1. Logical Fallacies

2. Degrees of evidence
Facts: limited to the kinds of things that can be tested by the senses or by inferences from physical data so strong as to allow no other explanation. (susceptible to verification)
Statements of fact are assertions of a kind of provable by referring to experience
When you assert something as fact, you indicate that you (1) assume it true and easily verified, and (2) that its truth is generally acknowledged
Beliefs: things believed true but yet beyond the reach of sensory verification
Although beliefs are unprovable, they are not necessarily untrue. (Belief=thesis)
Opinion: lesser or more immediate belief to be verified by the outcome or left to haunt the probabilities.
When you assert something as opinion, you imply some uncertainty about its truth.
Preferences: farther from proof than opinions and yet more firmly held than opinions because they are primarily subjective.
The writer’s responsibility is the recognize the logical immunity of preferences and to qualify them with “I think,” “many believe,” “some may prefer,” etc.

3. Logical Fallacies Flaws in thought/errors in logic
One and some can never equal all.
Four Common Fallacies: Appealing to authorities:
Appealing to the authority outside of his field
Misunderstanding or misrepresenting what the authority really says
Assuming that one instance from an authority represents him or her accurately
The authority may have faded

4. Logical fallacies
Slippery Slope: A conclusion based on the premise that if A happens, then eventually through a series of small steps, through B, C,…X, Y, Z will happen, too, basically equating A and Z. So, if we don’t want Z to occur, A must not be allowed to occur either. Example: If we ban Hummers because they are bad for the environment eventually the government will ban all cars, so we should not ban Hummers.

5. Logical fallacies
Hasty Generalization: A conclusion based on insufficient or biased evidence. In other words, you are rushing to a conclusion before you have all the relevant facts. Example: Even though it’s only the first day, I can tell this is going to be a boring course.

6. Logical Fallacies
Post hoc ergo propter hoc (after this, therefore because of this): This is a conclusion that assumes that if A occurred after B, then B must have caused A. Example: I drank bottled water and now I am sick, so the water must have made me sick.

7. Logical Fallacies
Begging the Question or Circular reasoning: The conclusion that the writer should prove is already validated within the claim. (Taking for granted something that really needs proving) Example: Lying is wrong because people should always tell the truth.

8. Logical Fallacies
Either/Or Thinking: A conclusion that oversimplifies the argument by reducing it to only two sides or choices. Example: Either you love your job, or you hate it.

9. Logical Fallacies
False Analogy: Making a misleading analogy between logically unconnected ideas. Example: If we can clone mammals, we should be able to find a cure for cancer.

10. Logical Fallacies
Red Herring: A diversionary tactic that avoids the key issues, often by avoiding opposing arguments rather than addressing them. Example: The level of mercury in seafood may be unsafe, but what will fishers do to support their families?

11. Logical Fallacies
Argumentum Ad Misericordium (Argument toward Pity): Like a reverse ad hominem which also ignores the question. A fallacy in which someone tries to win support for an argument or idea by exploiting his or her opponent's feelings of pity or guilt. It is a specific kind of appeal to emotion.

12. Logical Fallacies
Oversimplification: A drastically simple solution to what is clearly a complex problem. Example: We have a balance-of-trade deficit because foreigners make better products than we do.

13. Logical Fallacies
Ad populum: This is an emotional appeal that speaks to positive or negative concepts rather than the real issue at hand. Example: If you were a true American you would support the rights of people to choose whatever vehicle they want.

14. Logical Fallacies
Ad hominem: this is an attack on the character of a person rather than his or her opinions or arguments. Example: Green Peace’s strategies aren’t effective because they are all dirty, lazy hippies.

15. Logical fallacies
Ignoring the Question: is similar to presenting a red herring. Rather than answering the question that has been asked or addressing the issue at hand, the writer shifts focus, supplying an unrelated argument. In this way, the writer dodges the real issues of the debate. Example: During a press conference, a political candidate is asked a pointed, specific question about some potentially illegal fund- raising activity. Instead of answering the allegations, the candidate gives a rousing speech thanking all of his financial supporters. The speech was eloquent and moving, but shifted the focus from the issue at hand.

16. Logical fallacies
Non-Sequitur: don’t follow a logical sequence. The conclusion doesn’t logically follow the explanation. These fallacies can be found on both the sentence level and the level of the argument itself. Example: The rain came down so hard that Jennifer actually called me." Rain and phone calls have nothing to do with one another. The force of the rain does not affect Jennifer’s decision to pick up the phone.

17. Logical fallacies
Bandwagon Appeal: try to get everyone on board. Writers who use this approach try to convince readers that everyone else believes something, so the reader should also. The fact that a lot of people believe it does not make it so.
Example: "Fifty million Elvis fans can’t be wrong!" Of course they can. The merit of Elvis is not related to how many people do or do not like him or his music.

18. Logical fallacies
Guilt by Association: A form of ad populum. An informal inductive fallacy which asserts by irrelevant association and often by appeal to emotion, that qualities of one thing are inherently qualities of another. Example: John is a con artist. John has black hair. Therefore, all people with black hair are con artists.

19. Logical fallacies
Argumentum Ad Ignorantum (argument toward ignorance): assuming that lack of evidence proves its opposite Example: UFOs exist because no one has proved that they don’t.

20. Logical Fallacies
The Complex Question: A question that has a presupposition built in, which implies something but protects the one asking the question from accusations of false claims. It is a form of misleading discourse, and it is a fallacy when the audience does not detect the assumed information implicit in the question, and accepts it as a fact. Example: “Have you stopped beating your spouse?”