Name that flaw! (1) Flashcards
Name the flaw!
Senator Johnson: My political opponent says that we should invest in more infrastructure. This is coming from the same guy who had a mohawk haircut in the 80’s, so there’s no way we can trust him and we shouldn’t invest more in infrastructure.
Ad hominem
Senator Johnson is attacking a person, not their argument
When I said “someday I’ll be GONE and you can have my precious watch,” I didn’t mean that when I left the room you could steal it!
Equivocation
The word “gone” was taken to mean “when I leave the room” when it was intended to mean “when I am no longer alive”
When I said “learning to swim is like learning to ride a bike” I did not intend for you to wear a helmet at the beach because you thought I meant there was minor risk involved in swimming, just as there is in bike riding.
Bad Analogy
The analogy was interpreted poorly.
There are no longer any bees and there are no longer any flowers, so certainly the flowers dying caused the bees to disappear.
Necessary and Sufficient Condition Confusion (Causation Flaw)
We said dying flowers –> dying bees, but it could have certainly been that dying bees –> dying flowers (after all, the bees pollinate the flowers)
Never mind the fact that I eat 2 double cheeseburgers per day, my cholesterol is increasing and my weight is increasing. So my cholesterol must be causing my weight gain, or else my weight gain is causing an increase in my cholesterol.
Third Causal Factor.
The cheeseburgers were causing BOTH the increase in cholesterol and the increase in weight
“You’re going to have to give me your lunch money or I’m going to beat you up: so pick one.”
False Dichotomy
I have no reason to believe that the two options you gave me are the ONLY ones to exist
Over 500 people have won the lottery since 1975, so my chances of winning this year must be good.
Percentage Vs Amount
Just because many # of people have won does not mean my % of winning is good
Over 90% of the nursing home respondents said music today was terrible! So music today must be bad.
Sampling Error: non-representative group makeup
the group you studied was not reflective of the general public regarding age and that is significant!
Sarah: My friend Ayesha is from Ohio and she says she hates duck stew, so everyone in Ohio must hate duck stew.
Sampling Error: Size (also called a Hasty Generalization)
Sarah only asked one person!
You say The Detroit Red Wings are the worst team in the NHL, but the Vancouver Canucks have lost 1 more game then the Red Wings. Clearly, the Red Wings are the best team in the league.
Bad argument, so the opposite must be true. Also, could be considered false dichotomy.
My pet turtle is WAY faster than my pet snail, so my pet turtle must be extremely fast.
Relative Vs Absolute
The turtle was relatively fast, but not fast in absolute terms.
This mountain road closes at 5 pm, so since it’s 5:01 we’re stuck until morning.
(did I tell you how many roads there are?)
Assuming Only One Option
Politician: We could talk about the fact that I used public funds to hire an entourage of attractive humans to follow me around everywhere with tigers, but what the American public really wants to know is when we will get the new jobs bill passed.
Red Herring (The politician just changed the subject instead of answering the issue at hand)
I’ve been hand washing my car for 20 years, a fancy new car wash won’t be able to do it better.
Appeal to Tradition
A long time doesn’t mean it’s better
Mango makes the best phones, so clearly the mango phone is the greatest phone made.
Circular Reasoning
The conclusion is itself a premise
