otherwise, given that you're quite happy to wear leather shoes.”

• “Of course you’d argue that positive discrimination is a bad thing. You’re white.”

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3) FALLACY of OPPOSITION:

• *name calling• whatever comes from the opposition is automatically

wrong AND detrimental• assumes nothing good could come from those we oppose• Us vs. Them• EXAMPLE: “Of course you’d say that, you’re an

atheist, hippie, teenager, Democrat ….” (a member of the opposing group)

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4) GENETIC FALLACY:

• *name calling• assumes where the idea came from affects its validity– country, paper, school– usually geographic

• akin to elitism, snobbery• we come from our genes, – genes genetic fallacy

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4) GENETIC FALLACY:

*EXAMPLES: • “The quality of those products is poor because they

come from China (any country).” • “Cars made in the USA (any country) are junks.”• “Because that idea comes from a community college, it

must be flawed, erroneous, or just plain wrong.”

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5) GUILT by ASSOCIATION:

• birds of a feather stick together• assumes a person’s behaviors must extend to their

friends, to those around them

*EXAMPLES: • The Red Scare of the 1950s• Obama attack ads: McCain with President Bush• “Everyone who goes into a bar is an alcoholic.” • “Sally’s promiscuous, so as her friend you must be, too.”

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6) AD MISERICORDIAM:

• an abuse of emotions – esp. fear, pity, guilt

• manipulation & obfuscation (*diversion)• irrelevant – evoke pitiful image or situation, without basis, to

distract from the issue• relies wholly on pity (e.g.), instead of proof, evidence

*BAD PATHOS*

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*EXAMPLES of AD MISERICORDIAM:

• photos of kids: war, famine, AIDS, disaster

• “I couldn’t write my paper because my son, daughter, mother, girlfriend, neighbor down the street was sick.”

• “I did not murder my mother and father with an axe! Please don’t find me guilty; I’m suffering enough through being an orphan.”

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IRRELEVANT INFORMATION7) AD POPULUM: • appeals to the “populace”• biases & prejudices• appeals to tradition, halcyon days• tells people what they want to hear, what they want to believe– “working the audience” or “pandering to the audience”– trying to be “popular”– NOT offering proof

• SLOGANS and SOUND BITES subvert the reasoning process because they do not define terms – which can mean whatever people want them to mean or – whatever people say they mean• what exactly are “family values”?!

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IRRELEVANT INFORMATION*EXAMPLES of AD POPULUM:

• sound bites, slogans, bumper stickers, tee shirts• appeals to patriotism, change for change’s sake• political cartoons, late-night-TV monologues or punch lines,

Comedy Central shows• if it appears on a poster, tee shirt, bumper sticker

• “If guns are outlawed, then only outlaws will have guns.” • “Zippo. It’s the grand old lighter that’s made right

here in the good ol’ USA.…” (patriotism)• “Freedom isn’t free.” “No blood for oil.”• “Guns don’t kill people; people kill people.”• “Just say no.”

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8) BANDWAGON: • Argumentum ad numerum• right/valid because popular– popularity over proof– appeals or refers to NUMBERS

• jump on the bandwagon, join the parade• do because others do: – peer pressure, group or mob identity, conformity

• BUT you can be correct even if no one else agrees with you (Copernicus, Columbus)

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*EXAMPLES of BANDWAGON:

• “Sixty million people can’t be wrong.”• “Over 5 million Americans have already switched to

Grizzly Insurance.”• “Last December, over 100 million people worldwide

tuned in to see a television phenomenon: don’t be left out when Knucklehead TV returns in March.”

• “Everybody’s doing it anyway, so we might as well legalize it (lower the age).”

#

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IRRELEVANT INFORMATION• *Similar to: Argumentum ad numerum AND to Argumentum ad

populum. It consists of asserting that the more people who support or believe a proposition, the more likely it is that that proposition is correct. For example: – “The vast majority of people in this country believe that

capital punishment has a noticeable deterrent effect. To suggest that it doesn’t in the face of so much evidence is ridiculous.” Or “All I'm saying is that thousands of people believe in pyramid power, so there must be something to it.”

