Material Fallacies Of Feasoning Flashcards
Linguistic fallacy of emotive language
Words that are used that lack definite meaning or have the sole purpose of the arousal of unreasoned feeling
In America when you call someone a communist it is not so much to truly convey the thought that they believe in common property for all but to insult the person
Linguistic fallacy of ambiguity
People who hide behind a word which lacks precise meaning because the meaning is unknown to either one or both parties
Linguistic fallacy of equivocation
The use of a term in more than one sense, while te impression is given that it is being used to express only one same meaning
“The US is large. Large is an adjective. The US is an adjective”
Linguistic fallacy of amphibology
Use of a statement which permits two interpretations
1. Pertains to the entire argument where as equivocation is limited to single terms
2. The ENTIRE argument is susceptible to a two fold interpretation Due to the STRUCTURE and NOT to any misuse on the part of
the debater
“The duke yet lives that Henry shall depose”
“A high hair for a baby with a broken leg”
“Clean and decent boxing everyday except Sunday”
Linguistic fallacy of figure of speech
Failure to distinguish between variant meanings of sentence elements, such as suffixes
More common in forgiven languages not English
Guess this fallacy by John Stuart Mill
“The only proof that sound is audible is that people hear it. The only proof that an object is see able is if it can be seen. The only proof that anything is desirable is that it is desirable
Visible means can be seen
Audible means can be heard
Desirable does not mean can be desirable but OUGHT to be desirable
I would have missed this one completely
To say that the removal of a tumor is desirable does not show that an individual desires it but that it ought to be desired
Linguistic fallacy of composition
False assumption that a statement about an integral PART of something necessarily holds true for the composite whole
“An orchestra composed of the worlds greatest violin players would be the best orchestra in the world”
Gestalt
Greater than the sum of its parts
An organic whole which does not contain a one to one relationship to its parts
Linguistic fallacy of division
Converse of composition that what holds true for the entire whole is necessarily true for each component part considered separately
“California grows the best grapes in the world so the grape I am about to eat from California will be one of the best in the world”
“The New York Yankees were the best team in the world so they had the best 2nd baseman in all of baseball”
Linguistic fallacy of vicious abstraction
Removal of a stem want from its contexts which thereby changes the meaning of the argument
“Money is the root of all evil”
Love of money is
“Philosophy inclines a man to atheism”
A little philosophy
Fallacy of irrelevance
To prove or disprove the wrong point.
Ignoratio elenchi
Instead of proving point A they prove or disprove point B
A prosecutor who tries to prove a defendant is guilty of murder by proving they stole or raped
Argumentum ad ignorantiam
The appeal to ignorance
- assuming what might possibly be true as true
- Assuming a given thesis is correct because no one can disprove it(though the burden of proof should fall upon the speaker anyway)
- Trying to disprove an opponents argument by disproving a nonessential part of the argument
Argumentum ad misericordiam
Appeal to pity
Instead if defending an argument on its merits the fallacy evades pertinent issues and makes a purely emotional appeal
It can actually be legitimate sometimes
Argumentum ad vericundiam
Appeal to prestige
This fallacy equates prestige with evidence.
“ son listen to what I have to say because I am your father and you must respect your elders”
Argumentum ad baculum
Appeal to force
“Argument by means of club”
Argumentun ad hominem
Appeal to personal ridicule
Fallacy of Sharon an argument from the point being discussed to the personality of the opponent
“He is not a good president because he is divorced from his wife”
“You can’t possible believe this ignorant hippie”
Argument in ad populum
Appeal to the masses
Arguments which depart from the question and appeal to the feelings and prejudices of the multitude
Dicto simpliciter
Fallacy of accident
Apply a general rule to special cases which are exceptions to the rule, to make universal Statements about matters which the rule does not always apply
“Theft is a crime. Since Sparta allowed stealing, it must have been entirely made of criminals”
Converse fallacy of accident
Also called fallacy of selected instances or hasty generalizations tries to a rule or scientific law by the showing instances without obtaining a representative number of particular instances.
“All black people are thieves. I went to school with a bunch of them and they all stole.”
Post hoc
False cause
Consists I reasoning from mere sequence to consequence, from what merely happened to the assumption of a causal connection
“I burped twice and lightening struck twice. I cause lightening with burps”
Post hoc ergo propter hoc
Non sequitur
It does not follow
Acceptance of conclusion which does not follow logically from given premed is or from antecedent statements
Difference between post hoc is that post hoc is due to lack of causal connection ad non sequitur is due to lack of logical connection
Compound questions
Poisoning of the wells Combing several questions in such a manner as to preclude all opposing arguments, thus causing the opponent to self-incriminate "Why did you torture this child" "How do you account for your stupidity" "Have you stopped beating your wife"
Petitio principii
Begging the question
Has many many forms
Circular reasoning is one
Tu quoque
You yourself do it
People who defines actions by accusing the critic of doing the same things himself
If conditions are identical than it is valid but only then
Fallacy of misplaced authority
It is an error to cite an authority in matters foreign to his field of study
The artistic opinions of Newton or Einstein hold no more scientific merit than mine own. They have to be judged on their merits
Genetic error
Confuses the validity with the causes or Orin’s if a thesis.a mistake to assume that an argument is necessarily false because it can be traced back to humble beginnings know superstition, ignorance, or magic. 5+5 is 10 even if an insane person says it
Material fallacies
That is the error lies in the factual CONTENT of the argument and NOT the structure
False Analogy
Arguments which resemble each other in logical reasoning are said to be analogous but any major differences between the propositions can vitiate the conclusions,
Women would make better congressmen than men because government is just good housekeeping
false analogy between up keeping a house and running a government
Insufficient Evidence
refers to the acceptance of inadequate data for a conclusion.
Just because the murder weapon belonged to the defendant does not mean he committed the murder
Pathetic Fallacy
Anthropomorphism
when distinctive traits of human beings are attributed to nonhuman entities
Contrary to fact conditional error
conclusions derived from false premises cannot be described as valid.
“If the south had won the civil war, then slavery would be in the North”
\No one knows what would happend
Remember
These are all good rules but do not let them get in the way of good argument. Sometimes imagination and common sense are actually good.
