Mission:Critical and Informal Fallacies
Robert Hettinga
rah at shipwright.com
Mon Nov 17 16:53:41 PST 1997
I've been writing a gigantic e$ rant, :-), which I haven't done in a while,
and so I've left things to pile up in my POP account until I was done. I'm
done, and I'm still bashing the (blatant :-)) silliness out of it, and will
send it here soon.
In the meantime, I wanted to find a quick and dirty list of informal
logical fallacies, and, while I was at it, I bumped into Mission:Critical,
which is fairly comprenensive website on logic an critical thinking.
Evidently you can earn college credit on it, for those of you who need
college credit. :-). Here it is.
http://www.sjsu.edu/depts/itl/
Also, I've found a reasonable list of informal fallacies, from
<http://ddi.digital.net/~setzerl/LOGIC.htm>, (which see for applicable
attributions) which I've appended here. That way, you can all keep score at
home. Expect me to use a bunch, whether I want to or not... :-). Notice
that argumentum ad hominem is when you discount someone's opinion because
of who they are or what they do. Vuperative insults, it seems, are another
thing altogether. :-).
It's a shame that Tim seems to have killfiled me at this point. Usually, I
like it, because then I can post stuff here without him tearing me a new
asshole very time. This time, since I'm doing the tearing, maybe he's just
hiding. Which is fine, because he can run, but he can't hide on this crap
anymore...
More in a bit, when I get e$pam all caught up.
Cheers,
Bob Hettinga
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Slick Maneuver Identification Table #1
Fallacies of Oversimplification
SLICK MANEUVER EXAMPLE
Special Pleading or "During a period of war sales
Card-Stacking: Stacks the deck of increase, prices rise, and greater
evidence to facilitate a desired profits are made. Therefore wars are
outcome. brought about by persons who profit
financially from them."
Genetic Fallacies: Attempt to
reduce the significance of a "Our nation cherishes freedom today,
movement or a state of affairs since many of the founders of the
merely to a proposed account of republic were men who prized freedom
its origins or earliest more than life itself."
antecedents.
False Cause: Oversimplifies the
relevant antecedents of a given "Rome fell because its leaders
series of events. quarreled among themselves."
False Analogy: Takes two or more
objects which are similar in some "Minds, like rivers, can be broad. The
ways and makes an unwarranted broader the river, the shallower it
inference about the additional is. Therefore, the broader the mind,
ways in which such objects could the shallower it is."
be similar.
Black-and-White Fallacy:
Overlooks both gradations and "All politicians are either highly
additional alternatives between efficient or completely inept."
extreme positions.
Accident: Applies a general "If it is wrong to break into a cabin,
principle to an exceptional case then a cabin should not entered to
without critical examination or save a party from freezing even though
regard to context. they are caught in a blizzard."
"Since it is permissible for a student
Converse Accident: Generalizes to delay handing in his assignment if
from an exceptional case to a he is called home on an emergency, it
proposed general principle. is permissible for a student to delay
handing in an assignment whenever he
chooses to do so."
"Smith, Jones, and Brown are members
Hasty Generalization: Reaches a of labor unions and each of them is
generalized conclusion on the interested in gaining the maximum pay
basis of too limited a range of with the least amount of work.
examples. Therefore, all members of labor unions
are interested only in gaining the
highest wage for the least work."
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Slick Maneuver Identification Table #2
Fallacies of Misuse of Appeal to Emotions
SLICK MANEUVER EXAMPLE
The Misuse of Appeal to Laughter: "Anyone who accepts the conclusions of
Diverts attention from the my opponent would also be forced to
central issues and stifles accept the view that the tail wags the
serious thought and analysis. dog."
The Appeal to Pity (Argumentum Ad "John deserves a 'C' in this class
Misericordiam): Replaces relevant since his parents have sacrificed to
evidence for a conclusion with a send him to college and he will not
bid for the sympathy of an graduate if he receives a lower
audience. grade."
The Appeal to Reverence: Replaces "We must beware of foreign entangling
relevant evidence for a alliances since Washington, the
conclusion with a bid for respect founder of our nation, warned us
for traditions. against taking such a course of
action."
