Seeing Reason - MT1 - Part 2 Flashcards
What are 9 attitudes, fallacies and practices?
- Self flattery
- Motivated reasoning
- Confirmation bias
- Selective use of evidence
- Fallacies of irrelevance
- Fallacy that all opinions are equally valid
- Last thursdayium
- Outright fraud and lying
- Indifference to the concept of truth
Self-flattery
We tend to over estimate our own intelligence
- confidence
Motivated reasoning
Is fact collection and argument that is driven by an assumed conclusion
- have a conclusion in mind and you drive your information collection towards that
What is a powerful force behind motivated reasoning?
Ideology
Confirmation bias
People tend to favour evidence that supports a conclusion they already hold
What is an example of confirmation bias?
Capital punishment
- evidence shows both positive and negative outcomes for capital punishment, it just depends on where you already stand in order to view the facts
- death penalty = yes or no?
Selective use of evidence
Cherry picking facts favourable to one’s position
- need to make sure you use a well informed site for articles
Fallacies of irrelevance (5)
- Changing the subject
- Accusation of hypocrisy
- Ad hominen fallacy
- Genetic fallacy
- Argument from authority
What is an example of changing the subject?
Ethical oil (book)
- should support the oil sands because we are nice guys and others aren’t
- this book shifts the attention away from the main issue which is climate change
Where is accusation of hypocrisy popular?
In celebrities
What is an example of a celebrity that is an accusation of hypocrisy?
Leonardo DiCaprio
- is seen as a face for environmental issues/ preventions, however, he has a private plane that is not good for the environment
Ad hominen fallacy
Is an argument strategy, whereby an argument is proven by attacking the character, motive or other attribute of the person making the argument, rather than attacking the substance of the argument itself
Genetic fallacy
Confusing origins with justification
- having someone’s opinion not count because they are a certain type of person or work from a specific company
Argument from authority
You should believe someone because that are from a certain company of a specific type of person
What does science limit?
Probability to controversy
eg. nessie, sasquash, etc
Last thursdayium
Is the belief that the world and everything in it was created last Thursday
- it is resistant to all attempts of falsification
What will not be accepted?
Negative evidence
Negative evidence
Believe something so much that we twist all over evidence that contradicts it
What is an example of a common outright fraud and lie?
Global warming
- photoshopped cover photos to make it look worse then it actually is
In difference to the concept of truth
Not telling a lie but you get out of a situation and make an impression
Truthiness
Truth that comes from the gut, not from books
What are 4 remedies?
- Scientific curiosity
- Care about sources
- Awareness of logical fallacies
- Avoiding an us-against-them mentality
Scientific curiosity
People who are very interested in science and the natural world
- these people are the people who accept the reality of climate change
Care about sources
Some sources are more trustworthy than others
- care about methods rather than beliefs
