Ch: 6 Relevance Fallacies Flashcards
A mistake in reasoning that is irrelevant to the claim or issue
Ex: “Salmon is not the same as Tuna. Oh, by the way, do you know that there are ongoing discounts on chein.”
Relevance Fallacy
An irrelevancy brought into support to distract the other person away from the issue.
Example- A police pull the car over for speeding. The person argues that he or she shouldn’t get the ticket, because they are the children of the important politicians.
Red Herring/Smoke Screen
A speaker or writer commits this fallacy when he or she argues that the origin of a contention in and of itself automatically renders it false.
Ex:That idea is absurd. It’s just something the Democrats put out there.
Genetic Fallacy
A statement that person attacks other messengers that is not relevant to the argument.
Example- “You are wrong. Oh, by the way, your shirt is ugly.”
Ad Hominem
The person who dismisses someone before they make their statement or argument.
Example- “President Trump is going to talk about COVID-19 tonight. It would be more of baloney. That person will do anything to gain a vote.”
Poisoning the Well
Distorting or misrepresenting another person’s position
Example- The person said they love blue, but the other person said the color red is the best color, asserting that the other person hates the color of red.
Straw Man
Also known as either/or; Offering a conclusion as the only alternative to something that we find is unacceptable.
Example- “Either increase the number of the troops or the terrorist will be attacking the city tonight. Seems like a simple choice to me.”
False Dilemma
Ignoring options between perfection and nothing; something that can’t be perfect or should not be perfect.”
Example- “Since the gun laws can’t prevent shooting incidents. We should not have gun laws at all.”
Perfectionist Fallacy
A method to scare someone into accepting or doing something.
Example- “Buy Michelin tires. Don’t risk your children’s life by buying inferior brands.”
Scare Tactics
Fallacy version of misplacing the burden of proof
Conclusion appeared to be true because no evidence were against it
Ex: Nobody has proved ghosts don’t exist; therefore they do.
Appeal to Ignorance
A speaker or writer is guilty of begging the question logically when he or she tries to “support” a contention by offering as “evidence” what amounts to a repackaging of the very contention in question.
Ex: Obviously the governor told the truth about the budget. She wouldn’t lie to us about it.
Begging the Question
When a person tries to evade their burden of proof by denying it or pretending to fulfilled it
Ex: Someone who claims that ghosts exists, but doesn’t prove this, and instead shifts the burden of proof to others, by stating that anyone who disagrees should prove ghosts don’t exist.
Misplacing the burden of proof
