Recognizing Fallacies

English 28Ms. Grooms

FallaciesErrors in argument

Evade issue of argument

Treat argument as if it were much simpler than it is

Recognizing Evasions

An ineffective argument dodges the issue.

FALLACIES

Begging the Question

Treating an opinion that is open to question as if it were already proved/ disproved

Ex: Political campaign financing is too corrupt to be reformed.

Evasions…Non sequitur:

(“it does not follow”) the second idea does not follow from the first

Ex: She uses a wheelchair, so she must be unhappy.

Red Herring: an irrelevant issue intended to distract readers from relevant issues

Ex: A campus speech code is essential to protect students, who already have enough problems with rising tuition.

False authority: cite as an expert someone whose expertise is doubtful or nonexistent

Ex: Jason Bing, a recognized expert in corporate finance, maintains that pharmaceutical companies do not test their products thoroughly enough.

Inappropriate Appeals: Appeals to readers’ fear or pity

Ex: Vote for our candidate so that your city can be safe again.

Evasions…Bandwagon approach: accepts an assertion because everyone does

Ex: Blake Lively has an account at Big City Bank, and so should you.

Argument Ad Populum: (“argument to the people”) asks readers to accept a conclusion based on shared values or even prejudices and nothing else

Ex: Any truly patriotic American will support the President’s action.

Recognizing Oversimplifications

Oversimplify: to conceal or ignore complexities in a vain attempt to create a neater more convincing argument than reality allows

Oversimplifications…

Hasty Generalization (jumping to a conclusion) a claim based on too little evidence or on evidence that is unrepresentative

Ex: It is disturbing that several of the youths who shot up schools were users of violent video games. Obviously, these games can breed violence, and they should be banned.

Sweeping Generalization

Probably not supportable at all.

Includes Absolute Statements- all, always, never, none

Allows for no exceptions

Sweeping Generalizations

People who live in cities are unfriendly.

Californians are fad-crazy.

Women are emotional.

Men can’t express their feelings.

Reductive Fallacy

Oversimplifies (or reduces) the relation between causes and their effects

Ex: Poverty causes crime.

Oversimplifications…Post Hoc:

the assumption that A preceded B , then A must have caused B

Ex: The town council erred in permitting the adult bookstore to open, for shortly afterward, two women were assaulted.

Ex: In the two months since he took office, Mayor Holcomb has allowed crime in the city to increase by 12%.

Oversimplifications…Either / Or : (false dilemma) assumes that

a complicated question has only 2 answers: one good & one bad, both bad, or both good.

Ex: City police officers are either brutal or corrupt.

Ex: Either we permit mandatory drug testing in the workplace or productivity will continue to decline.

FALSE ANALOGY

Analogy: a comparison between 2 essentially unlike things for the purpose of definition or illustration

False Analogy assumes a complete likeness

False Analogy…To win the war on drugs, we must

wage more of a military-style operation. Prisoners of war are locked up without the benefit of a trial by jury, and drug dealers should be, too. Soldiers shoot their enemy on sight, and officials who encounter big drug operators should be allowed to shoot them, too. Military traitors may be executed, and corrupt law enforcers could be, too.

Identifying & Revising Fallacies1) The American government can sell nuclear technology to nonnuclear nations, so why can’t individuals, who after all have a God-given right to earn a living as they see fit?

What is the fallacy?

2) A successful marriage demands a maturity that no one under twenty-five possesses.

Name the fallacy.

3) Students’ persistent complaints about the grading system prove that it is unfair.

Is it a fallacy?4) People watch television because they are too lazy to talk or read or because they want mindless escape from their lives.

Anything wrong with this logic?

5) Racial tension is bound to occur when people with different backgrounds are forced to live side by side.