logical fallacy powerpoint
TRANSCRIPT
Everything’s An Argument
What’s WRONG with this Argument?
• Clinton is privately immoral, therefore all his public policies are immoral
• An Ad Hominem
An Attack on the Person, Not the Argument
Not Fair!!
Think before you…Think
• Women are bad drivers• Scots are stingy• Italians are romantic
• Hasty Generalizations• are often wrong
What’s WRONG with this Argument?
• 20% of Doctors Recommend this Product!!
• A claim made by an official-sounding (or -looking) expert
• What’s WRONG with that??? Well…
• Is he in a position to KNOW?
What’s WRONG with this Argument?
• Coca-Cola is the best drink because it’s the best-selling; therefore it’s the best drink
• Circular Logic = False Logic
What’s WRONG with….
• We can’t prove there are no ghosts, therefore, ghosts exist
• We can’t prove humans caused global warming, so they didn’t
• When we claim that something is true because it can’t be proved WRONG, we are
• Arguing from IGNORANCE
• If things continue like this, the stock market will crash
• If you keep getting B’s, you won’t go to a good college
• The Slippery Slope!• (Are you REALLY going to FALL?)
What’s WRONG with….
• Public health advocates want to distribute condoms in elementary schools
• • The STRAW MAN • argument…• So easy to beat up!
What’s WRONG with….
What’s WRONG with….
• Using the results of Holocaust medical experiments?
• Are they TAINTED by Evil?• This thinking is called a
GENETIC FALLACY
What’s Wrong with…
• This Internet stock soared; therefore, all Internet stocks will soar
• Over-Generalizing =• Bad Idea.
And its Companion…
• Credit cards are bad because they make people get into debt
• Oversimplification
And this related FALLACY
• Either I get into Harvard, or I am a failure
• The FALSE DILEMMA
Here’s a common RETORT Fallacy
• “You lied!” “Oh yeah, well you’re a bigger liar.”
• Tu Quoque!!(Thou Also!!)
Fallacies of LOGIC
• When I go to a game, my team loses; therefore, I make my team lose
• Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc??• (After this, therefore
Caused by this?)
Is IT WRONG to say that if…
• Benjamin Franklin rose from poverty, so anyone else can ???
• • A false ANALOGY--• A led to B does not necessarily mean
that C will lead to D!
What about Statistics??
• Bankruptcies have doubled!!
• …from 1% to 2% of population• Big Wow.
Follow the CROWD?
• Only the best use x. Everyone uses x.
• The AD POPULIM method—appeal to the crowd...
• Is the Crowd always right??
Here’s One Teachers Often Hear• You can’t give me a C because I am an A
student!• (Implied Warrant: A students don’t get Cs)• I can’t be guilty of embezzlement—I am an
honest person!• (Implied Warrant: honest people don’t• Steal)• Begging the Question
And the ARGUMENT that ENDS All Argument…
• “Because I said so.”
• The Appeal to POWER• AKA the Mom Phenom