Faulty Reasoning and Bad Arguments LOGICAL FALLACIES Faulty Reasoning and Bad Arguments

AD HOMINEM ARGUMENT Attacks the person rather than the issue Intends to divert the issue Aims at discrediting their argument

ABUSIVE AD HOMINEM Attacks a person’s character/place in life instead of the issue Examples: She is a teenager so you can’t believe a word she says. He is an adult so of course he is against legalization of marijuana. He uses drugs so he can’t be right.

CIRCUMSTANTIAL AD HOMINEM Attacks a person’s intentions/motives, not their position on an issue Examples: “You don’t really care about lowering the crime rate, you just want people to vote for you.” “My teacher hates me so I got a bad grade.”

ASSIGNMENT Find five examples of Ad Hominem fallacies by 10/17. Write down the situation and the stated fallacy. Television show/news report Newspaper article Conversation with someone else (no names please) Political discourse/debate/ad Be prepared to share them with the class

STRAW MAN FALLACY Misrepresenting someone’s argument to make it easier to disprove Misquoting someone Exaggerating Oversimplifying Aim: Make the other argument more absurd and easier to attack

EXAMPLES “The only reason they don’t want us to go off campus at lunch is because they are trying to control us and not let us do what we want.” Mom: “You may go out with your friends if you finish your homework.” Son: Mom said that I could go out with my friends. “You have bad grades because you are lazy and don’t want to work.” Everyone says that blue is the prettiest color, so it must be true.

ASSIGNMENT Think of a situation in which someone misunderstood you because they committed Straw Man fallacy. Describe it. If you can’t think of a personal example, make up a dialogue between two people in which one or both of them commit the fallacy.

EQUIVOCATION FALLACY The equivocation fallacy occurs when someone uses the same word but changes the meaning of the word during the argument (this is often the case with puns). done to confuse the issue

EXAMPLES Judge: Why didn’t you pay your parking fines? Defendant: I shouldn’t have to because the sign said, “Fine for parking here.” If it is fine for me to park there, why was I given a ticket? A ham sandwich is better than nothing. Nothing is better than eternal happiness. Therefore, a ham sandwich is better than eternal happiness.