Structural Fallacies Flashcards
Defined as deceptive or misleading arguments that seem convincing but are logically flawed
Fallacies
Defined as lies and daulty arguments that, although incorrect, are subjectively wrong
Fallacies
He made significant contributions to the study of fallacies and was a Greek philosopher.
Plato
What is doxa and episteme?
doxa - opinion; episteme - truth
Ancient Greek teachers of rhetoric (persuasion) whose primary goal was success in public speaking and persuasion, often disregarding the truth
Sophists
These use fallacies as a form of art, using glossy imagery and persuasive language to mislead
Advertisements
These are frequent users of fallacies, employing rhetoric and gestures to deceive
Politicians
How can one avoid fallacies?
One must learn to recognize them
What are the two major categories of fallacies?
Structural fallacies and Fallacies of content
These fallacies occur due to faulty logical structure within the argument
Structural fallacies
These fallacies violate rules of both inductive and deductive reasoning
Structural fallacies
These fallacies occur when the content or meaning of the argument is flawed or misleading
Fallacies of content
What are the fallacies of categorical syllogisms?
- Fallacy of four terms
- Fallacy of illicit major term
- Fallacy of illicit minor term
- Fallacy of misplaced middle term
- Fallacy of undistributed middle term
- Fallacy of negative conclusion
- Fallacy of two negative premises
- Fallacy of double particular premises
- Fallacy of stronger conclusion
What rule does the fallacy of four terms violate?
RULE #1 - A valid syllogism must only have three terms: a major term, a minor term, and a middle term
What is the fallacy of equivocation and why does it also violate RULE #1?
Fallacy of equivocation uses the same word but with different meanings in different parts of the syllogism.
What rule does the fallacy of illicit major and illicit minor violate?
RULE #2 - No term should have greater extension in the conclusion than in the premises.
What rule does the fallacy of misplaced middle violate?
RULE #3 - The middle term must not appear in the conclusion
What rule does the fallacy of undistributed middle violate?
RULE #4 - The middle term must be universal at least once in the premises
What rule does the fallacy of negative conclusion violate?
RULE #5 - If both premises are affirmative, the conclusion must be affirmative
What rule does the fallacy of two negative premises violate?
RULE #6 - No conclusion can be drawn from two negative premises
What rule does the fallacy of double particular premises violate?
RULE #7 - No valid conclusion can be drawn from two particular premises
What rule does the fallacy of stronger conclusion violate?
RULE #8 - The conclusion must always follow the weaker premise (particular and negative)