• *Similar to: Appeal to Tradition: right/valid because it’s old; since it’s lasted this long, it should continue. ex: “Since the Fiesta Club has been an exclusive male-only society since its founding at the turn of the 20th century, it should continue to exist in the same manner & form.”

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9) PLAIN FOLKS and SNOB APPEAL:

• valid/right because appeals to a

certain social class• valid/right because it is popular with a certain class– opposite of the Genetic Fallacy

• These are 2 different fallacies, but same “coin.”

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Plain Folks Appeal: • do because the ordinary person does

– (& avoid the pretensions of snobs)– poor, working classes =

• unpretentious, modest, humble, unspoiled, salt-of-the-earth

• Family Values, hard working, “bootstraps,” patriotism

– False Dichotomy:• Poor = simplicity, virtue, and

humility • Rich = excesses, greed, and

immorality – one of the boys, one of you, regular

guy, meat-&-potatoes– keepin’ it real, down home, down on

the farm, boondocks– appeal to poverty

Snob Appeal: • do because rich/popular/beautiful do

– (*celebrity endorsements)– rich, upper classes =

• refined, sophisticated, elegant, classy, chic, stylish

• Money as a sign of superiority, success

– the more expensive something is = the better it is

– the more money a person has = the better, smarter, more successful s/he is

– uptown, bling, jiggy (originally), looks like we made it or arrived (success)

– appeal to wealth

9) PLAIN FOLKS and SNOB APPEAL:

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*EXAMPLES of PLAIN FOLKS & SNOB APPEAL:

• “Why pay fancy salon prices for a shampoo?”

• “Family values will return America to world prominence.”

• “Mark Twain said, ‘The clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society.’ So, if you want to be a winner, you’ve got to look like a winner, which means you need a Rolex watch, Italian shoes, and a Lexus to be successful.”

• “Use the deodorant that professional athletes like Illiterate Joe use.” (appeals to reader’s vanity)

• Joe the Plumber ads

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*EXAMPLES of PLAIN FOLKS & SNOB APPEAL:

• Think of 2 diametrically opposed musical genres.

• also known as: Argumentum ad Lazarum: The fallacy of assuming that someone poor is sounder or more virtuous than someone who's wealthier. This fallacy is the opposite of the Argumentum ad Crumenam (which assumes they’re right because of they’re wealthy). For example: “Monks are more likely to possess insight into the meaning of life, as they have given up the distractions of wealth.”

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IRRELEVANT INFORMATION10) AD VERECUNDIAM:

• inappropriate use of authority• assumes that because a person is an expert in

one field that s/he is an expert in another • poor or irrelevant (“unwarranted”) credentials– wrong field of expertise– *celebrity endorsements

OR • the use of an obscure, hard to find source• hard to find = hard to refute

*BAD ETHOS*

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IRRELEVANT INFORMATION*EXAMPLES of AD VERECUNDIAM:

Bad: • “I play a doctor on TV, so take this new OTC pill.” • “Isaac Newton was a genius and he believed in God, so you

should, too.”• “Dr. Housenick claims stem cell research for the development

of cures for various diseases is (is not) a worthy venture.”• “Because my parents were unavailable, I asked my English

teacher for permission to stay out late.”

Good: • “Dr. Stephen Hawking has concluded that black holes give off

radiation; therefore, there is a strong chance that they exist.”

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11) RED HERRING:

• *diversion• skirt the issue; obfuscate the truth• use an irrelevant point or a side issue to lead away from

the issue at hand

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*EXAMPLES of RED HERRING:

• “Sure, the Chargers had a bad year, but what about the Redskins.”

• “While it may be true that we withheld vital information from the public regarding the dangerous side effects of our products, while it may be true that we sought ways to enhance our products with addictive substances, and while it may be true that we profited immensely from all this, have you taken into consideration the fact that we have given bottled water to disaster victims and other acts of community involvement?”

