Age of the Sage Advertising, Inc.

“I cannot teach anybody anything; I can only make

him think.” Socrates

“The only good is knowledge, and the

only evil is ignorance.”

Socrates

“False words are not only

evil in themselves,

but they infect the

soul.” Socrates

The Problem

Age of the Sage Advertising, Inc., has several new clients who would like our company to name and market their new products; however, the manufacturers do NOT want to trick customers into purchasing their goods. Can we promote their products without misrepresenting them with logical fallacies?

Socrates’ Method of Inquiry

• Suggest hypothesis

• Test and refute hypothesis through questioning

• Accept hypothesis as true OR explore counter examples

• Act accordingly!

Fallacy #1

Name: False Dilemma (Either – Or)

Definition: Thinking of a problem as having only two possible extremes (causes, courses of action, etc.); assuming only two solutions

Example: “America: love it or leave it.”

Proof: Identify the options given and show (with an example) that there is an additional option.

OR

Fallacy #2

Name: Changing the Subject (Attacking the Man – ad hominem)

Definition: An attempt to discredit an opponent’s view by attacking the opponent’s character or circumstances; against the man instead of the issue

Example: “Why vote for a man who can’t even keep a wife?”

Proof: Identify the attack and show that it has nothing to do with the truth of the proposition being defended.

X

Fallacy #3

Name: Hasty Generalization

Definition: a generalization based on insufficient, scanty, inadequate, weak, or irrelevant evidence; key words are all, always, never, none, everyone, only; stereotyping

Example: “I asked six of my friends if they thought the plan was a good one, and they agreed. So the idea is a popular one.”

Proof: Identify the size of the sample and the size of the population, then show that the sample size is too small.

Fallacy #4

Name: False Analogy

Definition: a weak or far-fetched comparison; selecting and focusing on similarities that are not relevant to the issue

VS.

Example: “Schools would turn out better products if they were run like businesses.”

Proof: Identify the two objects and the property both are said to possess. Show that the two objects are different in a way which will affect whether they both have that property.

Fallacy #5

Name: Cause and Effect (post hoc, ergo propter hoc)

Definition: literally “after this, therefore because of this”; assuming that because one event preceded another, the first event caused the second event

Example: “I took the new Tylenol Cold and Flu medicine, and my cold was gone in two hours.”

Proof: Show that the effect would have occurred in the absence of the cause or that something else caused the effect.

Fallacy #6

Name: Missing the Point (Begging the Question)

Definition: assuming that something is true in the course of an argument; assuming the truth of a proposition that actually needs to be proved

Example: “You should support the new housing bill. We can’t continue to see people living in the streets; we must have cheaper housing.”

Proof: Show that the conclusion proved by the author is not the conclusion that the author set out to prove.

Fallacy #7

Name: Non Sequitur

Definition: literally “it does not follow”; when a conclusion does not logically follow from a premise

Example: “If the mill were polluting the river, then we would see an increase in fish deaths. And fish deaths have increased. Thus, the mill is polluting the river.”

Proof: Show that even though the premises are true, the conclusion could be false (Show that B may be a consequence of something other than A.)

The Project

Working in groups as divisions, students will …

1. Select a product type

2. Analyze a real-life ad for product type

3. Create an original product name, packaging, and advertisement (free of logical fallacies)

The Product

Each division will present its product and promotion campaign via PowerPoint show.

“The only good is knowledge, and the

only evil is ignorance.”

Socrates