Appeal to Reason

Chapter 4

Making a Case

Fallacies

Relevance, Adequacy, Mistaken Assumptions:

1) FALLACIES OF RELEVANCE whose premises are not relevant to the conclusion

Fallacies

a) APPEAL TO IGNORANCE (Ad Ignorantiam)

-Consists of arguing that because a claim has NOT been demonstrated to be false, the claim is true.

Q: Why is this fallacious?

A: It provides NO REASONS

Fallacies

b) APPEAL TO INAPPROPRIATE

AUTHORITY (Ad Verrecondiam)

-Not a proper expert in the field

Fallacies

c ) APPEAL TO GENERAL BELIEF

(Ad Populum)

Fallacies

d) APPEAL TO POPULAR ATTITUDES AND EMOTIONS (also Ad Populum)

-Patriotic impulses, emotions, etc.

Fallacies

e ) GAMBLERS FALLACY

e.g., 5 last flips have been heads, so the next will be tails.

Fallacies

2 ) FALLACIES OF INADEQUATE EVIDENCE

a ) FALSE CAUSE (Post Hoc)Merely accidental correlation

alleged to be causeb ) HASTY GENERALIZATION

-generalizing on the basis of an inadequate set of cases

Fallacies3 ) FALLACIES OF ILLEGITIMATE

ASSUMPTION

a ) FALSE DILEMMA (False Alternatives)Correct: You must either marry or remain

singleIncorrect: You must be either Democrat or

RepublicanOr: You are either with us, or against us

Fallacies

b ) LOADED QUESTION (Complex Question)

When did you stop

beating your wife?

Fallaciesc ) BEGGING THE QUESTION

(Petitio Principii)

When some reason offered for some conclusion is not really different from that conclusion itself

- the premise offered to justify a conclusionlogically implies it, but offers NOINDEPENDENT EVIDENCE for it.

- Descartes: First considers possibility of evildeceiver, then concludes: God exists, ishimself no evil deceiver, and would allowNO evil deceit

Fallaciesd ) SLIPPERY SLOPE

Mistakenly assumes that when there is little or no significant difference between adjacent points on a continuum. There is no important difference between even widely separated points in the continuum.

e.g. speed limite.g. abortion

Fallacies4 ) FALLACIES OF CRITICISM

a ) AGAINST THE PERSON (Ad Hominem)

- Rejecting a claim by offering as grounds some personal characteristics of the person supporting it.

Also Circumstantial Ad Hominem- A charge not against the general character, butagainst the person in a particular set ofcircumstances

e.g.: a lawyer for a tobacco company

Fallacies

b ) YOU TOO (Tu Quoque)

When alleged to lie,

you replied so do you!

Fallacies

c ) POOH-POOH - a refusal to examine an argument seriously, dismissing it out of hand

Fallacies

d ) STRAW MAN - Misrepresenting an opponents claim or argument so it is easier to criticize

e.g.: The theory of evolution boils down to the idea that men are descended from apes.

Fallacies

e ) LOADED WORDS - Using judgmental terms (negative or positive) in describing someone or something.

e.g.: Medical research on animals must simply stop. Such torture of innocent creatures is morally indecent. Such crimes and

atrocities must be made illegal.

Fallacies

5) FALLACIES OF RESPONSE

a) DEFINITIONAL DODGE - Redefining a crucial term to avoid acknowledging a counterexample that would falsify it.

Fallacies

Smith e.g.: All pornography devalues women.Q: What about Fanny Hill

Response: Then Fanny Hill is not pornography because pornography alwaysdevalues women

-But it is pornography - Smith has committed to a definitional dodge to pretend it is not a counterexample to his initial claim.

Fallacies

b) EXCEPTION THAT PROVES THE RULE:

Correct: Means that exceptions test

the rule

Incorrect: To say that an exception

establishes truth of a rule

Presenting the FactsA) STATISTICS

1) Must come from a reliable source2) Because statistical data are rarely uniform, they may

be grouped or interpreted in different ways. E.g.,state polls versus national polls

3) Getting on the Bandwagon - If you can show that amajority support your opinion, then raise this andinvite others to join you.

