Zaid Ali Alsagoff Persuasive Appeals vs. Logical Fallacies

Analyze+Evaluate= Your Opinion? Target Audience?

Logical Fallacies vs. Appeals contains a mistake in reasoning  A logical fallacy is an argument that contains a mistake in reasoning.  A persuasive appeal uses parts of the human brain other than logic to persuade: ethos and pathos.

Fallacy: Ad Hominem (Personal Attack) Example: Erika has argued for more emphasis on music in class to stimulate creativity. But she does not always do her homework, so I absolutely refuse to listen to her. A debater rejects a person’s argument by attacking their character rather than examining the worth of the argument itself. A debater rejects a person’s argument by attacking their character rather than examining the worth of the argument itself. 1. X is a bad/imperfect person. 2. Therefore X's argument must be bad. Pattern

Fallacy: Attacking the Motive Example: Thomas Han has argued that we need to give money to ASB. But Thomas is a member of ASB. Obviously, his argument is a lot of self- serving nonsense. A debater criticizes a person’s motivation for offering a particular claim, rather than examining the worth of the claim itself. A debater criticizes a person’s motivation for offering a particular claim, rather than examining the worth of the claim itself. 1.X has biased or has questionable motives. 2.Therefore, X’s claim should be rejected 2.Therefore, X’s claim should be rejected.

Fallacy: Red Herring Example: The student explained, “Since the weather is so rainy and people get into car crashes more often when it rains, our in-class essay should be postponed until next week.” Debater tries to sidetrack his audience by raising an irrelevant issue as a solution to the first issue. Debater tries to sidetrack his audience by raising an irrelevant issue as a solution to the first issue. 1. Topic A is under discussion. 1. Topic A is under discussion. 2. Topic B is not relevant to topic A. 2. Topic B is not relevant to topic A.

Bandwagon Appeal Example: All of the 10 th graders are going to see a rated-R film with fake IDs, so you HAVE to go with us! When an arguer appeals to a person’s desire to be popular, accepted, or valued, rather than to logically relevant reasons or evidence. When an arguer appeals to a person’s desire to be popular, accepted, or valued, rather than to logically relevant reasons or evidence. 1. Most people believe or do X. 2. Therefore, you should believe or do X.

Emotional Appeal to Fear (Scare Tactics) Example: -If you do not do well in English, you will have ugly babies. -If you do not pass every class in school, you will never be successful. -If I do not dispatch her, she will betray more men. -If we do not remove the Japanese from among our midst, more Americans will die. Debater threatens harm to audience and this threat is irrelevant to the truth of the debater’s conclusion. Debater threatens harm to audience and this threat is irrelevant to the truth of the debater’s conclusion.

Appeal to Pity (Other: Appeal to Vanity) Arguer attempts to evoke feelings of pity, where such feelings are understandable but not relevant to the truth of the arguer’s conclusion. Arguer attempts to evoke feelings of pity, where such feelings are understandable but not relevant to the truth of the arguer’s conclusion. Example: I know I missed half your classes and failed all my quizzes and assignments. First my cat died. Then my girlfriend told me she has found someone else. With all I went through this semester, I don’t think I really deserve an F. Any chance you might cut me some slack and change my grade to a C or a D?

Debater taps into people’s values or moral standards. Ethical Appeal Example: -If you believe in education, vote against cutting after-school programs. -A real mother knows that something as simple as a nutritious breakfast can lead a child to success! Fruity Schmoos are part of a complete breakfast, so start your child’s day off right!

“Plain Folks” Appeal Examples: -At last, a health care plan created with real people and real families in mind. -I’m a mother of three and lost twenty pounds in three weeks! You can do it, too! -I have seen the poverty and felt its power; I know the need of our people. Implies that ordinary people are on “our side” or that a candidate is like a “regular” person. Implies that ordinary people are on “our side” or that a candidate is like a “regular” person.

Testimonial Example: - Carolyn, a satisfied customer, says that eating Fresh Farm Carrots has helped her get to school on time every day. - Candice attributes her great hair to the new and improved Fruitaloo Shampoo. You, too, can have great hair like Candice! Use of stories from satisfied customers and celebrities to demonstrate products credibility. Use of stories from satisfied customers and celebrities to demonstrate products credibility.

Transfer Example: -Take pride in being an American. Re-elect Governor Smolyanitsky! -If you like to learn quickly without pain, you’ll love Silmarillion Stone as you learn how to speak Elven languages! Connects a product, a candidate, or a cause with a positive idea or image. Connects a product, a candidate, or a cause with a positive idea or image.

Loaded Question Example: Nat: Are you still friends with that crazy guy Montana? Lauren: Yes. Nat: Well, at least you admit he’s crazy. Posing a question that contains an unfair or unwarranted presupposition. Posing a question that contains an unfair or unwarranted presupposition. To respond effectively, To respond effectively, one must distinguish the different questions being asked and respond to each individually.

Loaded Language/Word Choice Example: - Lena shared that the cookie recipe she got from her Aunt makes luxuriously scrumptious cookies. Use of language with positive or negative connotations to stir people’s emotions Use of language with positive or negative connotations to stir people’s emotions

Hasty Generalization Example: -Norwegians are lazy. I have two friends who are from Norway, and both of them never prepare for class, or do their homework. -Some of my older friends voted for Obama because of his ethnic background. So many people only voted for him because of his ethnicity. Drawing a general conclusion from a biased, or too small, a sample. Drawing a general conclusion from a biased, or too small, a sample.

ReferencesBook Chapter 5 (Logical Fallacies -1) & 6 (Logical Fallacies - 2): G Bassham, W Irwin, H Nardone, J M Wallace, Critical Thinking: A Student's Introduction, McGraw-Hill International Edition, 2007 Online Resources Fallacies (The Nizkor Project):

Group Activity construct five (5) fallacious arguments. Break into groups of 4 - 6, and construct five (5) fallacious arguments. Each group can choose any of the 20 fallacies discussed, but must construct at least two fallacious arguments of each category: Fallacies of Relevance & Fallacies of Insufficient Evidence). The constructed fallacious arguments must discuss the topics specified in the template provided (Business, Education, Information Technology, Environment, and Tourism). 20 minConstruct 5 fallacious arguments. 5 minDocument constructed arguments into the template provided. 15 minGroup presentation & discussion. The Group leader must submit their findings in hard-copy or soft-copy format to the lecturer before or during the next class.

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