Logical Fallacy

What does "Ad Hominem" mean?

"against the man"

What are some examples of Argument from Authority in The Crucible?

- Danforth throughout the entire story - Danforth to Hale: "That is precisely what I am about to consider, sir. What more may you ask of me? Unless you doubt my probity?" - Danforth believes he is all-powerful in the court - the people in Salem believe that the people convicted are witches because the "truth" is stated by Danforth

What are some examples of Faulty Casualties in The Crucible?

- FIRST EVENT: Goody Osburn being Mrs. Putnam's midwife - SECOND EVENT: The deaths of Mrs. Putnam's children - CONCLUSION: Goody Osburn had been with the devil before, therefore Goody Osburn used dark magic to kill Mrs. Putnam's children

What are some examples of Loaded Question in The Crucible?

- Hale asks Tituba when she contacted the Devil when Tituba wants to say she has never contacted the Devil

What are some examples of Slippery Slope in The Crucible?

- Martha Corey is covicted of being a witch because Walcott cannot keep his pigs alive (there is no logical claim to this) - Walcott's pigs dying is event "x" which is followed by "y," Martha bewitching the pigs

What are some examples of False Dichotomy in The Crucible?

- Parris to Putnam and Proctor: "There is either obedience or the Church will burn like Hell is burning!" - two extreme circumstances; Parris believes the Church will fall if there is not complete obedience - Danforth to Francis Nurse: "But you must understand, sir, that a person is either with this court or he must be counted against it, there be no road between" - two radical ends; Danforth does not understand the concept of remaining neutral

Argument from Authority

- argument from the fact the person judged to be an authority affirms a proposition to the claim that the proposition is true - something is true because someone in authority says it is

False Dichotomy

- consists of only the two extremes of a consideration, but there could be one or more intermediate possibilities - everything is either black or white - no gray areas

What are some real life examples of Argument from Ignorance?

- due to their lack of literacy, the early homo-sapiens would hit each other over the head as a main form of communication - because of their different stories and backgrounds, Pixar movies do not exist in the same world

Slippery Slope

- if one event occurs, another event will inevitably follow without question

Loaded Question

- person asking the question if assuming a fact, by answering the question you are accepting that fact - the question contains a piece of information that the person being asked the question hasn't admitted to, but would admit to it if they answer the question - can't be answered without appearing guilty

Argument from Ignorance

- the assumption of a conclusion or fact based primarily on a lack of evidence - absence of evidence, argument from personal astonishment, argument from incredulity - "X is true because you cannot prove it is false"

What are some examples of Argument from Ignorance in The Crucible?

Anne Putnam believes her babies have been murdered, but there's no evidence to prove that they were

What are some examples of Cherry Picking in The Crucible?

Hale concludes that Giles' wife is a witch because she reads books, but ignores all evidence saying she is not

What is a logical fallacy?

an error in reasoning that leads to a conclusion that may seem to have support but does not

What is Ad Hominem?

attack the person themselves (their looks, intelligence, etc.) instead of their plan or argument

Cherry Picking

choosing to present select information that supports your claim, while ignoring other information that does not

Faulty Casualties

if one event follows another event, the first event must have caused the second event