Chapter 4: Informal Fallacies Practice

Summary of Fallacies Based on Personal Attacks (or Ad Hominem):

1) *Ad hominem abusive:* An attack on alleged character flaws of a person instead of the person's argument. 2) *Ad hominem circumstantial:* An argument is rejected based on the person's life circumstances. 3) *Poisoning the well:* A person is attacked before they can present their argument. 4) *Tu quoque:* A person attempts to avoid the issue at hand through claiming the argument maker is a hypocrite.

*Summary of Weak Inductive Argument Fallacies,False Cause Fallacies:*

13) *Post hoc:* The fallacy occurs from the mistaken assumption that just because one event occurred before another event, the first event must have caused the second event. 13a) *Common cause, post hoc:* One event is believed to cause the second when both events are caused by the same, common cause. 14) *Slippery slope:* An argument that attempts to connect a series of occurrences such that the first link in a chain leads directly to a second link, and so on, until a final, unwanted situation is said to be the inevitable result.

Summary of Fallacies of Unwarranted Assumptions:

15) *Begging the question:* In one type, the fallacy occurs when a premise is simply reworded in the conclusion. In a second type, called circular reasoning, a set of statements seem to support each other with no clear beginning or endpoint. In a third type, the argument assumes certain key information that may be controversial or is not supported by facts. 16) *Complex question:* The fallacy occurs when a single question actually contains multiple parts and an unestablished hidden assumption. 17) *Appeal to ignorance:* An argument built on a position of ignorance claims either that: (1) a statement must be true because it has not been proven to be false. (2) a statement must be false because it has not been proven to be true. 18) *Appeal to an unqualified authority:* An argument that relies on the opinions of people who either have no expertise, training, or knowledge relevant to the issue at hand, or whose testimony is untrustworthy. 19) *False dichotomy:* The fallacy occurs when it is assumed that only two choices are possible, when in fact others exist.

Summary of Fallacies of Diversion:

20) *Equivocation:* The fallacy occurs when the conclusion of an argument relies on a shift in the meaning of a term or phrase in the premises. 21) *Straw man:* The fallacy occurs when an argument is misrepresented in order to create a new argument that can be easily refuted. The new argument is so weak that it is "made of straw". The arguer then falsely claims that his opponent's real argument has been defeated. 22) *Red herring:* The fallacy occurs when someone completely ignores an opponent's position and changes the subject, diverting the discussion in a new direction. 23) *Misleading precision:* A claim that appears to be statistically signification but is not. 24) *Missing the point:* When the premises that seem to lead logically to one conclusion are used instead to support an unexpected conclusion.

Summary of Fallacies Based on Emotional Appeals):

5) *Appeal to the people:* An argument manipulates a psychological need or desire, such as the desire to belong to a popular group, or the need for group solidarity, so that the reader or listener will accept the conclusion. 6) *Appeal to pity:* An exclusive reliance on a sense of pity or mercy for support of a conclusion. 7) *Appeal to fear or force:* A threat of harmful consequences (physical or otherwise) is used to force acceptance of a course of action that would otherwise be unacceptable.

You told us why you are against raising taxes. But, we know the real reason is that you are a billionaire, and you want to hold on to as much money as you can.

Ad hominem circumstantial.

My club of high school seniors is celebrating its 10th birthday. Therefore, my club member, Guy, must be a 10-year-old high school senior.

Division (class itself to individual members)

I cannot believe the police did not give the driver of the ambulance any citations because he was speeding went through a red light and swerved without using turn signals.

Rigid application of a generalization (generalization fallacy)

My cousin's illegal drug supply was stolen. Luckily, the thief was caught. Therefore, the police have to return my cousin's stash.

Rigid application of a generalization (generalization fallacy)

The senator should look in his backyard. What about the complete disregard of the universal rights of people whom the US government incarcerates without any recourse to courts or a lawyer? The senator should not throw rocks when he lives in a glasshouse. Let me remind him that "whoever is without sin let him cast the first stone."

Tu quoque (fallacy based on personal attacks/ad hominem)

You have been lecturing me about not joining a gang. But, you were a gang member, and you never went to jail. So, I'll make my own decision about joining one.

Tu quoque (fallacy based on personal attacks/ad hominem)

*Summary of Weak Inductive Argument Fallacies, Generalization Fallacies:*

8) *Rigid application of a generalization:* When a generalization or rule is inappropriately applied to the case at hand. The fallacy results from the mistaken belief that the generalization or rule is universal (meaning it has no exceptions). 9) *Hasty generalization:* An argument that relies on a small sample that is unlikely to represent the population. 10) *Composition:* There are two forms of the fallacy: (1) the mistaken transfer of an attribute of the individual parts of an object to the object as a whole, and; (2) the mistaken transfer of an attribute of the individual members of a class to the class itself. 11) *Division:* There are two forms of the fallacy: (1) the mistaken transfer of the object as a whole to the individual parts of an object, and; (2) the mistaken transfer of a class itself to the individual members of a class. 12) *Biased sample:* An argument that uses a nonrepresentative sample as support for a statistical claim about an entire population.

