C OMP 3, LAP 3, D AY 6 Logical Fallacies

H OMEWORK -Finish taking notes -Decide upon claims that will be used throughout essay Open Labs

T YPES OF E VIDENCE Expert Testimony Facts and Statistics Analogies Personal Experiences, Examples, and Anecdotes

E XPERT T ESTIMONY An "expert" can be an individual or a group, and they are generally seen as credible because of extraordinary study, professional experience, or personal experience. If your audience may not be familiar with your source's expertise, you may want to include a brief sentence or phrase to establish the expert's authority.

F ACTS AND S TATISTICS Provide information about events that exist or have existed. Can provide information about times, amounts, sizes, processes, relationships among groups, etc.

A NALOGIES An analogy is an extended comparison of two things (such as objects or actions). The advantage of an analogy is that it can help make a complex, unfamiliar object/action more accessible by comparing it to something that is more easily understood by the audience. Relating the human body's circulatory system to various sizes of roadways, for example, could help readers more clearly understand how blood flows through their bodies.

P ERSONAL E XPERIENCE, E XAMPLES, AND A NECDOTES Personal experiences can help you establish a close, concrete connection to the topic you're writing about. Since your experience is limited, however, you should not rely too heavily on your own personal experience (or personal experiences of a friend or colleague) when trying to persuade others. When combined with other types of evidence, personal experience can add a compelling dimension to your writing. Like personal experience, concrete examples or stories about an event (anecdotes) can be used to help readers more clearly imagine the topic that you're addressing in your writing.

A RGUMENT C ONSTRUCTION  In order to create a solid argument, we have to build it up with logical claims. Claim+Claim+Claim+Claim= Argument  In order to create logical claims, we need reliable facts. Fact+Fact+Fact= Claim  In your paper you will have to prove why your argument is correct using claims supported by facts. You will also prove why your opposition’s argument is incorrect.

E XAMPLES OF SOLID ARGUMENTS  Example #1  Premise 1: Non-renewable resources do not exist in infinite supply.  Premise 2: Coal is a non-renewable resource.  From these two premises, only one logical conclusion is available:  Conclusion: Coal does not exist in infinite supply.  Example #2  Premise 1: All monkeys are primates.  Premise 2: All primates are mammals.  Premise 3: All mammals are vertebrate animals.  Conclusions: Monkeys are vertebrate animals.

A RGUMENTS AND CLAIMS Every essay has to be founded on solid arguments, but some are not so solid. Example: Premise 1: People with red hair are not good at checkers. Premise 2: Bill has red hair. Conclusion: Bill is not good at checkers.

L OGICAL F ALLACIES – WHAT ARE THEY ? Our arguments and claims need to be logical. We learned about three types of arguments– logos, ethos, and pathos. Logical fallacies are flaws that may occur in your claims. You should learn what they are in order to avoid using logical fallacies in your own papers and to avoid being “taken in” by fallacious arguments.

L OGICAL F ALLACIES P. 477

L OGICAL FALLACIES P appeal to ignorance6. Either/or 2. appeal to pity7. half truths 3. bandwagon8. oversimplification 4. broad generalization9. slanted lang. 5. circular thinking0. testimonial