Univ 111 Fall 2015 Use for Unit III Essay Fallacies Univ 111 Fall 2015 Use for Unit III Essay

What is a fallacy? A fallacy is an error of reasoning. Logical fallacies are often used in an attempt to strengthen an argument, but if the reader detects them the argument can backfire, and damage the writer’s credibility (ethos). Ex: video game violence Emotional fallacies unfairly control the reader’s emotions in an attempt to strengthen arguments Ex: Amanda Bynes is going through a tough time. Let’s buy her new rap album to support her. Ethical fallacies unreasonably manipulate the cred of the argument. Newt Gingrich left his wife while she was diagnosed with cancer. Cannot be a good politician. Keep in mind that the goal of academic argument is truth-seeking, not winning.

What’s the Point? It is important to develop logical fallacy detection skills in your own writing, as well as others’. It will help to successfully get your point across…as well as knowing when to dismiss others’ arguments. You’ll need to respond to a counter argument (CA) in your Unit III Papers. Detecting a fallacy in your CA source is one way to effectively respond to it. What are the other two ways to rebut a counter argument? 1. Detect a logical, emotional, or ethical fallacy. 2. ??? 3. ???

What’s the Point? It is important to develop logical fallacy detection skills in your own writing, as well as others’. It will help to successfully get your point across…as well as knowing when to dismiss others’ arguments. You’ll need to respond to a counter argument (CA) in your Unit III Papers. Detecting a fallacy in your CA source is one way to effectively respond to it. What are the other two ways to rebut a counter argument? Detect a logical, emotional, or ethical fallacy. RAAP  determine the lack of author cred. You’ll need to Google and cite that source; just like Unit II 3. Quantitative Reasoning  Contextualize any statistics in the CA source. Dismantle their argument.

Thou shalt Not Commit Logical Fallacies Thou shalt Not Commit Logical Fallacies. Retrieved from https://yourlogicalfallacyis.com/home

Examples: Begging the Question “stealing is illegal because it's against the law” TV show Ancient Aliens: the proof there were aliens visiting the Earth in the past is there are problems in history caused by aliens. What’s this guy’s mistake? http://caffeine-fueled.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/giorgio-tsoukalos.jpeg

Thou shalt Not Commit Logical Fallacies Thou shalt Not Commit Logical Fallacies. Retrieved from https://yourlogicalfallacyis.com/home

Example: Ad Hominem "Andrea Dworkin has written several books arguing that pornography harms women. But Dworkin is an ugly, bitter person, so you shouldn't listen to her.” Tip: Be sure to stay focused on your opponents' reasoning, rather than on their personal character. (The exception to this is, of course, if you are making an argument about someone's character—if your conclusion is “Gov. McAuliffe is an untrustworthy person," premises about his untrustworthy acts are relevant, not fallacious.)

Thou shalt Not Commit Logical Fallacies Thou shalt Not Commit Logical Fallacies. Retrieved from https://yourlogicalfallacyis.com/home

Example: Slippery Slope "Animal experimentation reduces our respect for life. If we don't respect life, we are likely to be more and more tolerant of violent acts like war and murder. Soon our society will become a battlefield in which everyone constantly fears for their lives. It will be the end of civilization. To prevent this terrible consequence, we should make animal experimentation illegal right now." Tip: Check your argument for chains of consequences, where you say "if A, then B, and if B, then C," and so forth. Make sure these chains are reasonable.

Thou shalt Not Commit Logical Fallacies Thou shalt Not Commit Logical Fallacies. Retrieved from https://yourlogicalfallacyis.com/home

Examples: Either/Or “Bush doesn’t care about Black people” –Kanye West “Beyonce had one of the best videos of all time.” –Kanye West What’s Kanye’s mistake? What’s Kanye’s mistake?

Thou shalt Not Commit Logical Fallacies Thou shalt Not Commit Logical Fallacies. Retrieved from https://yourlogicalfallacyis.com/home

Examples: Post Hoc Ice cream sales increase when murder rates increase. Ice cream must make people kill one another.  "Every severe recession follows a Republican Presidency; therefore Republicans are the cause of recessions.“ Every day, I eat cereal for breakfast. One time, I had a muffin instead, and there was a major earthquake in my city. I've eaten cereal ever since. "I can't help but think that you are the cause of this problem; we never had any problem with the furnace until you moved into the apartment." 

False Analogy Thou shalt Not Commit Logical Fallacies. Retrieved from https://yourlogicalfallacyis.com/home

Examples: False Analogy "The model of the solar system is similar to that of an atom, with planets orbiting the sun like electrons orbiting the nucleus. Electrons can jump from orbit to orbit; so we should study ancient records for sightings of planets jumping from orbit to orbit.“ Person A: "I think that people can have some affection for their cultural heritage." Person B: "You're just like Hitler!" What’s Karen’s mistake?

So how do I find fallacies in my own writing? Pretend you disagree with the conclusion you're defending. What parts of the argument would now seem fishy to you? What parts would seem easiest to attack? Give special attention to strengthening those parts. List your main points; under each one, list the evidence you have for it. Seeing your claims and evidence laid out this way may make you realize that you have no good evidence for a particular claim, or it may help you look more critically at the evidence you're using. Learn which types of fallacies you're especially prone to, and be careful to check for them in your work. Some writers make lots of appeals to authority; others are more likely to rely on weak analogies or set up straw men. Read over some of your old papers to see if there's a particular kind of fallacy you need to watch out for. Be aware that broad claims need more proof than narrow ones. Claims that use sweeping words like "all," "no," "none," "every," "always," "never," "no one," and "everyone" are sometimes appropriate—but they require a lot more proof than less-sweeping claims that use words like "some," "many," "few," "sometimes," "usually," and so forth. Double check your characterizations of others, especially your opponents, to be sure they are accurate and fair.