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Common Logical Common Logical Fallacies Fallacies #3: Misjudging or Misusing People Arguments
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Common Logical Fallacies #3: Misjudging or Misusing People Arguments.

Jan 03, 2016

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April Randall
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Page 1: Common Logical Fallacies #3: Misjudging or Misusing People Arguments.

Common Logical Common Logical FallaciesFallacies

#3: Misjudging or Misusing

People Arguments

Page 2: Common Logical Fallacies #3: Misjudging or Misusing People Arguments.

Appeal to Popularity Because everyone does it, it must be rightAlso known as BANDWAGON: Because everyone believes it, it must be

so. Because everyone does/has it, it must be

desirable.Related: COMMON PRACTICE Because something is done customarily or

traditionally, it must be right.

Page 3: Common Logical Fallacies #3: Misjudging or Misusing People Arguments.

Example You have to let me go to that party.

Everyone else is going. We’ve never had a woman

president. We shouldn’t have one now.

That policy shouldn’t be changed. We’ve always done it that way.

Page 4: Common Logical Fallacies #3: Misjudging or Misusing People Arguments.

Reasoning Based on Poll Results:

                                 Our schools aren’t safe. 80% of Americans polled say that schools are unsafe.

Page 5: Common Logical Fallacies #3: Misjudging or Misusing People Arguments.

False Authority Citing authority, “expert” opinion, to

support arguments, (legitimate authority), strengthens an argument.

However, the authority cited should be REAL.

Using False Authority is citing an “authority” who may be: Uninformed in the topic under consideration Biased about the topic of persuasion Unlikely to be telling the truth about the topic

Page 6: Common Logical Fallacies #3: Misjudging or Misusing People Arguments.

Would you buy a car because Britney Spears recommended that particular brand and model?

Page 7: Common Logical Fallacies #3: Misjudging or Misusing People Arguments.

Ad Hominem/Poisoning the Well:

Attacking the person whoproposes or opposes anargument or position rather than attacking the argument or position

Page 8: Common Logical Fallacies #3: Misjudging or Misusing People Arguments.

Don’t support that environmental law! Robert Redford supports it, and you know he’s not very moral!

                                                                      

Page 9: Common Logical Fallacies #3: Misjudging or Misusing People Arguments.

It’s OK to attack the person’s character if the issue is a character issue. The opponent’s character BECOMES part of the issue.Example: Don’t vote for Senator Snorth. He cheats on his wife and is an alcoholic who has been convicted of drunk driving.

Page 10: Common Logical Fallacies #3: Misjudging or Misusing People Arguments.

You, Also (Tu Quoque) Arguing that an argument has no

value because the proponent of the argument doesn’t follow his own advice. (He/she’s a hypocrite.)

Page 11: Common Logical Fallacies #3: Misjudging or Misusing People Arguments.

Example: How can that judge order stringent

penalties for convicted drug dealers? He used his influence to reduce the sentence to probation when his son was caught selling marijuana.

Page 12: Common Logical Fallacies #3: Misjudging or Misusing People Arguments.

Two Wrongs Make a Right

Trying to justify something wrong that one is doing by arguing that either: Someone else did the same thing to the

arguerOR

Someone did some other bad thing to the arguer that justifies his/her bad action

Page 13: Common Logical Fallacies #3: Misjudging or Misusing People Arguments.

It’s OK for me to cheat on my income tax because the government spends too much money, anyway.

Example:

Page 14: Common Logical Fallacies #3: Misjudging or Misusing People Arguments.

Another Way of Cheating:

Lie without really Lying

Page 15: Common Logical Fallacies #3: Misjudging or Misusing People Arguments.

Appeal to Force/Threatening Arousing people’s fears to threaten

them into supporting your thesis

Example: If you vote for X initiative, you’ll lose

your job because the company hurt by the initiative will go out of business, hurting Utah’s economy.

Page 16: Common Logical Fallacies #3: Misjudging or Misusing People Arguments.

Red Herring Dragging a “red herring” across the

trail to divert the hunting dog from the path of the gameBECOMES

Changing the focus of the argument to something not directly connected to the thesis to divert the audience away from the thesis

Page 17: Common Logical Fallacies #3: Misjudging or Misusing People Arguments.

Example: The mayor proposed building a new

baseball stadium. How can he consider allocating millions to this stadium when so many baseball players have drug problems?

Page 18: Common Logical Fallacies #3: Misjudging or Misusing People Arguments.

Half TruthsDeceiving by telling only the PART of

the truth that supports the thesis, hiding that part of the truth that supports opposing points of view

Page 19: Common Logical Fallacies #3: Misjudging or Misusing People Arguments.

“The teacher is unfair. She failed me becausemy term project was late.” Hidden: The teacher warned students of the deadline for over a month.

Page 20: Common Logical Fallacies #3: Misjudging or Misusing People Arguments.

Use of Misleading Statistics(Half Truth with Statistics) Using true statistics, but not giving

contexts or not revealing the whole truth about the statistics

Example: Women will never be competent

firfighters; after all, only 50% of the women in the city’s training program passed the exam. Hidden: only two women were enrolled in the program.

Page 21: Common Logical Fallacies #3: Misjudging or Misusing People Arguments.

Card Stacking: Half Truth in Comparisons

Stack the cards in the thesis’s favor (a kind of half-truth) In a comparison, only present the

points in which that idea is superior Or only present those facts that

back up one side of the argument

Page 22: Common Logical Fallacies #3: Misjudging or Misusing People Arguments.

Example: Legalize marijuana because it has

medicinal benefits: it can help chemotherapy patients and glaucoma sufferers.

Hidden truth: there are other drugs that help these two groups. Marijuana, unlike the other drugs, is often abused.