Fallacies PDF

CHAPTER FIV Fallacies Mr.Michael S. 3.1. The Meaning of ‘Fallacy’ In ordinary language usage, the term ‘fallacy’ refers to a mistaken or false belief. However, from the logician point of view, the term fallacy refers to a defect in an argument. Generally, fallacies can be committed b/c o...

CHAPTER FIV Fallacies Mr.Michael S. 3.1. The Meaning of ‘Fallacy’ In ordinary language usage, the term ‘fallacy’ refers to a mistaken or false belief. However, from the logician point of view, the term fallacy refers to a defect in an argument. Generally, fallacies can be committed b/c of Logical error (error in reasoning) or The creation of some illusion that makes a bad argument appear good. 1. Appeal to Force (Argumentum ad Baculum:Appeal to the Stick) It occurs whenever an arguer creates a conclusion to another person and tells the person either implicitly or explicitly that some harm will come to him or her if he or she does not accept the conclusion. In other words, an appeal to force fallacy occurs whenever one irrelevantly appeals to force or threat of force to win an argument. This fallacy always involves a threat by the arguer to the physical or psychological wellbeing of the listener or reader, Obviously, such a threat is logically irrelevant to the subject matter of the conclusion.  Premises of an argument are full of threat, intimidation, scary words, etc. Thus, in this fallacy attempt is made to persuade others of one’s point of view by using threat of force, or psychological intimidation in any form, Examples: ✓ ‘‘EBS ETV’’ is the best show on ETV; and if you do not believe it, I am going to call my big brother over here and he is going to beat you up. ✓A teacher to his student: Aristotle has the only correct philosophical view on this matter. If you do not think so, wait to see what mark I give you on the final exam. 2. Appeal to Pity (Argumentum ad Miscordium) It occurs when an arguer attempts to support a conclusion by simply evoking pity from the reader or listener in an effort to get him or her to accept the conclusion. The pity does not have any logical connection or relevance to the conclusion. But it is psychologically relevant for the conclusion as the arguer can usually succeed in getting a pitting heart from his audience. Examples: ✓ A student to his instructor: Professor, this paper deserves at least a ‘B’ grade. I stayed up all the night working on it. And if I do not get a ‘B’, I will be on academic probation. ✓ The headship position in the departement Accounting should be given to Mr.Elias Kebede. Elias has hungry children to feed 3. Appeal to Bandwagon It emphasizes that the majority choice is a correct one It is fallacious because peer pressure urges the acceptance of a claim on the ground of the approval of friends or associates. Examples: ✓ Chewing chat can not be all wrong because 70% of Werabe university students see nothing wrong with it. ✓ The majority of people in Ethiopia accept that FGM is right thing to do.Thus, You should accept that FGM is right thing to do. ✓ A film is good because there are long lines of people waiting to see it. They tell us nothing more than what large number of people does or believes and about the quality of a thing or the truth of the idea. loyalty to a group and the need to belong can give people very strong reasons to agree to the views and positions of those groups 4. Appeal to Vanity It associates the product with certain celebrities such as artists, athletes, footballers, respected leaders, etc. and informs the audiences that if you buy and use the item you also will be admired. Examples: EBC may show the famous runner, Haile G/Selassie wearing adidas shoe, say ‘wear this new fashion shoe! a shoe is worn only by few respected celebrities. the message is that if you wear the shoe, then you too respected just like the famous runner. 5. Appeal to Snobbery It is an appeal to the desire to be regarded as superior to others. It occurs when an arguer associates a product with a selected few persons (distinguished person) that have an exaggerated social position, health and some other qualities. Examples: ✓ This is not for ordinary people. If you want to be from among the selected few dignitaries buy the shoe. ✓ Look at the mark of this cell phone-it is Nokia and Nokia is not for everyone. Buy Nokia and join the selected few. ✓ First of all, did you see the mark of the shoe-its Clark? You should know that Clark is not for the ordinary citizens buy Clark and join with the dignitaries. 6. Ad hominem abusive Here the second person responds to the first person’s argument by verbally abusing the first person and discredits the character of the opponent; deny his or her intelligence or reasonableness. The person can be abused for being ugly, smoker, gambler, and conservative. Examples: ✓ In Defending animal rights, Mr. Melaku argues that the government should legislate who harm animals. Mr.Degu: We should not accept his argument b/c is divorced drunk person who is unable to protect even his family. ✓How a stingy person can tell us about charity. Hence, let us stop discussing about these issue raised by 7. Ad hominem circumstantial Instead of focusing on verbal abuse on his or her opponent, the respondent attempts to discredit the opponent’s argument by mentioning to certain circumstances that affect the opponent. It involves substituting an attack on person’s circumstances such as the person’s religion, political affiliation, ethnic background, position, etc for evidences in an argument. It has the form “of course Mr. X argues this way; just look at the circumstance that affects him.” Examples: ✓ Dr. Tewodros advocates a policy of increasing financial spending for higher education. But that is not innocent advocacy, for the reason that he is a college professor and would benefit financially from such a policy. 