1. LOGICAL FALLACIES Common Mistakes in Weak Arguments Moore AP Language and Composition

2. Definition Logical fallacies are flaws in reasoning that lead to faulty, illogical statements. They are unreasonable argumentative tactics named for what has gone wrong during the reasoning process.

3. Think back…  Fallacies may seem like no big deal, but stretching the truth ended up costing Kellogs how much?  You may be smart enough to spot some of them, but people fall for them everyday!

4. Why should I study fallacies?  Be able to spot poor reasoning & know exactly why it is wrong  Be able to correct others’ mistakes or refute them convincingly

5. Why should I study fallacies?  Be able to know when your own reasoning in an essay is flawed or questionable  Prevent you from making generalized statements without backing it up with sound evidence

6. Most logical fallacies masquerade as reasonable statements, but they are in fact attempts to manipulate readers by reaching their emotions instead of their intellects. Do you want to be easily manipulated?

7. You have an important role to play!  You will be responsible for teaching your classmates about these fallacies (see your handout!) –You will present your fallacy, its definition, facts about your fallacy, appeals used in your fallacy, and examples of your fallacy in action –You will need to make a poster to show your classmates and they will take notes as you present

8. 1. Scare Tactics  Politicians and advertisers often sell their ideas by scaring people and exaggerating possible dangers well beyond their statistical likelihood  It is easier to imagine something terrible happening than to appreciate the statistical rarity  They are used to “stampede legitimate fears into panic or prejudice”

9. Scare Tactics: Example  EX: People who genuinely fear losing their jobs can be persuaded to fear that immigrants might work for less money.  Such tactics have the effect of closing off thinking because people who are scared act irrationally.

10. Scare Tactics – A Warning!  Even well-intentioned fear campaigns— like those directed against smoking or unprotected sex—can misfire  If the warnings are too shrill or “loud”— people stop listening!

11. 2. Either – Or / False Dilemma A false dilemma asserts that a complex situation can have only two possible outcomes and that one of the options is necessary or preferable. Either go to college or forget about making money. This falsely implies that a college education is a pre-requisite for financial success. Was it her college education that made Britney tons of money?

12. Either – Or Examples

13. Warning about Either – Or  Like scare tactics—they are often purposefully designed to seduce those who don’t know much about a subject.  Most things in life are too complicated to be summed up in “two sides”

14. 3. Slippery Slope  Describes an argument portray today’s tiny missteps as tomorrow’s slide into disaster!  A writer might exaggerate the likely consequence of an action, to usually frighten a reader

15. Slippery Slope Examples

17.  If we ban Hummers because they are bad for the environment, eventually the government will ban all cars, so we should not ban Hummers.

18. 4. Sentimental Appeals  Arguments that use tender emotions excessively to distract readers from facts  Focuses attention on heartwarming or heart-wrenching situations that make readers feel guilty if they challenge an idea, policy, or proposal

19. Sentimental Appeals Examples

21. Sentimental Appeals WARNING  While these tactics may stir genuine emotions, they seldom give a complete picture of a complex social or economic issue

22. 5. Bandwagon Appeals  Arguments that urge people to follow the same path that everyone else is taking  Everyone else is going camping overnight without chaperones…What would your parents say?  Even though we like to think we are independent thinkers, we can easily be seduced by ideas repeated obsessively in the mass media!

23. Bandwagon Examples

25.  A: Increasingly, people are coming to believe that Eastern religions help us to get in touch with our true inner being  B: Eastern religions MUST help us get in touch with our true inner being

26. 6. Appeals to False Authority  FALSE authority occurs when writers offer themselves or other authorities as sufficient support for their claims when they are not!  Dr. So-and-So says it must work…

27. Examples of Appeals to False Authority  Anna Nicole Smith was the celebrity spokesperson for Trim Spa.  But she was hardly an expert on fitness or nutrition.  Did the fact that she was a paid endorser affect her opinion of the product?

28. Examples of Appeals to False Authority  This “got milk?” ad is the worst kind of appeal to authority because  A) it targets little kids who are uninformed consumers  B) it relies on fictitious cartoon characters who can’t benefit from drinking milk

29. 7. Dogmatism  When a writer asserts or assumes that a particular position is the only one that is conceivably acceptable within a community is expressing dogmatism. –Dogmatism: a principle or set of principles laid down by an authority as incontrovertibly true  When people speak or write dogmatically, they imply that no arguments are necessary. There claim is the TRUTH!

