Chapter 5: Belief and Evidence & Faulty Reasoning Flashcards
What is a Fallacy
An argument form that is both common and defective, a recurring mistake in reasoning
Genetic Fallacy, Irrelevant Premises
The fallacy of arguing that a claim is true or false solely because of it’s origin… irrelevant premises fallacy
example - Selena’s argument regrading indigenous rights can’t be right because she’s European descent.
Appeal to the Person (ad hominem), Irrelevant Premises
The fallacy of rejecting a claim by criticizing the person who makes it rather than the claim itself, Ad hominem means to the man
For example - You can’t believe anything Beauchemin says about the benefits of federalism she’s known as a separatist.
Composition (what true of parts is true of whole),Irrelevant Premises
The fallacy of arguing that what is true of the parts must be true of the whole. The error is thinking that the characteristics of the parts are somehow transferred to the whole, something that is not always the case
For example - A piece of metal cannot do math, so a machine made out of pieces of metal cannot do math
Division (what true of whole is true of the parts), Irrelevant Premises
The fallacy of arguing that what is true of the whole must be true of the parts. The error is thinking that characteristics of the whole must transfer to the parts or that traits of the group must be the same as traits of individuals in the same group.
Example - The building dimiriti lives in is huge so his apartment must be huge
Equivocation, Irrelevant Premises
The fallacy of using a word in two different senses in an arguments
example - The end of everything is it’s perfection, the end of life is death, therefore, death is the perfection of life
Appeal to Popularity,Irrelevant Premises
The fallacy of arguing that a claim must be true merely because a substantial number of people believe it
example - the vast majority of Canadians believe that monarchy is a good thing, so how can you disagree?
Appeal to Common Practice, Irrelevant Premises
The fallacy of accepting or rejecting a claim solely on basis of what groups of people generally do or how they behave, when the action or behaviour is irrelevant to the truth of the claim.
example - But mom why can’t I get a tattoo, everyone else in my class has one
Appeal to ignorance (who has the burden of proof), Irrelevant Premises
The fallacy of arguing that a lack of evidence proves something, in one type of this fallacy, the problem arises from thinking that a claim must be true because it hasn’t shown to be false. In another type the breakdown in logic comes when you argue that a claim must be false because it hasn’t been proven to be true.
example - It’s clear that god exists because science hasn’t proved that he doesn’t exist
Burden of proof means the weight of evidence or argument required by one side in a debate or disagreement
Appeal to tradition, Irrelevant Premises
The fallacy of arguing that a claim must be true just because it’s part of a tradition
example - acupuncture has been used for a thousand years in China, so it must work
Appeal to Emotion, Irrelevant Premises
The fallacy of using emotions in a place of relevant reasons as premises in a argument
example - you should hire me for this network analyst position. I am the best person for the job. If I don’t get a job soon my wife will leave me and I will not have enough money to pay for my mother’s heart medicine, cmon give me a break.
Red Herring, Irrelevant Premises
The fallacy of deliberately raising an irrelevant issue during an argument, the basic pattern is to put forth a claim and then couple it with additional claims that may seem to support it but in fact are mere distractions.
example: Canada needs tougher immigration policies, I have neighbour who says we should let in more immigrants. The 60s boy what a great time that was for druggies and wackos, you should see the way that hippie dresses… He hasn’t figured out that the 1960s are overs
Straw Man, Irrelevant Premises
The fallacy of distorting, weakening, or oversimplifying someone’s position so it can be more easily attacked or refuted
example - David says he is in favour of equal marriage rights for gay people. Obvi he thinks gay relationship deserve special treatment and that being gay should be celebrated and promoted. Do you really want your kids being taught that being gay is the best? David does, and he’s dead wrong.
Begging the Question, Unacceptable Premises
The fallacy of attempting to establish the conclusion of an argument by using that conclusion as premises. Also called arguing in a circle.
P
Therefore, P
God exists. We know that god exists because the bible says so and we should believe what the bible says because god wrote it.
the bible says god exists
the bible is true because god wrote it
therefore, god exists
False Dilemma, Unacceptable Premises
The fallacy of asserting that there are only two alternatives to consider when there are actually more than 2.
it consists of either 1) asserting that there are only two alternatives to consider when there are actually more than two.. or 2) asserting that there are two distinct alternatives that may in fact no be mutually exclusive