Don't listen to their criticism of our governor. After all, they are too young and probably experimented with drugs.

Ad hominem abusive.

They are old, out of touch with reality, and were probably previously psychiatrically hospitalized. So, you cannot accept their advice on marriage.

Ad hominem abusive.

You should not believe what they say about our economy because they are a left-learning, card-carrying liberal.

Ad hominem abusive.

I heard your argument against euthanasia. But, you failed to point out the true reason: You are a physician, so you make money only if terminally ill people are kept alive as long as possible.

Ad hominem circumstantial.

I'm McFamous Quarterback for Sports Team. I've been eating Cereal for breakfast since I was young. Cereal tastes great, and they have all the nutrition kids need. You should get some for your kids today.

Appeal to an unqualified authority (Unwarranted assumption)

If the workers of this company do not agree to a quarter of their pay cute, then the company may have to shut down. Therefore, the workers must agree to the cut. You better get straight A's on your next report card. If you don't we will have to punish you, and you will not be allowed to go out with your friends for a month.

Appeal to fear or force (fallacy based on emotional appeal)

• UFOs must exist because no one has proven they do not exist. • There is certainly no life anywhere else in the universe. This follows from the fact that we have never received signals from any part of space.

Appeal to ignorance (Unwarranted assumption)

Your honor, before you sentence my client for the murder of his parents, I ask you to consider his situation. He is an orphan. Perhaps, you can give him the lightest punishment possible. (Hint: many charities do so, like with the sad-sad commercials and phone calls, even when they get support.)

Appeal to pity (fallacy based on emotional appeal):

You work hard. You deserve more from life. Don't get stuck in a boring routine. Driving the new turbo-charged Zephyer will have everyone looking at you. Get one and turn heads.

Appeal to the people (Exclusive/elite group)

We must not let our country be taken over by illegal aliens. After all, they knowingly and brazenly broke the law by entering illegally, so they are nothing but criminals. They will continue to flout our laws, steal our jobs, and threaten our very way of life.

Appeal to the people (Group solidarity/rallying the troops)

PlayBox 6 is the number one game console in America. Your friends probably own them. Why wait to use theirs? Ask your parents to get you one today.

Appeal to the people (The bandwagon effect)

The Beatles are the greatest band of all time. So, it is safe to say no band has ever been better than the Beatles.

Begging the question (Type 1, A premise is simply reworded in the conclusion.)

You can believe her because she never lies. Furthermore, since she always tells the truth, she is someone you can believe.

Begging the question (Type 2, In circular reasoning, a set of statements support each other without a clear beginning or end.)

We are justified in going to war to defend our country from foreign aggression. It follows that we should go to war with Syria.

Begging the question (Type 3, The argument assumes certain important information that may be controversial/unsupported by facts.)

A survey of 100 seniors at our university showed that 90% do not oppose a parking fee increase that will go into effect next year. Therefore, we can report that almost all students do not oppose a parking increase.

Biased sample (generalization fallacy)

That girl is the most successful, popular student in all our class. That's why students in most of our school hate her.

Common cause (False Cause Fallacies)

• Do you still cheat on your taxes? • Aren't you going to do something about their terrible behavior?

Complex question (Unwarranted assumption)

All the members of my club are high school seniors. Therefore, my club is a high school senior.

Composition (individual members to the class itself, generalization fallacy)

Each ingredient you are using tastes delicious. Therefore, the cake has to taste delicious.

Composition (parts to whole, generalization fallacy)

The cake (as a whole) tastes delicious. Therefore, each of the ingredients has to taste delicious.

Division (whole to parts)

• My sibling tries to be cool. I told them they have a personality of a cucumber. Since the refrigerator is a good place to keep things cool, they should spend some time in there. • She said she had a hot date last night. Her apartment can get hot unless she uses the AC. Therefore, her AC must have been non-working.

Equivocation (Diversion)

• He was born on a Monday or a Thursday. He was not born on a Thursday, so he was born on a Monday. • Either you agree with our country's policies or you should go to live in another country. You don't agree with our country's policies. Therefore you should go live in another country.

False dichotomy (Unwarranted assumption)

I saw a fraternity guy act rudely to a fast-food employee. Probably most fraternity and sorority members are rude and arrogant.

