Rev. 2/2012 Arguments and Logical Fallacies Gayla S. Keesee Center for Academic & Technology Support (CATS)

What is an Argument? It is NOT Bickering and fighting Necessarily confrontational Persuasive An argument presents logical reasons and evidence supports a claim (viewpoint)

Types of Arguments INDUCTIVE - reaches a general conclusion from observed specifics. “By observing the performance of a large number of athletes, you could conclude that athletes possess physical stamina.”

Types of Arguments DEDUCTIVE - begins with a major premise and moves toward a more specific statement or minor premise. “Athletes possess physical stamina. Because Anthony is an athlete, he must possess physical stamina.”

Parts of an Argument ISSUE - problem or controversy about which people disagree (topic) CLAIM - the position on the issue (thesis) SUPPORT - reasons and evidence that the claim is reasonable and should be accepted REFUTATION - opposing viewpoints

Types of Claims CLAIM OF FACT - asserts that a condition has existed, exists, or will exist— provable by fact or data “Within ten years, the destruction of rain forests will cause hundreds of plant and animal species to become extinct.”

Types of Claims CLAIM OF VALUE - attempt to prove that some action, belief, or condition is right or wrong—often include morality “Voluntary suicide is immoral.”

Types of Claims CLAIM OF POLICY - advocate the adoption of policies or courses of action solve a problem. “The death penalty should be abolished because it does nothing to prevent murder.”

Types of Support evidence facts, data, expert witnesses motivational self-contained, combines both claim and rationale

Rev Mack Gipson, Jr. Tutorial & Enrichment Center Logical Fallacies Errors in reasoning

“Fallacy” imprecise term Ambiguous a)kind of error in an argument b)kind of error in reasoning c)false belief Philosophers prefer to emphasize (a) BUT their lead is often not followed in textbooks and public discussion.

10 most frequently used fallacies False cause Appeal to emotions Ad hominem Bandwagon Appeals to the people False dilemma/either-or Scare tactics Hasty generalization/jumping to conclusions Red herring Traditional wisdom

False Cause or Post Hoc Makes the assumption that because one event follows another, the first is the cause of the second “There has been a rise in youth violence since the invention of the computer game; obviously, computer games must promote youth violence.”

Emotional Appeals Emotionally Charged or Biased Language enormous vs. large scrawny vs. slender Name-calling all-purpose attack words political, racial, religious, cultural sexuality and bodily functions non-human/less than human

Ad Hominem Attack on the person rather than his/her viewpoint “She asserts that we need less military spending, but she can’t understand because she’s just a woman.” “We cannot trust the congressman's crime bill because he was once arrested for DUI himself.”

Guilt by Association Person is said to be wrong because of the group he/she associates with Making a false association V ersion of ad hominem

Associations a car named a Cougar good looking guy & cologne

If the celebrity/athlete/star uses the product, then it must be good, so I will purchase/use it too.

Appeal to “Common Folk” an ad showing a product being used in an average household a politician suggesting he is like everyone else

Bandwagon “Join the Crowd” Everyone else does, so why don’t you…? Everyone else believes that …, so you should also.

Either-Or Fallacy Indicates only two alternatives exist when in fact there are more than two. “Anyone who opposes capital punishment must be pro-crime.” “My country: love it or leave it.”

Scare Tactics Use of warnings, name-calling, horror stories, or atrocity pictures to make a specific application to a group of common predictable fears. Death & Destruction Invasion Loss/restraint of freedom Dominance by others Injustice Chaos

Non Sequitur Conclusion that does not follow from the original statement. “Nuclear disarmament is a risk, but everything in life involves a risk. Every time you drive in a car you are taking a risk. If you're willing to drive in a car, you should be willing to have disarmament.”

Hasty Generalization Jumping to Conclusions - conclusion based on insufficient evidence or bias “This car is really cheap. I'll buy it.” I've met two people in Nicaragua so far, and they were both nice to me. So, all people I will meet in Nicaragua will be nice to me. “Because one apple is bad, all of them in the basket must be bad.”

Red Herring Presents an irrelevant topic to divert attention away from the original issue The woman is a distraction used to divert men from thinking about the quality of the product

Traditional Wisdom W ay things used to be is better than they are now—way we’ve always done it is better Of course we should buy Dell computers whenever we need new computers. We have been buying Dells as far back as anyone can remember.

Ignoring or Dismissing Evidence “There is no global warming because some scientists deny that it exists.”

Circular Reasoning Begging the Question – argument is repeated, usually by rephrasing rather than expanding the points.

Slippery Slope A rguer claims that chain reaction, usually ending in some dire consequence, will take place, but there's not enough evidence for that assumption. If a teenager uses birth control, he/she will have sex more often. If a person uses marijuana, he/she will naturally start using hard drugs soon.