Quiz #3 Flashcards
Appeal to the People
Appeal to the fundamental beliefs, biases, and prejudices of the audience in order to sway opinion through a feeling of solidarity among those of a group.
Ex: The symbol of the American flag. A politician delivering a speech while wearing a suit made out of material with the pattern of the American flag.
Appeal to Ignorance
Persuades an audience to accept as true a claim that hasn’t been proved false or vice versa.
Ex: There must be intelligent life on other planets. No one has proven that there isn’t.
Appeal to Popularity–Bandwagon
The argument rests on the assertion that since everybody else is doing it, then you should do it too.
Ex: All the popular, cool kids have tattoos; therefore, I should get a tattoo.
Appeal to Pity
The arguer appeals to the audience’s sympathetic feelings in order to support a claim that should be decided on more relevant or objective grounds.
Ex: Professor, you don’t understand. The reason I turned in my essay late is because I had a death in the family.
Red Herring
Refers to the practice of throwing an audience off track by raising an unrelated or irrelevant point.
Ex: Question to politician–“What’s your stand on gun control?” Politician’s reply–” I’m for family values.”
Appeal to False Authority
The arguer appeals to the authority of a popular person rather than a knowledgeable one.
Ex: Kobe Bryant says that Wheaties cereal keeps him on his game; therefore, Wheaties cereal is a good cereal.
Ad Hominem
Argument that attacks the character of the arguer rather than the argument itself:
- Name-calling: referring to a disputant by unsavory names (Ex: OJ Simpson claims he is innocent, but he is a wife beater)
- Appeal to prejudice: applying ethnic, racial, gender, or religious slurs to an opponent (Ex: Of course she is in favor of affirmative action. What do you expect from a black woman?)
- Guilt by association: linking the opposition to extremely unpopular groups or causes (Ex: Of course you support medical marijuana. All of your friends are a bunch of pot-head hippies.)
- Poisoning the well: discrediting an opponent or an opposing view in advance (Ex: You are told, prior to meeting him, that your boyfriend is a mooch. When you meet him, everything you hear from him is tainted.)
Straw Man
Greatly oversimplifying an opponent’s argument in order to make it easier to refute or ridicule. Diverts attention from the real issue.
Ex: While my opponent would like to empty our prisons of serial killers, I hold to the sacred principles of compensatory justice.
Hasty Generalization
Making a broad generalization on the basis of too little evidence.
Ex: Jean writes poetry, and she’s very sensitive and often depressed. People who write poetry are very sensitive and are prone to depression.
Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc
Occurs when a sequential relationship is mistaken for a causal relationship. Confusing correlation for cause. For example, event A occurred before event B. Therefore, event A must have caused event B.
Ex: Governor X took office in 2010. In 2011, the state suffered a severe recession. Therefore, Governor X should not be re-elected.
Begging the Question–Circular Reasoning
Supporting a claim with a reason that simply restates the claim in different words.
Ex: Abortion is murder because it is the intentional taking of life of a human baby.
False Dilemma–Either/or
Oversimplifying a complex issue so that only two choices appear possible. No alternative, middle-ground, or compromise solutions are acknowledged.
Ex: Be a fan of football or you’re not a man.
Slippery Slope
Based on the fear that once we put a foot on the slippery slope heading in the wrong direction, we will have to keep going.
Ex: We don’t dare legalize marijuana. If we do, we’ll have to legalize cocaine, then ecstasy, and then heroin. Finally, all hard drugs will be available anywhere to anybody.
False Analogy
Arguments by analogy use a comparison as though it were evidence to support a claim.
Ex: There is no convincing evidence to show that cigarette smoking is harmful. Too much of anything is harmful. Too much Jell-O is harmful.
Non-Sequitur
Making a claim that does not follow logically from the premises or is supported by irrelevant premises. The arguer seems to make an inexplicably illogical leap.
Ex: Violent video games have some social value because the Army uses them for recruiting.