The Bandwagon Fallacy: Appeals to
an interest in following the "You ought to buy a small European
crowd and doing as they do rather sports car as all members of the smart
than to adequate evidence crowd now own one of these cars."
justifying a conclusion.
"I'm sure that you will recognize that
The Common-Folks Appeal: Appeals I am more competent than my opponent.
to attempts to secure acceptance When I was in high school I had to get
of a conclusion by the speaker's up at four-thirty every morning to
identification with the everyday deliver papers. In college I was
concerns and feelings of an barely able to make C's and had to do
audience rather than on the basis janitorial work in order to make ends
of adequate evidence. meet to put myself through school.
Therefore, I would make a better
Congressman."
Appeal to the Gallery (Argumentum "As you union members know, I am a
Ad Populum): Seeks acceptance of champion of the labor movement, and
a point of view by an emotional seek to eliminate exploitation of the
reaffirmation of a speaker's common worker by big business.
support of values, traditions, Therefore, you know you can trust my
interests, prejudices, or judgment when I say that this
provincial concerns shared widely agricultural legislation will be good
by members of an audience. for the country."
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Slick Maneuver Identification Table #3
Fallacies of Involved or Complex Assumptions
SLICK MANEUVER EXAMPLE
Begging the Question (Petitio
Principii): Assumes what needs to be "All the events in nature are
proven and offers this assumption as determined. Human events are
evidence for a conclusion that only part of the events in nature.
particularizes the assumption or that Therefore, human events are
restates an equivalent form of the determined."
original assumption.
Arguing in a Circle: Uses a premise as "Democracy is desirable because
evidence to establish a conclusion, it promotes freedom of inquiry.
and this conclusion is used as But why is freedom of inquiry
evidence to establish the original desirable? Because it promotes
premise. democracy."
Name-Tagging: Assumes the attachment
of labels to persons or things "This application is easy to
constitute evidence for conclusions use. Look at its label, 'Easy
about the objects to which the labels Applicator.'"
are applied.
"Anything that you say would be
Poisoning the Wells: Discredits the influenced by your interest in
source of proposed evidence, so that civil rights. You may make your
the evidence is ruled out prior to any statement, but we shall know
consideration of its merits. beforehand that it will be
distorted and unreliable."
Complex Question: Assumes or
presupposes a certain state of
affairs, so that any answer involves "Have you stopped telling lies?"
the granting of the assumption.
Leading Question: "Plants" a proposed "You do believe that longer
answer to a question by the manner in vacations are desirable, do you
which the question is asked. not?"
Contradictory Assumptions: Attempts to
make two or more contradictory "What would happen if an
assumptions, thus violating the irresistible force met an
Aristotelian rule of "either-or." immovable object?"
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Slick Maneuver Identification Table #4
Fallacies of Imprecision in the Use of Language
SLICK MANEUVER EXAMPLE
The Misuse of Vague "You claim that you believe in free
Expressions: Occurs if a enterprise, yet you accept socialistic
conclusion not justified by practices of government like the War on
evidence is attributable to Poverty and Medicare. The American way
the misinterpretation of a of life has never endorsed a policy of
vague expression. providing something for nothing."
The Fallacy of Simple
Ambiguity: Results from an
effort to establish a "We cannot expect John to come since he
conclusion by interpreting a said, 'Nothing will deter me from
statement in a manner not coming.'"
justified by the context.
The Fallacy of Equivocation: "Everything subject to law is subject to
Changes or shifts the meaning a lawgiver. The natural order is subject
of a key expression in the to a law. Therefore, the natural order
middle of an argument. is subject to a lawgiver."
The Fallacy of Amphibole:
Occurs if a conclusion not "No cat has nine tails. Any cat has one
justified by evidence is based more tail than no cat. Therefore, any
upon ambiguity attributed to cat has ten tails."
the syntax of a sentence.
