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REMEMBER to work on Homework 10!
due 11:00 am FRIDAY
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Chapter 5 - Logical Fallacies I - Fallacies of RELEVANCE
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* A FALLACY is a
[dictionary.com] “deceptive, misleading or false notion, belief, etc.”
* The relevant synonym is “erroneousness”.
* A LOGICAL FALLACY is a mistake in reasoning that leads one to come
to a fallacious conclusion.
* NOT the same as a factual error!
* in determining if one of these is present,
you should NOT be taking into account the factual
correctness of the premises or conclusion
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two basic TYPES/categories of logical fallacies
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* A FALLACY OF RELEVANCE is one where the arguer offers
LOGICALLY IRRELEVANT reasons to support the conclusion.
* This is covered in Chapter 5 of the text.
* A FALLACY OF INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE is one where the premises
may be relevant, but DON'T PROVIDE SUFFICIENT EVIDENCE to
support the conclusion.
* This is covered in Chapter 6 of the text.
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TYPES of RELEVANCE
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* POSITIVE RELEVANCE is a statement that (if true)
tends to SUPPORT the conclusion.
* NEGATIVE RELEVANCE is a statement that (if true)
tends to GO AGAINST the conclusion.
* NEITHER of the above are a logical fallacy!
* LOGICAL IRRELEVANCE is a statement that (if true)
has NO bearing on the conclusion.
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* Logical Fallacies of Relevance use
logically irrelevant statements in ways that
tend to fool the listener
(either accidentally or deliberately)
into believing the conclusion, despite that irrelevance.
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"Ad Hominem" Fallacy
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* A Personal Attack on the Speaker
* X is bad, so X's argument must be bad.
* Attacking the person, rather than the substance of
the argument, says nothing about the argument's
soundness, from a logical standpoint
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“Attacking the Motive” Fallacy
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* An Attack on the Speaker's Motivations
* calling into question the motives of one's opponent, BUT often
without showing that the supposed motive has any ROLE in forming
their conclusion
* Subtly different from Ad Hominem – it questions the motives
of the speaker
* A “Conflict of Interest” refutation of someone's argument can
be relevant, or it can be just a “Attacking the Motive” Fallacy
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"Look Who's Talking" Fallacy (Tu Quoque)
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* An Attack on the Speaker's Hypocrisy
* An attack on the speaker on the grounds of
"you don't practice what you preach"
* Assertion that an argument must be false simply because
the person presenting the advice doesn't follow it themself.
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"Two Wrongs Make a Right" Fallacy
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* Justifying a wrongful act by claiming that some other act is
just as bad or worse.
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Scare Tactics (or Appeal to Force)
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* Coercing the listener with an irrelevant threat if
they do not accept the arguer's conclusion
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Appeal to Pity Fallacy
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* The arguer inappropriately attempts to evoke feelings of
pity or compassion in the listener,
AND
this appeal is irrelevant to the truth of the arguer's conclusion;
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Bandwagon Argument Fallacy
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* An argument that persuades the listener to join the (supposedly)
popular point of view or (supposedly) generally accepted norm
without any appeal to RELEVANT logic or facts
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Straw Man Fallacy
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* Mischaracterizing an opponent's position or argument to one's
own advantage.
* be wary of an argument that has a premise that defines
what opponents of that argument are saying or doing.
That premise deserves extra scrutiny!
...will continue on Wednesday;