8.Tu quoque (‘‘you too’’): it is pronounced as “too kwo_kway” The tu quoque (you too) fallacy begins the same way as the other two varieties of the ad hominem argument, except that the second arguer attempts to make the first appear to be hypocritical or arguing in bad faith. “You also or you do it, too” implies that person’s action are not consistent (contradicts) with that for which he or she is arguing. In this you too fallacy, the second arguer usually accomplishes this by citing features in the life or behavior of the first arguer that conflict with the latter’s conclusion. In effect, the second arguer says, ‘‘How dare you argue that I should stop doing X; why, you do (or have done) X yourself.’’ Examples: ✓ Child to parent: Your argument that I should stop stealing candy from the corner store is no good. You told me yourself just a week ago that you, too, stole candy when you were a kid. Obviously, whether the parent stole candy is irrelevant to whether the parent’s premises support the conclusion that the child should not steal candy. This is committed when one of the arguers (the second arguer) rejects the other arguer (the first arguer) opinion by attacking or abusing him or herself (their personality, character, motives, and qualification) other than their argument. Patient to doctor: look doctor you can not advice me to quit smoking cigarrate b/c you yourself is a smoker. 9. Fallacy of Accident It is committed when a general rule is applied to a specific case that was not intended to cover. In this fallacy, the general truth, law or principle is either applied to particular instance whose circumstance by accident or to a situation to which it cannot be applied. The general rule is cited in the premises and then wrongly applied to the specific case mentioned in the conclusion. Because of the “accidental’ features of the specific case, the general rule does not fit or is misplaced. Examples: ✓ Freedom of speech is a constitutionally guaranteed right. Therefore, Abebe should not be arrested for his speech that insult Rahel last week. ✓ Kidist! All good patients obey the order of their doctors. Hence, you should not refuse when your doctor invites you for bed. 10. Straw Man Fallacy The straw man fallacy is committed when an arguer attacks a weak version of an opponent’s argument. In short, this fallacy occurs when the arguer attack misrepresentation of the opponent’s view. Example: ✓Mengesha told to Tsegaye that beer promotions must be closed in media. b/c it motivated children to became drunkers. Then Tsegaye said to Mengesha, did you mean that people have no right to relax? 11.Missing the Point (Ignoratio Elenchii) Ignoring other better solutions This fallacy occurs when the premise of an argument support one particular conclusion. In other words, it occurs when the premise of an argument support one particular conclusion, but then a different conclusion, often vaguely related to the correct conclusion is drawn. Examples: Crimes of theft and robbery have been increasing at an alarming rate lately. The conclusion is obvious: We must reinstate death penalty immediately. Either “we should provide increased police protection in the invulnerable neighborhoods” or “we should initiate programs to eliminate the cause of the crimes.”  ✓Unity University has a lot of problems. Students’ services and facilities are inadequate. Many of the instructors are inexperienced. It follows that, the university should be entirely closed. The conclusion of the example misses logical implication from the premise. The logical conclusion for the premise is not closing the university but it could have been stated in other ways like: providing additional facilities for students, getting experienced instructors from other countries, developing the capacity of the administration of the university, and the like. 12. Red-Herring (Off the Truck Fallacy) The red herring fallacy is committed when the arguer diverts the attention of the reader or listener by changing the subject to a different but sometimes subtly related one. It usually appears in the form of appeal to humor, ridicule or appeal to thought provoking questions for the purpose of diverting the attention of the audiences, which is logically irrelevant to the subject, issue or topic of the debate raised first. Interviewer: Your opponent has argued for immigration reform. Do you agree with her position? ✓Candidate: I think the more important question confronting this great nation is the question of terrorism. Let me tell you how I plan to defeat it. 13. Appeal to Unqualified Authority (Argumentum ad Verecundiam) The appeal to unqualified authority is also called argumentum ad verecundiam in Latin. This fallacy commits because of the person who presents argument which has not a legitimate authority on the subject or the issue which he or she is arguing about. More specifically, when an individual we relied on to provide the information that we seek might be unreliable due to the problems of lack of expertise in a certain profession. Examples: * Dr. Hizkel, a famoua Engineer in Ethiopia said that Ethiopian Economy is not good. * It is always better to drink white wine with fish. Emmanuel Macron Blair says so, he must know what he is talking about, and he is the prime minister.  n the premises of an argument state that nothing has been proved ome thing due to lack of evidence rather than by knowledge or l to ignorance fallacy to be committed: arguing that some thing is d to be false, and arguing that some thing is false because no one me there’s a God, so I know there is no God. ne has been able to prove that God does not exist. ove arguments tell us nothing about the existence of ding that God exists or does not exist based on the has proved or disproved it, the best way we have to d our judgment about things which are incapable of ge either way, our judgment would be fallacies. 15. Hasty Generalization (Converse Accident) This fallacy is committed whenever one arrives to a conclusion, on the basis of very little evidence or whereby generalization is asserted or concluded based on: very limited information, inadequate information, and unrepresentative sample. Examples: I have met two persons in Hawassa town so far, and they were both nice to me. So, all people I will meet in Hawassa will be nice to me. Freshman Governance and Development Studies students of 2024 are one – hundred sixty in number. Blood is taken out of three students and upon examination of all, three students are found to have their blood type “B”. Therefore, on the basis of this, I conclude that the rest of the students will also have the same blood type, which is “B”. 