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*EXAMPLES of RED HERRING:

• Past students have brought up crime shows, mysteries, and even some horror movies that use the Red Herring as a literary device to divert readers’/viewers’ attention away from the real killer:– They set up one character to be the criminal and then

(surprise!) it turns out to be someone else.– A Pup Named Scooby-Doo even had a character called

Red Herring because of this:

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12) STRAWMAN ARGUMENT:

• a.k.a. Weak Opponent• a.k.a. Scarecrow Argument• *diversion, name calling• Think of a person beating up a scarecrow.– not much of a fight– setting up an easy target to make yourself look good

• like: – Tu Quoque– Ad Hoc– False Dilemma– Reductio ad Absurdum

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IRRELEVANT INFORMATION(A) EASY TARGET• invent or use a convenient opponent that can be attacked (or applauded)

without fear of retaliation – an easy target

• Britney Spears, KKK, Nazis or Hitler, POTUS– a label

• refer to a generic/vague group or label as proof, illustrationno real person involved• no true subject of the argument is identified• no proof is offered

– (make statement as if it were an established fact without establishing it as fact)

label = unfair, inaccurate, manufactured solely for the argument • stereotypes, overgeneralizations

– (*based on personal biases/prejudices)could be positive group:

– the heroic war dead, brave immigrants (**no specific person indicated**)

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IRRELEVANT INFORMATION(B) EXAGGERATION or CARICATURE:• set up merely to attack or to make yourself look good (right, smarter, stronger)

an exaggerated or caricatured version of your opponent's position, • set up to attack your opponent’s weakest argument, one s/he is not even offering

– put words into the opponent’s mouth **– like Reductio ad Absurdum– EX: think Eddie Murphy as Axel Foley or Donkey

– EX: Responding to an opposing politicians assertion that the country should no longer fund the “Star Wars” program, the junior congresswoman from Missouri used the following Straw Man argument: “I strongly disagree with Senator Smith’s argument to rescind our funding. I can't understand why she wants to leave us defenseless like that.”

– EX: Not only is it a False Analogy and Loaded Language argument, but it is also a Straw Man argument to exaggerate or twist the opposition’s position in order to draw a connection or comparison between s/he and Hitler.

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*EXAMPLES of STRAWMAN: • Richard Nixon’s 1952 Checkers speech

– (weak argument) • “kids/students today”

– (no real kid/student)• “moral majority”

– (who are these people?)• “welfare cheats”

– (do they really exist?)• “liberal media”

– (is it really? all? proof?)• “To be an atheist, you have to believe with absolute certainty that there is no

God. In order to convince yourself with absolute certainty, you must examine all the Universe and all the places where God could possibly be. Since you obviously haven't, your position is indefensible.” (weakest argument)

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13) TU QUOQUE: (too kwo-kway)

• “you did it too”• justify actions because accusers are supposedly guilty of

same crime• 2 wrongs make 1 right (see AD POPULUM)

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*EXAMPLES of TU QUOQUE:

• “You did it too when you were my age.”• quote: “It’s ok that I dis white people on my show

because they’ve been doing it to us for years.” • “How can you criticize my driving when you’ve had five

accidents yourself?”• “Why shouldn’t I cheat on my taxes? Everyone else

does.”

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14) OVERSIMPLIFICATION:

• like: Post Hoc, Overgeneralization • overlooks the complexity of an issue• *no critical examination of the issue• narrows complex issue down to single cause• BUT an issue has more than 1 side (more than 2 sides) – legal, moral, religious, political, racial, philosophical...

• an effect always has more than one reason/cause

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*EXAMPLES of OVERSIMPLIFICATION:

• “Kids are fat because they eat too much McDonald’s.”• “The only reason we’re at war with Iraq is over oil.” – An ad populum statement may say, “No Blood for

Oil!”• “It’s as simple as that.”• “Today’s college students can’t spell because

of spellcheckers on computers.”

END PART 3B

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