Fallacies

Question 1

9 classical ad fallacies

Answer 1

Ad misericordiam
Ad hominem
Ad baculum
Ad populum
Ad verecundiam
Ad ignoratiam
Post hoc ergo propter hoc
Ad consequentiam
Petitio principii

Question 2

Ad misericordiam

Answer 2

appeal to pity, tries to get an audience to accept a conclusion by making them feel negative emotions

Question 3

Ad hominem

Answer 3

1: tu quoque - “you also”; attacks hypocrisy
2: circumstantial - attack on the bias of a person
3: abusive - attack on character, morality, or appearance

Question 4

Ad baculum

Answer 4

an appeal to force or threat

Question 5

Ad populum

Answer 5

appeal to the majority or the elite or the bandwagon appeal

Question 6

Ad verecundiam

Answer 6

appeal to false authority, someone who has no real expertise on the subject

Question 7

Ad ignoratiam

Answer 7

appeal to ignorance

Question 8

Post hoc ergo propter hoc

Answer 8

“after this therefore because of this”; claiming that correlation is the same as causation

Question 9

Ad consequentiam

Answer 9

appeal to consequences, “red herring” fallacy

Question 10

Petitio Principii

Answer 10

circular reasoning; using a premise to prove oneself

Question 11

Dialectical vs. Rhetorical view of fallacies

Answer 11

Dialectical goal: find a reasonable solution –> fallacies would hinder that process
Rhetorical Goal: win the argument –> fallacies would damage the integrity of the argument

Question 12

Old definition of fallacies

Answer 12

an argument that seems valid but is not

Question 13

New definition of fallacies

Answer 13

an argument that breaks any of Van Eemeren’s 10 (or 15) pragma-dialectical rules of argumentation

Question 14

Why shouldn’t we use fallacies?

Answer 14

1. prevents you from reaching a reasonable conclusion
2. makes you less trustworthy
3. can undermine quality, quantity, replicability, or durability of an argument (graph)