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FALLACIES OF ARGUMENT

Argument = not a fight, but the progression of ideas from premises to conclusion
Fallacy = an error in logical thinking. There are many -- oh, so many -- fallacies
waiting to be committed .
FALLACIES OF AMBIGUITY (errors in thinking created by confUSions of language)
I. equivocation: use of double meanings of a word or an imprecision in its definition
to blur or shift its meaning mid-sentence or mid-speech: "He claims to be a
conservative, yet he spends lavishly." Charged words such as "freedom" or "rights"
often slyly shift their definitions in speeches that mean to persuade, so that, having
accepted the original meaning, an unwary listener may be led, through equivocation,
to accept conclusions based on a rather different definition of the word.
2. amphiboly: confusion in argument created by unclear sentence structure, such as
results from dangling or misplaced mOdifiers: "Charles wounded the burglar with a
gun."
3. Jargon: use of technical terms or in-group language in an inappropriate context to
confuse the issue and possibly to dazzle or stun the audience into acceptance
FALLACIES OF RELEVANCE (errors in thinking created by bringing in ideas or
emotions which are not relevant to the argument)
L ad hominem: (argument against the man) shifting from argument based on
reason to an attack on the arguer: "You can't believe him. He's been in prison."
2.ad verecundiam: (appeal to authority) accepting an argument not on its own
merit but because of the status of the person putting it forward. Acceptance of authority
is particularly dubious if the status of the person has nothing to do with the issue under
discussion. "Vitamin C must be a cure for COlds, because Dr. Newton says so, andhe
is a highly regarded physicist."
3. ad populam: (argument to the people, or appeal to the gallery) attempting to
win popular assent to a conclusion by arOUSing the emotions and enthusiasms of the
multitude -- a favourite device of advertising and propaganda. It can involve slanted
language! glamorous aSSOCiation, or bandwagon appear: " 1000 housewives can't
be wrong."
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4.ad baculum: (appeal to force) arguing that a statement is true because the
opponent ~ I t be h a r m ~ if he or she does not assent to it : " I wouldn't advise you to
disagree with Johnson In tomorrow's meeting. He is on the Promotions Committee,
which decides next week on your application. It might, Slightly more subtly, be an
appeal to fear. "If you don't buy our prOduct. your competitor wilt get ahead of you and
cut you out of the market"
5.ad misericordiam (appeal to pity) arguing for the truth of a statement because
someone would suffer if it were false -- use of emotional grounds for persuasion. "1
must have been driving under the speed limit, because I'll lose my license if I'm
convicted again."
6. special pleading : accepting a general principle but making oneself at one's
own group an exception. " Everyone should pay income tax honestly , but I really
need the money." "A lineup is a fair way of getting lunch, but I have to go to the front
because ............ ..
7.ignoring the question I red herring: getting off the topic,distracting the attention
from the argument.
a.complex question: two or more component questions are fused together, so
that saying "yes" or "no" does not make sense. "Have you stopped beating your
wife?"
9.irrelevant .figures: using figures and statistics to mislead: "The average income is
$40,000." (but the group could consist of many poor people and one millionaire.)
FALLACIES OF LOGIC (errors of thinking based on failure of clear reaSOning--
failure to reason from evidence in inductive reasoning. and failure to follow a logical
pattem in deductive reasoning)
1.hasty generalization; generalizing from unrepresentative or insufficient cases:
"On our trip to Toronto fast week ," says an American businessman on his first trip to
Canada, "we found the hotel staff, taxi drivers, and people in the stores unfriendly. I
guess Canadians are unfriendly people."
2. oversimplification : ignoring alternatives and thus implying that the question can
be settled more easily than is the case.
3.ad ignorantum :(argument from ignorance) arguing that a statement is true
because there is no evidence which:s.hows it to be false or false because there is no
evidence which shows it to be true. "'Absence of evidence is used as the basis for the
conclusion. "Martha Corey. we hereby condemn you for being a witCh. You have not
proved to the court that you are not one."
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4.beg9ing the question: assuming, without proof, the truth of a proposition which
needs proof: "This senseless language requirement should be. abotished." (the
question of whether the language requirement is senseless is ignored)
5. argument in a circle; using as a conclusion material that has already been
assumed in one of the premises:
A: "You've got to do what I say because I'm in charge."
B: "How do I know that you're in charge?"
A: "Because everyone's got to do what I say."
6. non sequitur: ("it does not follow") assuming that a statement foliows from the
one before, even though they may not be related. '" can't understand why I do so
badly in Math; after all, I bought the most expensive textbook on the bookstore sheff."
7. false cause
.. ;.\\\' non causa pro causa -- mistaking what is not the cause of a particular effect for its
real cause
post hoc ergo propter hoc - (after this, therefore because of this) assuming that
because one event followed another, it must have been the effect of the other:
"Whenever it rains, I write a good essay." "After that black cat crossed my path, I had a
terrible day. It must have brought me bad luck,"
8. false premise: using an unproved, or false, statement as the basis of argument
9. argument of the beard . (How many hairs make a beard?) arguing that a
distinction cannot be made because there is no clear dividing line between the
extremes; obscuring real differences by emphaSis on the differences only of degree:
"There is no difference between a child and an adult because there is no one moment
in a person's -life at which time he ceases to be a child and becomes an adult." It
derives from the argument that one cannot specify how many hairs a man must have
on his chin before it can be said that he has a beard. (Dieter's delight: "One more litHe
piece won't make any difference.")
10. black or white argument: ignoring differences of degree, and presenting only
the extremes as alternatives rHe is either a hero or a villain.") Applied to alternative
courses of action, this fallacy can be called a false dilemma: "Either we must take
up arms against our oppressor or we must say farewell to all the liberties which we
hold dear." Might th):)re not be another alternative?
II. truth is in the middle: assuming that an average or a compromise in necessarily
the solution to alternatives. If I see two $5 bills on the floor and ask myself whether it
would be reasonable to steal them, does it make any senSe to conclude that it would
be all right to take one?
12. false analogy: using a likeness to somethingefse as the basis for argument.
Any two things nave some point of similarity; it cannot be concluded that they
.'"-\.'
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therefore are alike in other regards. "The mind is like a knife, cutting through difficult
problems. But just as too much cutting duns a knife, so too much education dulls the
mind."
13. composition: taking what is true of the parts to be true of the whole: "aU societies
consist of human beings; all human beings have aims and desires; thus, all societies
have aims and desires. n
14. division: taking what is true of the whole to be true of the parts: "That company is '
very powerful; Mr. Ooe is an official of that company, so he must be powerful."
FIND THE FALLACY: A GREAT GAME WHOLE GROUPS CAN PLAY!
1. Why, of course he's a fine dog.
He came from one of the best kennels
in the area.
2. A rob is no worse than the individuals
that JIBke it up, because a rob is just a
large group of individuals.
3.

