INFORMAL FALLACIES

FALLACIES OF RELEVANCE

• Errors resulting from attempts to appeal to things that are not relevant, i.e., not really connected to or having any true bearing on the argument.• Some Examples: • Personal Attack• Appeals to: emotion, authority• Straw Man• Glittering generalities

THE PERSONAL ATTACK

•The ad hominem, against the person fallacy•The issue is ignored, the argument is not the focus•The goal is to discredit the speaker, NOT what they speaker is saying.•Any examples?

APPEAL TO AUTHORITY

•Using a well-known / important person to support a position.• E.g., Wayne Gretzky selling Ford cars• The “truth” of a position is asserted because the _______________ says so.• (it isn’t necessarily false, but notice it isn’t proven as true – even by “the authority”

THE AUTHORITY OF CRIMINALS?

• "We heard from people who are involved in the criminal community that they were having second thoughts ... about the illegal business they were going to conduct and using firearms at the same time,“

•Stockwell Day

STRAW PERSON

• The REAL argument of the other is NOT considered.

• A minor or even irrelevant part, or even something the opponent DID NOT say is presented as their position and then refuted.• (imagine “building something out of straw just

so you can blow it away” and then claim that your opponent is therefore wrong.)

BEGGING THE QUESTION

• Circular reasoning:• a premise assumes the truth that the

conclusion makes• Anand must be telling the truth. (the

conclusion)• Why? Because Anand always tells the

truth. (the premise)• The conclusion isn’t really supported, it’s

only repeated in a premise.

ARGUING FROM IGNORANCE

•Because there is no evidence that something is false, it must be true.•Since you cannot prove that God does not exist, God must exist.

GLITTERING GENERALITIES

•No details given, only general statements surrounded by emotional, or “glittering” words•“Bill is a brilliant candidate who constantly battles for truth, justice and freedom.”

APPEAL TO EMOTION

• The attempt to persuade is by appealing to the passions and prejudices of the audience.• They may persuade people to accept the

conclusion, they don’t prove it.• “please don’t fail me Mr. Jenny, I need this

credit to get into __________, so that I can get a decent job to support my handicapped siblings now that we’re orphaned because I accidentally burned down our house…”

BANDWAGON

•Also known as a statistical fallacy•Uses popularity or public opinion as a reason for believing or supporting something.

FALLACIES OF INDUCTION

•Guilt by Association•Assumes that a person has (usually) negative traits because of their relationship with others who share other characteristics•Think of any stereotype for an example

POST HOC

• Just because something happened before an event, DOES NOT make it the cause of the later event• Also known as the FALSE CAUSE• E.g., the election of an NDP government in Ontario and the later recession were not CAUSALLY RELATED

HASTY CONCLUSION

• Or Hasty Generalization• Jumping to a conclusion after very

few examples of support.• E.g., I saw a person on welfare use

the money for alcohol… therefore all those on welfare cheat and buy alcohol instead of food

CARD-STACKING

•Also known as FORGETFUL INDUCTION•Only the facts that support my side are included• I ignore all the other facts that would rebut my position

FALSE DICHOTOMY

•Also known as the false dilemma• Presents only two possibilities to an argument when in reality there are more• “you’re either for us or for the terrorists.”• “I can go to college full time or drop out.”

FALLACIES OF AMBIGUITY

• From using words unclearly or ambiguously, i.e., there are different possibilities of meanings• Equivocation • 1 word, two different meanings• It might look like it’s the middle term, but

since the meanings are different, it’s not!• Amphiboly• Phrases have different meanings

EQUIVOCATION

• A word or expression changes meaning through the course of the “argument”• I saw nobody in the room• You saw nobody in the room•We both saw the same person: nobody• The dual meaning is found in a WORD OR PHRASE

AMPHIBOLY

• The grammatical construction of the sentence has two possible meanings

• This morning I shot an elephant in my pajamas.

• How he got in my pajamas I’ll never know.

AN EXAMPLE

MISPLACED ACCENT

• An EMPHASIS that directs you to believe something else

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COMPOSITION

• Attributing something said of the part of something to the whole thing.

• e.g., these library books are really good, this must be a good library• ___________________ is a politician who is corrupt therefore the ___________________ party is corrupt

DIVISION

•Attributing something said of the whole to a part of the whole•E.g., since this is a good library, every book in it must be good•The USA is a wealthy country, therefore that American must be wealthy.