16. The Fallacy of False Cause In this fallacy, when the arguer in his or her argument oversimplified the cause of a certain event, makes a kind of confusion between the cause and effect, or identifies a certain event as the cause of another event merely on the ground that the first event, which the arguer identifies as a cause, occurs before the new action.  Examples: – During the last two months, the football team has worn red ribbons in their hairs, and the team was defeated. Therefore, to prevent defeats in the future, the team should get rid of those red ribbons. – Mikael Arteta Argues after Newcastle’s carabao cup defeat by saying. ‘ we kicked a lot of balls over the bar it is tricky. This ball flies a lot’ 17. The Fallacy of Slippery Slope The fallacy of slippery slope occurs when we assume that series of events happen, after one other event as a result of the first cause. This fallacy is occurred when a certain argument rests on chains of events and the arguer fails to provide sufficient reasons why this chain of events committed. In other words, it is committed when one affirms an unjustifiable “chain reaction” of causes which, if it is allowed to continue leads inevitably to disaster. Example: I know the impetus for the whole tragedy in her life. She was jobless and has no other choice but to join bar ladies. While she was working in bars, she becomes infected with HIV/AIDS. Then, she becomes bedridden patient and in the lost her life. All these misfortune fall up on her due to her dismissal from the university in the first semesters of the first year. The arguer, in the example, associated the death of a girl with her failure in the national examination, without considering other factors that lead her to join bar ladies, such as poverty, the problem of parents that could advice her to head a good life even after she failed to pass national examination, and so 18. The fallacy of Complex or Loaded Question This happens when the conclusion (that is, answer) is supported by confusing and tricky questions (that is, premises). This fallacy is committed when a single question that is really two or more questions is asked and a single answer is then applied to both questions. Examples: 1. Have you stopped cheating on exams? Let us suppose the respondent answers ‘‘Yes’’ to the question. The following argument comes out: You were asked whether you have stopped cheating on exams. You answered ‘‘Yes’’ to the question. Therefore, it follows that you have cheated in the past. On the other hand, let us suppose that the respondent answers ‘‘No’’ to the question. And we then have the following arguments: You were asked whether you have stopped cheating on exams. You answered ‘‘No.’’ Therefore, you continue to cheat. Obviously, the above question is really two questions: Did you cheat on exams in the past? If you did cheat in the past, have you stopped now? Therefore, this argument commits the fallacy of complex question. Because the arguer in his argument gives two different questions as if they are one. You can also look the same error in the following argument. 19. The Fallacy of False Dichotomy To make more precise, the fallacy of false dichotomy is occurred when a person provides two alternatives, which are false, as the only option in the argument and then eliminates one alternative and it seems that we are left with only one option. The one the arguer wanted to choose. But, there are many different alternatives that the arguer fails to provide. Example: Well, it is time for a decision. Will you contribute 1000 birr to our CORRIDOR development fund, or are you on the side of development destruction? The argument allows us only two options. You should contribute 1000 birr to the fund or you are in favor of development destruction. Therefore, this argument commits the fallacy of dichotomy. Because, on the one hand, the two options are not exhaustive, there are many alternatives that the arguer fails to provide. For instance, there seems to other possibilities such as contributing less than 1000 or contributing nothing but supporting the Corridor development by other means. 20.Fallacies of ambiguity arise from the occurrence of some form of ambiguity in either the premises or the conclusion (or both). They are committed when misleading or wrong conclusion of an argument is drawn from ambiguous words or sentences. Examples: Odd things arouse human suspicion. But seventeen is an odd number. Therefore, seventeen arouses human suspicion.  legislative authority. But the law of gravity is a law. n be repealed by the legislative authority. (‘odd’ and ‘law’ in the first and in the second argument, rent senses. In example one, in the first premise the word the second premise it implies a “number that is not second argument equivocates on the word ‘‘law.’’ In the w”, and in the second premise it means “law of nature”. ace. n orbit in outer space. This argument would be said to be a fallacy because the term ‘star’ is used ambiguously. In the first premise, ‘star’ is most plausibly taken to mean ‘distant, luminous celestial body.’ Then there is a shift of meaning. In the second premise, ‘star’ would most plausibly be taken to mean ‘entertainment celebrity.’ Because of this meaning shift, the argument could be taken to be valid when in fact it may not be valid. In some cases fallacy of ambiguity can be associated with the shift of meaning of a relative term as it occurs in different contexts. For example, “small’’, ‘‘good’’, ‘‘bad’’, ‘‘light’’, ‘‘heavy’’, ‘‘difficult’’, ‘‘easy’’, ‘‘tall’’, ‘‘short’’, and so on are relative terms that shift their meanings in different contexts. A short basketball player may not be a short man. Look at the following example: 4. A mouse is an animal. Therefore, a large mouse is a large animal. This argument illustrates the ambiguous use of a relative term. The word ‘‘large’’ means different things depending on the context. e! U!