Friday, October 30, 2015 EQ: How can logical fallacies be used to create skewed arguments? WOD: innate ( ih NEYT) adj. meaning existing in one at birth; inborn Good manners are not innate; they must be taught. Warm-up: For your Halloween enjoyment…don’t get too scared!don’t get too scared

Logical Fallacies

Sometimes “evidence” is a little  She’s a witch!! She’s a witch!!

Definition Logical fallacies are flaws in reasoning that lead to faulty, illogical statements. They are unreasonable argumentative tactics named for what has gone wrong during the reasoning process.

Most logical fallacies masquerade as reasonable statements, but they are in fact attempts to manipulate readers by reaching their emotions instead of their intellects.

Ad Hominem “I wouldn’t believe a thing that girl tells me. Just look at that awful outfit of hers.”  Latin for “to the man”.  Directly attacks someone’s appearance, personal habits, or character rather than focusing on the merit of the issue at hand. The implication is that if something is wrong with this person, whatever he/she says must be wrong.

Ad Hominem – Making it Personal Sara is divorced, so whatever relationship advice she gives you can’t be good. It is the suggestions, not the person who makes them that deserve attention. Sara’s marital status has nothing to do with the quality of her advice. Isn’t it also possible that Sara could be married and give awful advice? If my husband forgot to wash his dish, I would move out too. You did the right thing, Carol.

Straw Man My uncle knew a guy who had a McDonald’s hamburger and he got sick. I won’t eat there.  The fallacy-maker ignores the opponent’s actual position, and replaces it with a superficially similar, but unequivalent position to attack. The attack does not address the initial position at all.

Circular Argument (Circular Reasoning) “I don’t believe in ghosts, so that thing that floated past our window couldn’t have been a ghost. “Only an untrustworthy person would run for office. The fact that all politicians are untrustworthy is proof of this.”  An argument that relies on the truth of its own proposition to support its main premise.  We are forced to simply assume the truth of the statement.

Either, Or/False Dilemma “ You’re either with us, or you’re against us.” “It wasn’t the medicine that cured my grandmother, so it must have been a miracle.”  A false dilemma asserts that a complex situation can have only two possible outcomes and that one of the options is necessary or preferable.

Slippery Slope “If we lose in Vietnam, Communists will gain a toehold and the whole world will become Communist.”  An argument that suggests that a relatively small first step will start a chain reaction leading to a significant effect.

Hasty Generalization  “The Fitzgeralds boys never go outside. I tell you, kids today never get any exercise. “  A person travels through a town for the first time. He sees 10 people, all of them children. The person then concludes that there are no adult residents in the town  Reaching a conclusion without considering all variables or evidence.

Red Herring  “You may think that he cheated on the test, but look at the poor little thing! How would he feel if you made him sit it again?”  Attempting to redirect the argument to another issue that to which the person doing the redirecting can better respond.

Bandwagon  McDonald’s is a very busy fast food place, so it must be good if so many people eat there!  The appeal to popularity or the fact that many people do something. It could also be abandoning a belief because it is unpopular.

False Analogy  A class is like a football team. Let’s go out there and get that A!  Employees are like nails. Just as nails must be hit in the head in order to make them work, so must employees. Comparing two objects to suggest that they share a certain property, which they do not actually share. Essentially, it’s comparing apples and oranges!

False Analogy Example If we can put a man on the moon, why can’t we find the cure for the common cold? While both things being compared here are related to science, there are more differences than similarities between space and biological advancements.

Hasty Generalization A hasty generalization is a conclusion based on insufficient or unrepresentative evidence. Stereotyping and Sexism are forms of this fallacy. Take, for example common dumb blonde jokes: Q: What do you call a blonde skeleton in the closet? A: Last year's hide-and-go-seek winner.

Example of a Generalization The only redheads I know are rude. Therefore, all redheads must have bad manners. If the speaker only knows two redheads, then he has insufficient evidence to make the general claim about all people with that hair color.

Post Hoc Fallacy  Short for post hoc, ergo propter hoc, which means after this, therefore caused by this. This fallacy assumes that just because B happened after A, it must have been caused by A. Politicians love this one.

Post Hoc Example Since Governor Bush took office, unemployment of minorities in the state has decreased by seven percent. Governor Bush should be applauded for reducing unemployment among minorities. Before we pat the governor on the back, the speaker must show that Bush’s policies are responsible for the decrease in unemployment. It is not enough to show the decrease came after his election.

Authoritative Fallacy “Because I said so!!” My neighbor says that I have strep throat. My neighbor is a doctor, so he must be right. (Neighbor is actually an orthodontist). Assuming that a position must be true because it is held by a supposed “authority” figure, who may not actually be a true authority on the subject.

Friday, October 30, 2015 EQ: Does The Crucible meet the requirements of Greek Tragedy? WOD: innate ( ih NEYT) adj. meaning existing in one at birth; inborn Good manners are not innate; they must be taught. Warm-up: For your Halloween enjoyment…don’t get too scared!don’t get too scared