Classic Flaws

Question 1

Bad Conditional Reasoning

Answer 1

1. Author concludes something by revealing conditional premises backwards w/o negating
2. Author concludes something by negating conditional premises & reading it forewords

ex.
conditional chain: wild horse -> adventurous -> thrill of new
conclusion: thrill of new -> wild horse

Question 2

Bad Causal Reasoning

Answer 2

Author sees 2 things are correlated, author concludes one of those things is causing the other

ex.
Natalie’e lack of chemistry with Chris & her outlandish costumes made the prequels almost unwatchable, Therefore, Natalie caused the temporary downfall of the franchise.

Question 3

Whole-to-Part & Part-to-Whole (Parts ≠ Wholes)

Answer 3

1. Author says a member of a category has a property, & concludes the category itself also has that property
2. Author says a category has a property, & concludes that a member of that category also has that property

ex.

Part Whole
Mars -> Solar System
Stop Signs -> Govt Property
Bricks -> The Building

Question 3

Overgeneralization (Parts ≠ All the Parts)

Answer 3

• Parts-to-parts, never mentions the whole
• Author talks about something having a property, & concludes a bunch of other things also have that property

ex.

Small Premises Big Conclusion
[adj.] + things -> Thing
Cold Rooms -> Rooms
One Member -> All Members
Comic Sans -> Any other font

Question 4

False Starts

Answer 4

1. There’s a study w/ 2 groups
2. Researcher assumes the 2 groups are the same in all respects except the ones called on as a part of the study

Question 4

Survey Problems

Answer 4

always assume surveys are done w/ the greatest possible incompetence

Types:

Biased Sample, Survey Liars, Biased Questions, Small Sample Size, Contradictory Surveys

Question 5

Possibility ≠ Certainty

Answer 5

1. Lack of Evidence ≠ Evidence of Lacking
   it’s not necessarily true, so it can’t be true
2. Proof of Evidence ≠ Evidence of Proof
   it could be true, so it must be true

Question 6

Implication ( Facts ≠ Someone Believing These Facts)

Answer 6

• “someone” has a belief, author mentions factual implication of that belief, author claims that “someone” believes the implication of the belief
• What if the person in question isn’t aware of what their belief implies?

Question 7

False Dichotomy (there are more than 2 options)

Answer 7

• Author ignores the fact that there are more than 2 options
• Author outlines 2 options, eliminates one, concludes the 2nd must be the case

1. Limiting a Spectrum
   Not more ≠

Question 8

Straw Man

Answer 8

• person makes a claim -> another person responds to an entirely different claim
• distorting the point to make it easier to take down

Question 9

Ad Hominem (Bad Proponent ≠ Bad Argument)

Answer 9

• insulting people or attacking proponent’s motivation
• proponent’s bias for/against a position doesn’t affect the truth/falsity of that position

Question 10

Circular Reasoning

Answer 10

• person concludes something, then supplies premises that assume the conclusion is already true
• look for synonyms between premises & conclusions

ex.
Explaining this is futile. It may seem a worthy aim, after all it may be the only way to convey information. But since it will never work, there’s no point.

futile = never work = no point

Question 11

Equivocation

Answer 11

when the author changes the meaning of a word throughout an argument

Question 12

Appeal Fallacies (Opinion ≠ Fact)

Answer 12

Author says a person/group believes something & concludes it must be true

• Invalid Appeal to Authority/ Public Opinion

Question 13

Irrelevant

Answer 13

when the premises are entirely unrelated to the conclusion

Question 14

Precentages ≠ Numbers

Answer 14

• ”% went up” ≠ “associated real # went up”
• always assumes group size remains the same