4) Use large numbers. If percentages are close, citethe actual number. Or to discount small numbers,cite the number

Presenting the FactsB) THEORETICAL CONSTRUCTS

- Used to explain raw data we observe

e.g.: French RevolutionThe EstablishmentOedipus Complex

None of these are directly observable, but try to explain things we do observe.

e.g: I want to argue that society is corrupt and we are victims of a super conspiracy. When asked to provide evidence I can say the conspiracy has destroyed the evidence.

Presenting the FactsC) CLASSIFICATION

- Theoretical constructs are one way to classify or organize information - others include:

1) ALL AND SOMEShould you sayAll good union members respond to

strike calls.orGood union members respond to

strike calls.also - Some is too weak

Presenting the Facts

2) CONTINUUM

Some categories have no clear

boundaries

e.g.: Bald . Not BaldThe arguer can draw some lines

Presenting the Facts

3) GOLDEN MEAN

Appeals to the notion that the mean is better than the extremes. Identify what the audience perceives as the extremes.

e.g.: Moderate is mean b/w liberals and conservatives

Liberal b/w radicals and reactionaries

Conservative b/w fascists and socialists

Presenting the FactsD) DEFINITION

3 ways in which you should be aware of your definitions:

1) TRUTH BY DEFINITIONIf your terms are defined carefully enough, and afterfactual data are correct the case is fool-proof

2)EQUIVOCATIONSome words have more than one meaning:a-theist anti-theist

3) CREATIVE THINKING (Euphemism)e.g.: Genuine Facsimile

Permanent Guest ArtistDepartment of Defense instead of War

Military IntelligenceNonviolent Force

Presenting the Facts

E) ANALOGY - Already described

DEFINITION - Its Role and Use

-An explanation of the meaning of a word - stating the rules or conditions for using the words - essential in argument.

Presenting the FactsThere are two types of definitions:

1) REPORTIVE DEFINITIONA definition inteded to explain how words are actually used - offered as factual report - can be true or false

e.g.: great aunt = the sister of ones grandmother or grandfather.

Presenting the FactsUsed to report both ordinary and special

meanings (e.g., plate has 20 meanings) -

divided into 3 further uses:

a) Lexical Definition - A report of how the word is used in everyday life

b) Disciplinary Definition - the way the word is used in a special discipline

c) Historical Definition - Report on how a word was used at certain times in history

Presenting the Facts

2) STIPULATIVE DEFINITION

A statement of a rule that will be followed in using the word defined. A resolution to use a word in a certain way.

Let X = Y

Presenting the Facts

a) ARBITRARY - Where a new word or symbol is introduced to stand for a stated meaning.

Let D stand for disposable incomeSome eventually enter our

languagee.g.: Mores utopiaCapelcs robot

Presenting the Facts

b) PRECISING STIPULATIVE DEFINITIONS - Restrict the ordinary meaning of a word to make it more exact in a certain context.

e.g.: Savings will mean money invested

Turns ordinary terms into technical terms

Methods of Definition

5 Typical ones include:

1) Use of Synonyms provided another

word or phrase

e.g.: flat means apartment

Not always precise, may be needed

Methods of Definition

2) Genus and SpeciesMentioning a feature of an object to

which a word refers that places the object within a class, then mention another feature that places it in a subclass.

e.g.: people govern themselves

Directly or through representatives

Methods of Definition

3) COMPLETE ENUMERATION

Listing all items to which a word refers

e.g.: Arabic Numerals

1, 2, 3, 0.

Methods of Definition

4) ORIENTATION

Pointing to an object correctly designated by the defined word.

e.g.: table chair

Methods of Definition

5) EXAMPLE

Mentioning examples of the sort of things designated

e.g.: a deficiency disease is one like scurvy, pellagra

or Even numbers include 2, 4, 6, 10

Standards of Definition

1) AVOID CIRCULARITY - A definition that assumes an understanding of a key part of the meaning fails.

Standards of Definition

2) AVOID OBSCURE, METAPHORIC, or AMBIGUOUS LANGUAGE.

Standards of Definition

3) AVOID ACCIDENTAL CONDITIONS

e.g.: women = members off the more exploited sex uses an

accidental feature.

Standards of Definition

4) AVOID DEFINITIONS that are either TOO BROAD or TOO NARROW

e.g.: ArtTolstoy = that which communicatesthe religious sentiments of mankindtoo narrow and too broad (e.g. bytaking a pilgrimage).