Everything’s An Argument Chapter 17 - Fallacies of Argument

What are fallacies? Fallacies are errors in reasoning that render an argument invalid. However, fallacies are extremely common in arguments, and we should try to understand how they work, why they are wrong, and how they can at times actually help to win arguments. In addition, we can think of fallacies as harmful to argument in general because they make productive argument more difficult. Common fallacies can be grouped according to pathos, ethos, or logos.

There are 6 Fallacies of Emotional Argument (Pathos)

1) propaganda: writing or images that seek to persuade through emotional appeal rather than through logical proof; written or visual texts that describe or depict using highly connotative words or images without justification.

Examples: Roger’s infatuation with the beautiful and sexy model made him believe that the toothpaste she said she used was the best toothpaste.

2) scare tactics: when an attempt to scare the audience is used as support for an argument.

Examples: If you die today, do you know that your children will starve to death on the streets? Avoid this fate by buying Serentas Life Insurance today!

Example: People who genuinely fear losing their jobs might be persuaded to support anti-immigration policies that they would normally not agree with. They can be scared by politicians into thinking that huge waves of immigrants are coming to the country willing to work for low wages, and that these immigrants will drive Americans out of work.

3) either / or reasoning: the tendency to see an issue as having only two sides, when in reality there is a broad spectrum of possibilities. With this fallacy, arguers often try to paint their side in the warmest light while painting the alternative in the harshest light.

Example: The possession of firearms must be completely banned or completely legal.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YUaQGEQ8-Q 27-31

You will regularly hear politicians suggest that Social Security must be privatized or the system will go broke. The truth is that there are numerous ways to “fix” Social Security, and privatization is only one of them.

4) slippery slope: “today’s tiny misstep is tomorrow’s disaster” a parent that corrects a child today to prevent more errors tomorrow is not this fallacy, but can be exaggerated for fright effects. Slippery slope arguments are a form of scare tactics.

Gay marriage will lead to polygamy and legally marrying animals Examples: If we let school administrators search student lockers for drugs, it is only time before they can search our lockers to ban books like Huck Finn and start to censor everything we have access to.   Gay marriage will lead to polygamy and legally marrying animals If we legalize marijuana it will eventually cause the legalization of heroin

5) sentimental appeals: arguments that use tender emotions excessively to distract readers from facts. Often, these appeals try to make the audience feel guilty if they challenge an idea, policy, or proposal.

Examples: Images on a news program of a person on welfare can be used to convey opposite arguments through sentimental appeals. In one situation, the person could be shown being kind and generous, volunteering at a local church, and crying about how hard they are trying to find work and keep food on the table for their cute kids. On the other hand, the person could be shown driving a new car, trading food stamps for beer outside a 7-11, and neglecting their kids while smoking a cigarette on the front porch. The first program provides a sentimental appeal to viewers to support welfare programs, while the second does the opposite. Neither presents a realistic or informed picture of the complex social program.

6) ad populum fallacy: “to the crowd” or “bandwagon appeal”, a misconception that a widespread occurrence of something is assumed to make an idea true or right.

Examples: The parents of Sylvia’s friends allow their daughters to stay out until 2 am on a school night, so Sylvia’s parents should allow her to stay out until 2 am.   Eleven million people play World of Warcraft, so it must be the best video game. Kenmore vacuum cleaners are the country's leading brand; so buy Kenmore vacuum cleaners.

Create an example for each one of these fallacies DO- Create an example for each one of these fallacies