Logical fallacies
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Logical Fallacies EXIT Continue… A logical fallacy is a statement that contains faulty reasoning. Don’t give your reader a reason to doubt your information. Persuasive writing especially requires sound logic to support opinions. MENU
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Transcript of Logical fallacies
Logical Fallacies
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A logical fallacy is a statement that contains faulty reasoning. Don’t give your reader a reason to doubt your information. Persuasive writing especially requires sound logic to support opinions.
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Logical Fallacies
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What’s wrong with this statement?
Either we raise taxes, or we close the city parks. It’s that simple.
Click to see an analysis
A logical fallacy is a statement that contains faulty reasoning. Don’t give your reader a reason to doubt your information. Persuasive writing especially requires sound logic to support opinions.
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Logical Fallacies
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This statement allows only two options while in fact there are many alternatives that would allow the parks to remain open. The statement is too extreme to seem reasonable.
Either we raise taxes, or we close the city parks. It’s that simple.
A logical fallacy is a statement that contains faulty reasoning. Don’t give your reader a reason to doubt your information. Persuasive writing especially requires sound logic to support opinions.
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Common logical fallacies include the following. Click to choose the fallacy you want to explore.
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Logical Fallacies
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•Overgeneralization
•Circular reasoning
•False analogy
•Either/or reasoning
•Single cause
•False cause
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Logical Fallacies
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OvergeneralizationAn overgeneralization is a statement so broad that it can easily be disproved. Look for words like all, everyone, no one, always, never, none, when you revise.
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Logical Fallacies
OvergeneralizationAn overgeneralization is a statement so broad that it can easily be disproved. Look for words like all, everyone, no one, always, never, none, when you revise.
What is the overgeneralization in this sentence?
Everyone loves the Weird Cats’ new song.
Click to see the overgeneralization
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Logical Fallacies
OvergeneralizationAn overgeneralization is a statement so broad that it can easily be disproved. Look for words like all, everyone, no one, always, never, none, when you revise.
What is the overgeneralization in this sentence?
Everyone loves the Weird Cats’ new song.
Click to see a revision
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Logical Fallacies
OvergeneralizationAn overgeneralization is a statement so broad that it can easily be disproved. Look for words like all, everyone, no one, always, never, none, when you revise.
Everyone loves the Weird Cats’ new song. ORIGINAL
Many people love the Weird Cats’ new song.
REVISED
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Logical Fallacies
Circular ReasoningAn attempt to prove a statement by simply repeating it in different words is circular reasoning.
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Logical Fallacies
Click to see the repeated idea
Circular ReasoningAn attempt to prove a statement by simply repeating it in different words is circular reasoning.
What is the repeated idea in this sentence?
We should protect endangered animals because it is important to help threatened wildlife survive.
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Logical Fallacies
Circular ReasoningAn attempt to prove a statement by simply repeating it in different words is circular reasoning.
What is the repeated idea in this sentence?
We should protect endangered animals because it is important to help threatened wildlife survive.
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Logical Fallacies
Circular ReasoningAn attempt to prove a statement by simply repeating it in different words is circular reasoning.
How would you revise to avoid this circular reasoning?
We should protect endangered animals because it is important to help threatened wildlife survive.
Click to see a revision
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Logical Fallacies
Circular ReasoningAn attempt to prove a statement by simply repeating it in different words is circular reasoning.
We should protect endangered animals because it is important to help threatened wildlife survive.
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help threatened wildlife survive.
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Logical Fallacies
Circular ReasoningAn attempt to prove a statement by simply repeating it in different words is circular reasoning.
We should protect endangered animals because it is important to
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Logical Fallacies
Circular ReasoningAn attempt to prove a statement by simply repeating it in different words is circular reasoning.
We should protect endangered animals because it is important to
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maintain the diversity of animal life.
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Logical Fallacies
Circular ReasoningAn attempt to prove a statement by simply repeating it in different words is circular reasoning.
This revised sentence gives a specific reason why endangered animals should be protected: to maintain the diversity of animal life.
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We should protect endangered animals because it is important to maintain the diversity of animal life.
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False AnalogyA false analogy is a comparison between two things that are different in some essential way.
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Logical Fallacies
False AnalogyA false analogy is a comparison between two things that are different in some essential way.
What is wrong with this comparison?
Using a computer without training is like driving a car
without a license.
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False AnalogyA false analogy is a comparison between two things that are different in some essential way.
This argument compares using a computer with driving a car. The two activities do not compare in terms of the consequences of lack of training.
Using a computer without training is like driving a car
without a license.
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Either/Or ReasoningAn either/or fallacy is a statement suggesting that there are only two possible ways to view a situation or only two options to choose from.
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Either/Or ReasoningAn either/or fallacy is a statement suggesting that there are only two possible ways to view a situation or only two options to choose from.
What other possibilities can you imagine for this example?
Either we build a new airport, or we watch the economy
of our community die.
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Logical Fallacies
Either/Or ReasoningAn either/or fallacy is a statement suggesting that there are only two possible ways to view a situation or only two options to choose from.
The economy may not thrive as it would with a new airport, but it will probably not die.
Either we build a new airport, or we watch the economy
of our community die.
Click to see a revision
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Logical Fallacies
Either/Or ReasoningAn either/or fallacy is a statement suggesting that there are only two possible ways to view a situation or only two options to choose from.
Either we build a new airport, or we watch the economy
of our community die.
ORIGINAL
Building a new airport will help our local economy grow.
REVISED
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This revision removes the limited options and presents a more reasonable statement.
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Single CauseIn a single cause fallacy, the writer assumes that an event has just one cause when there are actually multiple causes.
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Single CauseIn a single cause fallacy, the writer assumes that an event has just one cause when there are actually multiple causes.
Can you think of other possible reasons why the team might be terrible?
Our team is terrible because our manager is terrible.
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Logical Fallacies
Single CauseIn a single cause fallacy, the writer assumes that an event has just one cause when there are actually multiple causes.
Our team is terrible because our manager is terrible.ORIGINAL
Our team is terrible because our manager is terrible, and too
many of our players lack the skills to compete in this
league.
REVISED
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False CauseJust because one event occurred after another in time, the first event may not have caused the second event. Don’t let that kind of false cause reasoning show up in your writing.
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False CauseJust because one event occurred after another in time, the first event may not have caused the second event. Don’t let that kind of false cause reasoning show up in your writing.
Are these two events actually connected?
The Continental Congress approved the Declaration of
Independence on July 4, 1776. As a result, British warships
arrived to attack New York Harbor eight days later.
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Logical Fallacies
False CauseJust because one event occurred after another in time, the first event may not have caused the second event. Don’t let that kind of false cause reasoning show up in your writing.
Although it’s reasonable to assume the warships were sent in response to the Declaration of Independence, news of the event didn’t travel that fast. The ships were underway on their mission to attack New York well before July 4.
The Continental Congress approved the Declaration of
Independence on July 4, 1776. As a result, British warships
arrived to attack New York Harbor eight days later.
Click to see a revision
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Logical Fallacies
False CauseJust because one event occurred after another in time, the first event may not have caused the second event. Don’t let that kind of false cause reasoning show up in your writing.
The Continental Congress approved the Declaration of
Independence on July 4, 1776. As a result, British warships
arrived to attack New York Harbor eight days later.
ORIGINAL
The Continental Congress approved the Declaration of
Independence on July 4, 1776, but the British had already
decided to attack New York Harbor. The warships arrived on
July 12.
REVISED
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