fallacies Flashcards
false positive
look at your pregnacy test its positive but it was actually deficient
false negative
look at your pregnacy test its negative but it was actually pregnant
logicsl fallacy
you can’t base your argument on that
Appeal to Ignorance
(Ad Ignorantiam)
(shifting the burden of proof)
“God exists:Can you prove to me that God does not exist?”
-“because a claim has not been demonstrated to be wrong, the claim is right”
when you are supporting an argument, you can support your argument by making somone else support it for you
Appeal to Inappropriate Authority (Ad Verecundiam)
you cant base your argument on an irrelevant authority; i.e. this guy should fly the plane; he has a degree in literature
Appeal to Popular Belief (Popularity of a Belief)
Ad Populum
just because everyone is doing it doesn’t mean it is correct.
“Everyone believes in X.”
“No one believes in X.”
Appeal to Popular Attitudes (Emotions)
Ad Populum
“Popular attitudes and the emotions associated with them can be manipulated to incline people to accept claims that have not been demonstrated”
patriotism, prejudice, and racial fears are some… communist
prejudice: a liking or dislike for one rather than another especially without good reason
False Cause (Post Hoc)
This fallacy involves concluding that because one event occurred before another, the first was the cause of the second.
Causation?
Correlation?
Coincidence?
Hasty Generalization
This fallacy consists in generalizing on the basis of an inadequate set of cases.
Also called insufficient sample, faulty generalization, or biased generalization.
“All politicians are dishonest.”
“All people on welfare are lazy.”
“All lawyers are greedy.”
False Alternatives
the claim that their is a limited amount of options: pick from the options i give you
Loaded Question (Complex Question)
“thats a trap” this whole question has no good outcome
This fallacy consists in attempting to get an answer to a question that assumes the truth of an unproved assumption.
“So how many times did you beat your wife today?”
“Are you lying now or were you lying then?”
Begging the Question (Petitio Principii)
circular reasoning
A because B, B because C, C because A.
Freddie is a murderer because Freddie wrongfully killed someone.”
Slippery Slope
The mistaken idea behind this fallacy is that when actions can be arrayed along a continuum, justifying the first action is equivalent to justifying the most extreme ones.
if i fail this test, ill end up homeless
Against the Person (Ad Hominem)
The fallacy consists in rejecting the claim by offering as grounds some personal characteristics of the person supporting it.
Exception to
Against the Person fallacy:
We may legitimately question the reliability of a person in a particular set of circumstances (e.g. conflict of interest, vested interest, etc.).
[criticism and response fallacy ]
Pooh-Pooh
To pooh-pooh an argument is to dismiss it with ridicule as not worthy of serious consideration. It is a refusal to examine an argument seriously and evaluate it fairly.
