ENGL 17889GD: Composition and

Rhetoric
FALL 2017

WEEK 6
 Today
• Overview of next in-class assignment: Rhetorical Analysis 2
• Reasoning: methods and fallacies
• Introduction to seminar assignment
• Lab: Begin work on seminar presentations
 Rhetorical Analysis 2
• In-class assignment next week (October 18)
• Choose 1 of 3 topics that corresponds to the research sources on SLATE
• Read the corresponding research sources in preparation for the
assignment. You may want to print them and bring them to class with
you.
• The assignment will ask you to write a formal essay following the
Classical model of argumentation on your chosen topic. You will be
required to quote each source two times in your essay.
 Rhetorical Analysis 2
• APA formatting, including spacing and margins
• Textbook, SLATE, your notes, and Sheridan Library APA guide
permitted
• No other sources are permitted.
• 3-4 pages in length (double spaced), in addition to a title page
following APA format, and references for both sources.
 Methods of Reasoning
• Imperfect nature of argumentation due to the complexity of issues
• Variables always involved in making argumentative claims
• Reasoning and logic as methods of reducing inconsistencies,
contradictions, omissions, and oversight.
• Need to build arguments that are as air-tight and efficient as possible
• Potential for flaws and error to occur in reasoning and logic
 Methods of Reasoning
Cold fusion experiment (1989)
• Martin Fleischmann Stanley Pons
• Believed to have discovered “cold fusion”: a method of releasing nuclear
energy without the immense heat and pressure previously known to be
needed
• Reported finding to the press
• Widespread implications for the energy sector
• Inability to replicate experiment and discovery of errors in observation
that nuclear byproducts observed
 Methods of Reasoning
• Error in scientific reasoning and analysis of observations/ data
• Data may be interpreted differently, making rigorous and careful use of
reasoning necessary
• Need to evaluate and even scrutinize pattern of reasoning
• Ability to correct errors and redirect investigation and thought in
sound and productive directions
• Reliance on critical thinking
 Argumentative Fallacies
What is a fallacy?
• Argumentative error
• Deceptive, misleading, or false notion or belief
• May be a faulty presumption
• Often due to a misconception and therefore is not deliberate
• Weakens overall argument and damages cerdibility
 Methods of Reasoning
Methods of Reasoning
• Deduction
• Induction
• Categorization
• Analogy
• Authorization
• Plea
 Methods of Reasoning
Deduction
• Reasoning from general assertions (known/accepted as truth) to specifics
• Involves the breakdown of an assertion into logically connected
statements
• Example: syllogism
• Major premise (must be accepted as truth)
• Minor premise (shares a term with major premise)
• Conclusion (shares a term with each premise)
 Methods of Reasoning
Syllogism using categorization

• A are B
• C are A
• C are B
 Methods of Reasoning
Enthymeme
• Component of deductive reasoning
• A premise of a syllogism is unstated because it is assumed to be true,
accepted, or understood.
• Chief Wiggum is a law-abiding citizen because he is the police chief
• Missing premise: All police chiefs are law abiding citizens
 Methods of Reasoning
Deductive reasoning to evaluate claims:
• Consider any contradictions
• Consider any inconsistencies
• Determine if any information has been omitted
• Identify oversimplifications
 Methods of Reasoning
• Reductio ad absurdum – Reduce an unsound claim to its logical
absurdity

