Fallacies

Fallacies in Reasoning: Pitfalls of arguing

• Logical Fallacy-false or erroneous statement or an invalid or deceptive line of reasoning-these harm quality of speeches

Types of fallacies

• 1-Begging the question-claim with no substance speaker assumes the statement under examination to be true. It

involves using a premise to support itself and if the premise is questionable, then the argument is bad

Examples• Freedom of speech is important because people should be able

to speak freely.• The death penalty is wrong because killing people is immoral.• Ghosts are real because I have had experiences with them

myself.

2-Bandwagoning-assumes that because something is popular, it is therefore good, correct, logical or desirable

Examples7 in 10 doctors say acupuncture works, therefore it must

workThe President must be correct in his approach to

domestic policy; after all, the polls show 60 percent of the people support him

Everybody knows that talk radio is our primary link to a free and democratic society

• 3-Either-or Fallacy-Poses argument in terms of 2 alternatives only, regardless of other options

Examples• Either we build a new high school or children in this

community will never get into college• The government must either raise taxes or reduce services

for the poor

• 4-Ad hominem-Attack opponent instead of attacking arguments

Examples• The governor has a number of interesting economic proposals

but let’s not forget that she comes from a very wealthy family• Tony is an awful musician and is not sensitive enough to chair the

parking committee

5-Red herring-Relying on irrelevant information in order to divert attention from the subject under discussion

Examples• How dare my opponent accuse me of political corruption at a

time when we are working to improve the quality of life for all people in the United States?

6-Slippery-Slope-Speaker assumes that taking a first step will lead inevitably to a second step and so on down the slope to disaster

Examples• Passing federal laws to control the amount of violence on

television is the first step in a process that will result in absolute government control of the media and total censorship over all forms of artistic expression

7-Causal Fallacy-occurs when the speaker claims a causal relationship simply because one event followed another event.

Examples• As long as you wear this lucky rabbit’s foot, you will never have

an automobile accident• Rap music ought to be boycotted. After all, the number of

assaults on police officers went up right after rap became popular.

8-Hasty Generalization-Occurs when conclusion is based on too few examples or on isolated examples. Stereotyping.

Examples• The city does a terrible job of taking care of the elderly-my

grandmother lives in a city-owned nursing home, and the floors there are always filthy.