alan polk
1st Lieutenant
- Joined
- Jun 11, 2012
Okay, I love this site because we all can argue and fight. But I also love it because most of us use fallacies in our arguments. When I read the posts here, I keep my old Logic book from Ole Miss to reference. I try to know when I'm using fallacies on purpose, or when I am using them but am unaware. I just thought I would give you my favorite fallacies used on this site with examples from my old text book. Anyway, here are my favorites. I will give the name of the fallacy, and then an example of such fallacy from my old textbook:
1. Appeal to Authority - Dr. Bradshaw, our family physician, has stated that the creation of muonic atoms of deuterium and tritium hold the key to producing a sustained nuclear fusion reaction at room tempature. In view of Dr. Bradshaw's expertise as a physician, we must conclude that this is indeed true.
2. Appeal to Ignorance - People have been trying for centuries to provide conclusive evidence for the claims of astrology, and no one has ever succeeded. Therefore, we must conclude that astrology is a lot of nonesense.
3. Hasty Generalization - After only one year the alternator went out in Mr. O'Grady's new Chevrolet. Mrs. Doodson's Oldsmobile developed a transmission problem after 6 months. The conclusion is obvious that cars made by General Motors are just a pile of junk these days.
4. Slippery Slope - Attempts to outlaw ****ography threaten basic civil rights and should be summarily abandoned. If ****ography is outlawed, censorship of newspapers and news magazines is only a short step away. After that there will be censorship of textbooks, political speeches, and the content of lectures delivered by university professors. Complete mind control by the central government will be the inevitable result.
5. Weak Analogy - Harper's new car is bright blue, has leather upholstery, and gets excellent gas mileage. Crowley's new car is also bright blue and has leather upholstery. Therefore, it probably gets excellent gas mileage, too.
NOW FOR MY FAVORITES
6. Begging the Question - (This gets pushed into the Slavery issue).
Capital punishment is justified for the crimes of murder and kidnapping because it is quite legitmate and appropriate that someone be put to death for having committed such hateful and inhuman acts.
7. Suppressed Evidence - (We see this form a lot) The Second Amendment to the Constitution states that the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. But a law controlling handguns would infringe on the right to keep and bear arms. Therefore, a law controlling handguns would be unconstitutional.
8. Equivocation - (I've seen this lately on this site. In the below example, the word "law" -- in its first use -- is statutory law. In its second usage, it is natural law. Anyway, here is the example): Any law can be repealed by the legislative authority. But the law of gravity is law. Therefore, the law of gravity can be repealed by the legislative authority.
1. Appeal to Authority - Dr. Bradshaw, our family physician, has stated that the creation of muonic atoms of deuterium and tritium hold the key to producing a sustained nuclear fusion reaction at room tempature. In view of Dr. Bradshaw's expertise as a physician, we must conclude that this is indeed true.
2. Appeal to Ignorance - People have been trying for centuries to provide conclusive evidence for the claims of astrology, and no one has ever succeeded. Therefore, we must conclude that astrology is a lot of nonesense.
3. Hasty Generalization - After only one year the alternator went out in Mr. O'Grady's new Chevrolet. Mrs. Doodson's Oldsmobile developed a transmission problem after 6 months. The conclusion is obvious that cars made by General Motors are just a pile of junk these days.
4. Slippery Slope - Attempts to outlaw ****ography threaten basic civil rights and should be summarily abandoned. If ****ography is outlawed, censorship of newspapers and news magazines is only a short step away. After that there will be censorship of textbooks, political speeches, and the content of lectures delivered by university professors. Complete mind control by the central government will be the inevitable result.
5. Weak Analogy - Harper's new car is bright blue, has leather upholstery, and gets excellent gas mileage. Crowley's new car is also bright blue and has leather upholstery. Therefore, it probably gets excellent gas mileage, too.
NOW FOR MY FAVORITES
6. Begging the Question - (This gets pushed into the Slavery issue).
Capital punishment is justified for the crimes of murder and kidnapping because it is quite legitmate and appropriate that someone be put to death for having committed such hateful and inhuman acts.
7. Suppressed Evidence - (We see this form a lot) The Second Amendment to the Constitution states that the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed. But a law controlling handguns would infringe on the right to keep and bear arms. Therefore, a law controlling handguns would be unconstitutional.
8. Equivocation - (I've seen this lately on this site. In the below example, the word "law" -- in its first use -- is statutory law. In its second usage, it is natural law. Anyway, here is the example): Any law can be repealed by the legislative authority. But the law of gravity is law. Therefore, the law of gravity can be repealed by the legislative authority.
)
Bringing the