• Peter Singer- “To answer this question affirmatively is to endorse

follow-the-crowd ethics -- the kind of ethics that led many Germans to
look away when the Nazi atrocities were being committed. We do not
excuse them because others were behaving no better.”
 Methods of Reasoning
• Peter Singer- “Thus, we know that the money we can give beyond that
theoretical ''fair share'' is still going to save lives that would otherwise
be lost. While the idea that no one need do more than his or her fair
share is a powerful one, should it prevail if we know that others are not
doing their fair share and that children will die preventable deaths
unless we do more than our fair share? That would be taking fairness
too far. [. . .]Thus, this ground for limiting how much we ought to give
also fails.”
• For Singer, there is no absurdity in his logic. Is this a problem?
 Methods of Reasoning
Fallacies in deductive reasoning:
• Fourth term: Substituting a fourth term into logical reasoning (a syllogism)
under the assumption that it has the same meaning as another term
• All police chiefs are law abiding citizens
• Eddie and Lou are cops
• Therefore, Eddie and Lou
are law-abiding citizens
 Methods of Reasoning
Fallacies:
• Non sequitur: “it does not follow”
• Occurs when an assertion does not logically follow from a premise

• Example: Nelly is obsessed with basketball because she attends a

basketball game every week.
• Why does Nelly attend every week?
 Methods of Reasoning
Induction
• Arriving at a conclusion based on available evidence/observation
• Reasoning from the specific observable phenomena to a general
principle
• Does not rely on a major premise that must be accepted as truth, as in
deduction
• Relies heavily on the reliability of observable evidence
 Methods of Reasoning
Induction
• For surveys and studies relying on inductive reasoning, a large sample
of empirical evidence must be amassed
• Induction never beyond dispute
• Example: a study conducted to determine how frequently consumers
make online purchases
• What factors should be considered to ensure an reliable sample size?
 Methods of Reasoning
Fallacies:
• Poisoning the well: corrupting the argument before it begins.
Interfering with ability to evaluate it.
• Richard Rhodes “The Media-Violence Myth”
• Associates sociological study of media violence with discredited
science of eugenics
• Red Herring: Raising an issue that is unrelated to the argument in
order to force the argument in a new direction.
 Methods of Reasoning
• “Post hoc ergo propter hoc” (after the fact, therefore because of the
fact)
• Faulty link between cause and effect
• It is going to rain today because I forgot my umbrella.
• Slippery slope
• Series of disastrous events, stemming from a first step.
 Methods of Reasoning
Categorization
• Placing an idea or issue in a larger context using the strategies of
definition, classification, and division
• Example: taxonomy ( a method of classifying living things)
genus name + species name ( homo sapiens)
• Useful in dealing with a large sample of data or information
• Draws attention to significant similarities and differences between
items
 Methods of Reasoning
Categorization
• Potential for oversimplification of categories, which, in turn, may
obscure or distort the analysis of evidence
• Potential for stereotyping or attributing significance to traits or
characteristics that are non consequential
Fallacies:
• False dichotomy: assuming there are only two options (when, in fact,
the issue is more complex, with a rage of possibilities)
 Methods of Reasoning
• Apples and Oranges
• Comparing two things that have no underlying similarity that allows
them to be placed in the same category
• Example: the film adaptation was much better than the book
• In this case, there are formal differences that distort the relationship
between items being compared
• Identify specific criteria for categorization
 Methods of Reasoning
Analogy
• Finding a similar situation in a different context in order to enhance the
validity of claim
• Items in an analogy are different on a superficial level, but must have a
valid underlying similarity
• May also distort or demean one component of an analogy, creating a
false or invalid analogy. This is a fallacy of analogy.
 Methods of Reasoning
Fallacies:
• Faulty
• Contexts are too dissimilar for the analogy to be useful, although there
may be some similarities
• Consider context for analogies
 Argumentative Fallacies
Potential Reasons for Fallacies
Lack of experience/knowledge of subject matter
• May lead to generalizations
• Insufficient amount of data collected or research
• Writer must have some experience with subject matter
 Argumentative Fallacies
Lack of familiarity with other perspectives
• Recall Rogerian argumentation
• Balance and fairness required
• Ability to engage with complexity of issues required
 Argumentative Fallacies
Underdeveloped methods of argumentative reasoning
• Ability to make connections
• Identifiable pattern of reasoning required for an argument to be
complete
 Argumentative Fallacies
http://www.nobeliefs.com/fallacies.htm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0ewWFWQwlTs