YOM! Cheesecake! .....
I Well,
\
,. just a few
rore calories
won't
. make any
-
'I
iTfIt
Jrl
G
---
-,
difference!
4. "Good roming! Have you got over
that grouchy temper you were in?"
"Don', worry "Dou, if. One doy you're 'edint
tfown Dnd you duh out 20 yeDrs 10 some. po
deVil. The next doy you fed ,reDI Qn.1 evel)1bod,
lets D suspentled sentence. It oIl evens out ill

5. "Halt! Who goes there?
Friend If foe?"
'!f
7.

Yes, I know there's a
drought, but mine are
prize flrrKers and I must
water them well.
8. "I'm going to put seatbolts in my car so that I don't have an accident."
9. Most housewives use this brand of dish detergent, so it must be good.
10. Surely you are not supporting that scheme! That dreadful scoundrel
Brown is organizing it!
11. The mind is like a knife, cutting through difficult problems. But just
as too much cutting dulls a knife, so too much education dulls the mind.
12. 13. MY essay is so far overdue now
that another day won't matter.
14. Although he was six feet tall,
he did not understand women.
15. The two courses I took at U.B.C.
were not very interesting I don't
think it's a very good uni versi ty
16. Of course it didn't rain today! I carried my T
17. Yes, there's a Santa Claus. But he doesn I t bring presents to children
who don't in him.

The performance of Beethoven's ArchdUke Trio which you are about to
be the ever recorded, because the artists -- Rubinstein,
Helfl tz, and Feuennan -- are the greatest solo performers on their
respective instruments.
19. Mr. O'The1lo, for twenty years president of the Shakespeare' Society I
told his audience that he was'in favour 'Of increased government involvement
in
20. "
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\' )

"'---. -------
21.
22.
Teenagers should not have
driver's licenses! I was alnDst
run ever twice by teenagers on
my way te work this
They just can't drive.
I wore that shirt to my last
exam and did well, so I think:
I'll lyear it te this exam, too.
23. The Executive Council has shown excellent judgement. John is
a member 'Of it, so 't-Ie whould be able to rely en his judgement.
24. What you're saying can't be taken seriously. You're mueh too young
and idealistic to knew what you're talking about.
25. What you're saying can't be taken serieusly! You're much too old
and decrepit to know what you're ta1king about.
26.' This really is the dress that yeu should buy. It is from a line of
new 'and exclusive fashiens which has been develeped fer the critical eye
'Of those whe demand the very best.
27. I know we shouldn't waste electriei ty . But I really like to come
home te a bright room and be welcomed by my little lamp.
28. Are yeu with us, 'Or against us?
29. Nine out of ten doctors use our product. It must be good.
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