The Fallacy of Ambiguity of
Significance: Occurs in the "A period of higher unemployment is
drawing of an improper developing, since there was a one
conclusion by percent increase in the rate of
misinterpretation of the unemployment in January."
significance of a statement.
A theme was returned to a student with
The Fallacy of Accent: Occurs the notation, "Some parts of this theme
when improper emphasis is are good and other parts interesting.
placed upon a word, phrase, or The interesting parts are inaccurate and
a sentence and on this basis a the good parts were copied." The student
conclusion is inferred. wrote his parents, "The grader wrote
that my theme was 'good' and
'interesting.'"
The Fallacy of Division: "Since surgeons have spent many years in
Infers that the property of an perfecting appendectomies, Dr. James
organized whole also Doe, the new surgeon in our town, has
characterizes the parts of the spent many years in perfecting his
whole. technique in performing appendectomies."
The Fallacy of Composition: "Since the members of this team are the
Infers that the qualities or best players of their respective
characteristics of parts of a positions in the conference, a team
whole must also characterize composed of these players would be the
the whole itself. best team in the conference."
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Slick Maneuver Identification Table #5
Fallacies of Irrelevance
SLICK MANEUVER EXAMPLE
Fallacies Misusing Appeals to
Authoritative Sources: Support a
conclusion by appeals to "Man must be immortal because this
documents, generally held belief has tended to be present in
beliefs, or the opinions of such widely differing societies in
well-known persons that are not highly divergent circumstances over
particularly germane or qualified such a long span of history."
to deal with the point at issue.
The Appeal to Force (Argumentum "You should accept the view that our
Ad Baculum): Substitutes force or protection society can strengthen the
the threat of its use for sales of your product. Otherwise you
rational evidence in the support might find that your machinery has
of a conclusion. been damaged and that your labor
troubles increase."
The Appeal to the Man (Argumentum
Ad Hominem): Seeks to prove a "The statement of this witness cannot
conclusion false by attacking the be accepted as reliable, since he
character, reputation, participated in a protest
associations, or social demonstration against the United
situations of the person States' foreign policy when he was a
proposing it. student in college."
The Argument from Intimidation:
Asserts arbitrarily that a
person's idea is false and then
uses the assertion as proof of "John asserts that no man is his
that person's immorality. This brother's keeper. This is a false
fallacy was identified by Ayn idea. Therefore, John is immoral."
Rand in The Virtue of
Selfishness.
The Appeal to Ignorance
(Argumentum Ad Ignorantium):
Advances the position that if one "Since you cannot disprove that there
conclusion in an argument cannot are flying saucers, you should accept
be established convincingly, then as reliable the reports of those
the opposing view can be claiming to have seen such objects."
accepted.
"Any high school graduate should be
The Fallacy of an Irrelevant admitted to any university supported
Conclusion or of "Missing the by taxes in his state, since he
Point of the Evidence" (Ignoratio should be assured of all privileges
Elenchi): Stresses factors that of citizenship guaranteed to him by
may support a conclusion other the Constitution, his family also
than the one proposed. pays taxes in that particular state,
and he can get a better job if he is
a graduate of a university."
The Argumentative Leap (Non
Sequitur): Jumps to a conclusion "The electoral college is subject to
with no immediate basis for extreme criticism. Therefore,
drawing the proposed conclusion presidential candidates should be
provided internally within the nominated by popular votes rather
argument. than by political conventions."
Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc (After
This, Therefore Because of This):
Suggests that because one event "John had a cold. John took large
follows another, the former must doses of vitamin C. The cold
have caused the latter, without subsided. Therefore, the large doses
showing a causal link. This of vitamin C caused the cold to
fallacy was identified by Frank subside."
R. Wallace in The Neo-Tech
Discovery.
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Robert Hettinga (rah at shipwright.com), Philodox
e$, 44 Farquhar Street, Boston, MA 02131 USA
"... however it may deserve respect for its usefulness and antiquity,
[predicting the end of the world] has not been found agreeable to
experience." -- Edward Gibbon, 'Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'
The e$ Home Page: http://www.shipwright.com/
Ask me about FC98 in Anguilla!: <http://www.fc98.ai/>
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