More Fallacies Flashcards
Besides, to be harmful, pornography would either have to harm the men who read it or the women who pose in it, and since they both choose these activities, they must not be harmful
False dichotomy
Feminists should take a lesson from my parents—they don’t like loud music and won’t have it in their house, but they don’t go around saying it’s harmful to everyone or trying to prevent others from listening to it.
Weak analogy
Doctor: You should quit smoking. It’s a serious health risk.
Patient: Look who’s talking! I’ll quit when you quit.
Tu quoque fallacy
There is a good deal of talk these days about the need to eliminate pesticides from our fruits and vegetables. But many of these foods are essential to our health. Carrots are an excellent source of vitamin A, broccoli is rich in iron, and oranges and grapefruits have lots of Vitamin C.
Red herring
-> Plans to eliminate or reduce pesticides probably don’t entail stopping the production of common vegetables
Margaret: “We have to do something about greenhouse gases. The government should raise vehicle fuel efficiency standards to cut down the amount of CO2 we release over the next 20 years”.
Roger: “Margaret’s solution would be a disaster. It would kill the economy. How would people get to work without cars?”
Straw man
Roger claims that Margaret is proposing measures that would eliminate cars. Margaret has not said anything equivalent to that. It’s a strawman.
Rugby players Ma’a Nonu, Jerome Kaino and Charles Piatau are all great players. In 2012, they all played for the Auckland Blues. Therefore, the 2012 Auckland Blues were a great team.
Fallacy of composition
There must be intelligent life on other planets: No one has proven there isn’t.
Appeal to ignorance
Arthur: God exists.
Barbara: How do you know?
Arthur: Because it says so in the Bible.
Barbara: How to you know what the Bible says is true?
Arthur: Because the Bible is divinely inspired. Everything it says is true.
Begging the question
- > state/ assume as a premise the very thing they are trying to prove as a conclusion
- > bible could only be divinely inspired if God existed
Either Shakespeare wrote all the plays attributed to him, or Bacon did. There’s good reason to think Shakespeare didn’t write all the plays attributed to him. Therefore, Bacon wrote all the plays attributed to Shakespeare.
False dilemma/ false dichotomy
Don’t get a credit card. If you do, you’ll be tempted to spend money you don’t have. Then you’ll max out your card. Then you’ll be in real debt. You’ll have to start gambling in the hope of getting a big win. But you’ll normally lose. Then you’ll have to steal money to cover your losses. Then your partner will leave you. And you won’t be able to feed the dog, and it’ll die. And it would be bad if the dog died. So you mustn’t get a credit card.
The slippery slope fallacy
The oldest woman in the world, Jeanne Calment (122 years, 164 days) smoked until her early 110s. Therefore smoking isn’t really bad for you.
Hasty generalization
I need a new car. My last three cars have all been reliable, and they were blue. So I’m going to buy a blue car.
Weak analogy
My car is read ab goes very fast
My car has an engine
Therefore, the engine is red and goes very fast
Fallacy of division , informal
Every recession follows a republican presidency
Therefore, republicans are the cause of recession
False cause
The tour guide said that standing in Greenwich Village, the Empire State Building could easily be seen. It follows that the Empire State Building is in Greenwich Village.
Amphiboly ( misinterpretation of ambiguous statement)