30. Dogmatism Examples  Someone might start a dogmatic opinion with “It’s clear to anyone who has thought about it…” or “No rational person would disagree that…”  Very few claims are so outrageous or absurd that they are beyond discussion and not worth debating. –One outrageous example in our culture is Holocaust Denial  For example, attacks on the historical reality of the Holocaust fall into this category.

31. 8. Ad Hominem Latin for to the man Directly attacks someone ’ s appearance, personal habits, or character rather than focusing on the merit of the issue at hand. The implication is that if something is wrong with this person, whatever he/she says must be wrong. How can you say he ’ s a good musician when he ’ s been in and out of rehab for three years?

32. Ad Hominem – Making it Personal Sara is divorced, so whatever relationship advice she gives you can ’ t be good. It is the suggestions, not the person who makes them that deserve attention. Sara ’ s marital status has nothing to do with the quality of her advice. Isn ’ t it also possible that Sara could be married and give awful advice? Another Example: You’re not a historian; why don’t you stick to your own field?

33. Ad Hominem Examples

34. 9. Hasty Generalization A hasty generalization is a conclusion based on insufficient or unrepresentative evidence. Stereotyping and sexism are forms of this fallacy. Take, for example common dumb blonde jokes: Q: What do you call a blonde skeleton in the closet? A: Last year's hide-and-go-seek winner.

35. Example of a Generalization The only redheads I know are rude. Therefore, all redheads must have bad manners. If the speaker only knows two redheads, then he has insufficient evidence to make the general claim about all people with that hair color.

36. Example of a Generalization It worked for them. It must work for me!

37. 10. Faulty Causality or Post Hoc Fallacy  Short for post hoc, ergo propter hoc, which means after this, therefore caused by this. This fallacy assumes that just because B happened after A, it must have been caused by A. Politicians love this one.

38. Faulty Causality/Post Hoc Example Since Governor Bush took office, unemployment of minorities in the state has decreased by seven percent. Governor Bush should be applauded for reducing unemployment among minorities. Before we pat the governor on the back, the speaker must show that Bush ’ s policies are responsible for the decrease in unemployment. It is not enough to show the decrease came after his election.

39. Faulty Causality/Post Hoc Example  These employees are confusing coincidence with causation if they think a particular office chair is making them pregnant

40. Faulty Causality/Post Hoc Example  The slogan “It’s gotta be the dog chow” wrongly attributes this dog’s super- canine strength to a pet food.  Are all fallacies malicious?

41. 11. Begging the Question This is a kind of circular argument where the support only restates the claim. Wrestling is dangerous because it is unsafe. Jogging is fun because it is enjoyable. Unsafe means the same thing as dangerous and fun means the same thing as enjoyable. This makes the reasoning circular. Try this! You can’t give me a C—I’m an A student!

42. Begging the Question Examples This letter to the editor begs the question by assuming everyone believes in a god of some sort.

43. 12. Equivocation  An argument that gives a lie an honest appearance; it’s a half-truth!  Usually juvenile tricks of language –Saying “I wrote the entire paper myself” when you copied someone else’s work by hand! – Yes, you did technically write it, but it is still plagiarized!

44. Equivocation Example

45. 13. Non-Sequitur  An argument in which claims and reasons fail to connect logically; one point doesn’t follow another.  You don’t love me or you’d buy me that car!

46. Non-Sequitur Example  “If you are against the war in Iraq, then you are against the troops.”

47. 14. The Straw Man  An argument that isn’t really there ???  The speaker sets up “a straw man” in this way to create an argument that is easy to knock down, proceeds to do so, and then claims victory  By attacking weak or over-simplified arguments that really don’t exist, both sides ignore tough issues!

48. Straw Man Examples  A: Sunny days are good.  B: If all days were sunny, we’d never have rain, and without rain, we’d have famine and death.  B falsely frames A’s claim to imply that A believes only sunny days are good, and B argues against that assertions. BUT A actually asserts that sunny days are good, and in fact, says nothing about rainy days!

49. Straw Man Warning!  The “straw man” argument is usually more absurd than the actual original argument.  This makes it an easier target to attack and possibly luring a person towards defending a more ridiculous argument rather than the original one!

50. 15. False Analogy An analogy points out similarities in things that are otherwise different. A false analogy claims comparison when differences outweigh similarities. Essentially, it ’ s comparing apples and oranges!

51. False Analogy Example If we can put a man on the moon, why can ’ t we find the cure for the common cold? While both things being compared here are related to science, there are more differences than similarities between space and biological advancements.

52. Faulty Analogy  Perhaps a Twix bar does taste sinfully good.  However, God never commanded anyone not to eat a Twix bar.

53. Sources Used Troyka, Lynn Quitman. Quick Access. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2001. Everything’s an Argument