fallacies Flashcards
what are the formal fallacies
denying the antecedent (modus tollens)
affirming the consequent (modus ponens)
what are the informal fallacies
unqualified generalisation (categorical)
false dilemma (disjunctive)
slippery slope (hypothetical)
hasty generalisation
doubtful cause
attacking the person
appeal to pity
appeal to popularity
appeal to authority
what is denying the antecedent
when conclusion cannot logically be derived from the premises. if A is false, it does not necessarily mean that B will also be false
what is affirming the consequent
conclusion cannot logically be derived from the premises. if A is true, it does not necessarily mean B is also true, as A may not be the only condition for B to be true
what is unqualified generalisation
contains false premise about the entirety of a population when there may be exceptions
what is false dilemma
presents alternatives as exhaustive and exclusive when they are not
what is slippery slope
contains a chain reaction but there is no sufficient reason to believe that the chain reaction is happening or will happen
what is hasty generalisation
forms a questionable conclusion about a population based on an unrepresentative sample as the sample may be too small or biased
what is doubtful cause
when it is concluded that A is the direct cause of B just because A occurred before B, or because there is a correlation between A and B
what is attacking the person
when one tries to discredit another’s argument by discrediting the person’s character
but the person’s character has nothing to do with the argument or the truth of the claim
what is appeal to pity
contains premises that urge the audience to accept the conclusion on the grounds of the pitiful circumstances stated in the premises
but the pitiful circumstances have nothing to do with the conclusion
what is appeal to popularity
contains premises that urge the audience to accept the conclusions on the grounds that it is widely accepted as true
but the truth cannot be established by popular opinion
what is appeal to authority
contains premises that urge the audience to accept the conclusion simply because the perceived authority says so
but the alleged “authority” is no real authority or the issue at hand is outside the expertise of the cited authority or the issue at hand is controversial and experts in the field still disagree amongst themselves
