Logical Fallacies in Argument - Notes
What are Logical Fallacies?
Mistakes in our reasoning
◦Claims, warrants, or pieces of evidence are ______
Seriously affect our ability to argue effectively
◦Sometimes we think that our faulty argument is sound
◦Sometimes we think a flawed argument will win us the battle
Sometimes these are difficult to spot because they are disguised by ______.
Fallacies
Ad Hominem—Against the Man
◦Avoiding the issue by attacking a ______
◦Used to divert an audience’s attention from the issue at hand
A prosecutor asks the judge to not admit the testimony of a burglar because burglars are not trustworthy.
Begging the Question
◦______
Drawing conclusions from assumptions that have not been proven
CLAIM: You can’t give me a C in this course…
REASON: …because I am an A student.
WARRANT: An A student is someone who can’t receive Cs.
Either/Or Fallacy
◦Contrasting your own choice only with one that is ______; Overlooking other options
All drugs should be either legalized or banned completely. (Ignores other positions like legalizing marijuana for cancer treatments but not for general use)
Equivocation
◦Using a word with ______, usually in order to confuse or deceive
Macbeth has nothing to worry about “till Birnamwood / Do come to Dunsinane” –how can a forest move?
◦Argument gives an ______
Hasty/Faulty Generalization
◦Inference drawn from ______
Because my Honda broke down, then all Hondas must be junk.
Sweeping Generalization
◦Claim that something applies to ______without exceptions.
All cameras are easy to use.
All women are bad drivers.
All English teachers are nitpicky.
Post Hoc: Faulty Causality
◦Assumes that because one action follows another, ______
The abnormally warm weather led to the increased number in summer casualties
Faulty Analogy
◦Assuming that since two things are alike in one aspect, ______
Employees are like nails. Just as nails must be hit in the head in order to make them work, so must employees.
Non-Sequitur
◦Literally means “it does not follow.”
◦A conclusion or statement that ______from the premises of a given argument
Because my sister is rich, she will make a good parent.
Red Herring
◦Introducing something ______to change or shift the topic
Why should we worry about the amount of violence on television when thousands of people are killed in automobile accidents every year?
Straw Man
◦Strengthening your own view by ______the opposing view
◦Attacking an argument that ______
"Senator Jones says that we should not fund the attack submarine program. I disagree entirely. I can't understand why he wants to leave us defenseless like that.“
Bandwagon
◦Assumes that because something is popular, it is ______
The President must be correct in his approach to foreign policy; after all, the polls show that 60 percent of the people support him.