fallacy of accent

WHAT IS A FALLACY?

taken from the Latin word “fallo” which means “I deceive”

an error of reasoning

is a component of an argument which, being demonstrably flawed in its logic. It can be Formal (invalid form) or Informal (unclear expression) fallacy.

It’s an argument that does not conform to the rules of logic, but appears to be sound.

It is a deceptive argument that seems to be conclusive but is actually not conclusive. Either its sequence seems to be valid but is actually invalid, or else its premise seems to be true but is actually false.

“When someone adopts a position, or tries to

persuade someone else to adopt a position, based on a bad piece of reasoning, they

commit a fallacy.”

FALLACY OF ACCENT

one of the original fallacies of Aristotle, the philosopher who seems to be the first person to have systematically categorized and described logical errors.

Accent refers to the stress placed upon a word in a sentence or a syllable in a word. In Greece, this was very important because a written word with one spelling could have more than one pronunciation and meaning, thus creating multiple words. They would be homographs (written the same), but not homophones (sound the same).

When a shift of meaning arises within

an argument as a consequence of changes in the emphasis given

to its words or parts.

FALLACY OF ACCENT

When a premise relies for its apparent meaning on one possible emphasis,

but a conclusion is drawn from it that relies on the meaning of the same

words accented differently, the fallacy of accent is committed.

WHEN IS IT COMMITTED?

This fallacy is the same as equivocation except that, strictly speaking, words having different

accents are not the same words.

FALLACY OF ACCENT

Why are you asking me about Mary's message? I resent her question.

What is meant by the above passage? In its written form, it could either mean that the writer was upset about the question Mary asked and didn't want to talk about it, or it could be that the question had been sent out again and the speaker is waiting for a reply. The different meanings depend upon where the (spoken) stress is placed in the word "resent."

EXAMPLES AND DISCUSSION

EXAMPLES AND DISCUSSION

My spouse must be cheating on me - he told me

"I don't really love you now."

My spouse must be cheating on me - he told me

"I don't really love you now."

In the above example, the conclusion depends upon placing the stress on

the word you, thus indicating that someone else is loved now. But if we place the stress on other words, like really or love, different shades of

meaning become evident. Perhaps the person has simply grown tired of the

relationship, for example.

John is not a depraved murderer.

John is not a depraved murderer.

If you emphasize, “depraved”, you deny that John is depraved without

stating whether or not he is a murderer; if you

emphasize “murderer”, you deny that he is a murderer without, however, stating

whether or not he is depraved.

“Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.”

“Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.”

“Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.”

“ Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.”

"We should not speak ill of our friends.“

If the conclusion is drawn from it, however, that we should feel free to speak ill of someone who is not our friend, this conclusion follows only if the premise has the meaning it acquires when its last word is accented. But when the last word of the sentence is accented, it is no longer acceptable as a moral rule; it then has a different meaning and it is in fact, a different premise.

If you emphasize “shalt not bear”, you suggest that one should not tolerate false witness; if you

emphasize “false”, you hint that it is all right to say evil things about your neighbor as long as they are

true; if you emphasize “against”, you suggest that it might be licit to tell lies in his favor; and if you

emphasize “neighbor”, you suggest that it might be forbidden to tell lies about men who are not your

neighbors.

. “A member of Congress is asked by a reporter if she is in

favorfavor of the President’s new missile defense system, and she responds, “I’m in favor of a missile defense system that

effectively defends America.”

“A member of Congress is asked by a reporter if she is in favor of the President’s new missile defense system, and she

responds, “I’m in favor of a missile defense system that effectively defends America.”

With an emphasis on the word “favor,” her response is likely to favor the President’s

missile defense system. With an emphasis, instead, on the words “effectively defends,” her

remark is likely to be against the President’s missile defense system. And by using neither

emphasis, she can later claim that her response was on either side of the issue. Aristotle’s

version of the fallacy of accent allowed only a shift in which syllable is accented within a word.

"We must always be honest with our friends," It seems to say nothing more than we should be honest, which of course includes being honest

with our friends.

"We must always be honest with our friends." By emphasizing, "friends," implies it is only our

friends we need to be honest with.

“Anna Manalastas should go to work because she isn’t really sick. If she were really sick, she would have a

very high temperature; but she doesn’t.”

E1: really sick: very sickE2: really sick; actually sick as

opposed to faking it

References: 

Bachuber, Andrew. Introduction to Logic. New York, U.S.A.: Appleton Century Crofts Inc, 1957.

Copi, Irving. Introduction to Logic. 10th edition.Dauer, Francis.Critical Thinking: An Introduction to Reasoning. New

York, U.S.A.: Oxford University Press, 1989.Fogelin, Robert J. Understanding Arguments : An Introduction to

Informal Logic. 7th ed. Belmont, Calif. : Wadsworth, 2005.Malitao, Arnel.Essential Logic. Mandaluyong City: Echanis Press,

2003. 

http://abyss.uoregon.edu/~js/glossary/fallacies.htmlhttp://www.ozarkia.net/bill/anarchism/Fallacies.html#Accent

http://theautonomist.com/aaphp/permanent/fallacies.phphttp://www.infidels.org/library/modern/mathew/logic.html

http://www.logicalfallacies.info/ambiguity/accent/