Hasty generalization (generalization fallacy)

The first two students got an A on the exams I graded. Thus, I expect all 50 students to get A's too.

Hasty generalization (generalization fallacy)

• Our Nutrisystem cookies contain 30% less fat, so you should start eating them if you want to lose weight. • The full moon affects people in strange ways. We have found that you have a 100% chance of being more emotional than usual during a full moon than during any other time of the month.

Misleading precision (Diversion)

• Coca-Cola is the best-selling in Canada. Therefore, it will be a top hit in United States. • I read that it can take years to find the black boxes that contain crucial flight information regarding an airplane crash, and sometimes they are never found. Given this, all air travel should be suspended. • The Affordable Care Act has been difficult to implement. There were system failures in which people could not log on to the government website, and even cases of people's private information being compromised. Therefore, we should never let the government try to solve social problems.

Missing the point (Diversion)

I see that the car model is similar to almost all models and appears to have a defective part in each of them. Therefore, we will recall each type of car.

No fallacy (when applied to identical and extremely similar objects).

Bernard Madoff is guilty of one of the most infamous financial frauds in history. The evidence against him was so strong that he plead guilty to 11 felonies, including money laundering, perjury, and wire fraud. It is safe to say he will spend the rest of his life in prison because he would be over 200 years old when he is eligible for release in the year 2139. The perjury charge means that he is a liar. He is also a cheat and a person without conscience, with no sympathy for his victims. By any moral sense, Madoff is a most despicable character.

No fallacy.

Since every piece of my sewing machine is steel, so my sewing machine is steel.

No fallacy. (Not all parts to whole are fallacious.)

Before you read their article, "Stop Wars", you should know the author was arrested six times for protesting in front of the Pentagon and White House. The author was also investigated by the FBI for possible ties to peace movements in other countries, some of which ended in violence. It is crystal clear these people are dangerous and want to destroy our Constitution and take away our freedom, we cannot let them.

Poisoning the well (fallacy based on personal attacks/ad hominem):

Last week, I bought a new car, and today I found out that I am being laid off. I should not have bought the car; it brought me bad luck.

Post hoc (false cause fallacies)

Researchers have discovered that, for over 30 years, there has been a definite pattern connecting the party affiliation of the US president and specific soft drink sales. During the years when a Democrat was President, Dr. Pepper topped all drink sales. When a Republican was President, Coca-Cola was number one. If you are an investor, we advise you to invest in the brand based on the President's party.

Post hoc (false cause fallacies)

It appears that Barack Obama was not born in the United States, so he cannot become President. Having proof of his birth certificate will prove that he is a US citizen. Upon seeing his birth certificate, it is evident that his father is African. Since Obama may have had dual-citizenship at birth, this means that he does not meet the Constitution's definition of a natural-born citizen, no?

Red herring (Diversion)

Many people criticize TV as turning America into an illiterate society. How can we criticize the very medium that is the envy of countries all over the world? The entertainment quality and variety of TV programs today are greater than ever before, not to mention the enormous number of cable options available to members of the viewing audience. Thus, the critics are wrong.

Red herring (Diversion)

If we allow the government to remove Confederate statues from public places, then it's a short road to the government trying to erase and censor history. Next thing you know, all our history textbooks will be altered to remove the truth. You don't want the government telling you what to think is true, do you?

Slippery slope (False Cause Fallacies)

If you start smoking marijuana for pleasure, then you will need more to achieve the high. You will rely on it when you are depressed. Then, you will experiment with higher, harder, faster, and longer-lasting drugs. Your addiction will lead to a lack of motivation, self-esteem, good health, and social ties. Therefore, you should not start smoking weed.

Slippery slope (False Cause Fallacies)

She is against the new law that mandates teaching intelligent design alongside the theory of evolution. It should be obvious to anyone that she really wants to eliminate religious beliefs. She wants to destroy one of the basic principles of the Constitution of the United States.

Straw man (Diversion)

The Democrats promise that a government health care system will reduce the cost of health care, but as the economist Thomas Sowell has pointed out, government health care will not reduce the cost; it will simply refuse to pay the cost. And who will suffer the most when they ration care? The sick, the elderly, and the disabled, of course. The America I know and love is not one in which my parents or my baby with Down Syndrome will have to stand in front of Obama's "death panel" so his bureaucrats can decide, based on a subjective judgment of their "level of productivity in society," whether they are worthy of health care. Such a system is downright evil.

Straw man (Diversion)

I don't know why you keep pressuring me to give up smoking. You keep showing me statistics that it is bad for my health, shortens life and costs too much money. But, you started smoking at my age and only recently quit, so how can you honestly tell me to stop?

Tu quoque (fallacy based on personal attacks/ad hominem):