Quiz #5 Flashcards
(25 cards)
Fallacies of Ambiguity
A word or expression is ambiguous if it has two or more distinct meanings and the context does not make clear which meaning is intended. “Ambi” means both.
Ex: Joe went to the bank.
What is a fallacy?
An error in reasoning.
Equivocation
This occurs when the arguer uses a keyword in two or more different senses.
P1: All men can talk.
P2: Women are not men.
C: So, women can’t talk.
Amphiboly
This fallacy occurs when the faulty grammatical structure of a sentence creates an ambiguity.
Billboards for Planned Pregnancies: Come to us for unwanted pregnancies.
Sign in laundromat: Customers are required to remove their clothes when the machine stops.
Headline: Two sisters reunited after 18 years in supermarket checkout line.
Fallacy of division
This occurs when we infer from what is true of the whole is true of its parts. We assume that a characteristic of the whole will be a characteristic of its individual parts or members.
Ex: The school board is inefficient. So, don’t expect Ms. Jones, the president of the school board, to be efficient.
Fallacy of Composition
When we infer from what is true of the parts is true of the whole.
Ex: Every player on the Lakers is (individually) an excellent player. Therefore, the team is excellent.
The fallacy of ____ occurs in one of two ways:
1) The emphasis of a word or phrase leads us to the wrong conclusion.
2) A passage taken out of context leads us to a wrong conclusion.
Accent
Example:
FREE BOX OF CHOCOLATES (when you buy $200 worth of merchandise by the end of the month)
Fallacies of Relevance
These are mistakes in reasoning that occur because the premises (evidence) are logically irrelevant (unrelated) to the conclusion.
Appeal to Force
This occurs when we use or threaten to use force in an attempt to get others to back down or accept our conclusions.
Ex: Don’t disagree with me. Remember who pays your college tuition.
Ad Hominem
This fallacy occurs when we disagree with another’s conclusion and attack them personally instead of presenting a legitimate counter argument. We attack their character and their circumstances (association with a particular group, their ethnicity, their gender, etc.).
Ex: Calling someone a hypocrite
Appeal to Pity
This occurs when we try to evoke feelings of pity in others when pity is irrelevant to the conclusion.
Popular Appeal
This occurs when we appeal to popular opinion to gain support for our conclusion. Two types: bandwagon approach and the snob appeal.
Ex: Everyone/Justin Bieber believes it, so you should believe it too.
Snob Appeal
This occurs when we associate a certain idea with an elite group of people or a popular image. Very common in advertising.
Ex: Taylor Swift drinks Pepsi, so I will too.
Bandwagon
This argument type is one that appeals to a person’s desire to be popular, accepted, or valued.
Appeal to Ignorance
This fallacy occurs when we try to argue something is true because no one has proven it false or vice versa.
Ex: You can’t prove that God doesn’t exist, so God does exist.
Hasty Generalization
A generalization is made from a sample that is either too small or is biased.
Ex: Every American Catholic interviewed is against abortion. Therefore, most Americans are against abortion.
Straw Man
This occurs when a person purposely distorts or misrepresents the opponent’s argument, making it easier to knock down or refute.
Red Herring
This occurs when a person tries to sidetrack an argument by going off on a tangent and bringing up a different issue directed toward a different conclusion.
Begging the question
Occurs when an argument’s conclusion is simply the rewording of its premise. This fallacy is also known as circular reasoning.
Ex: Capital punishment is wrong because it is unethical to inflict death as a punishment.
Inappropriate appeal to authority
Occurs when we look to an authority in a field that is unrelated or not under investigation (irrelevant to the conclusion).
Loaded Question
Occurs when a question is asked that assumes a particular answer to another unasked question.
Ex: Are you still in favor of this fiscally irresponsible bill?
False Dilemma
Reduces responses to complex issues to an either/or choice. By doing so, this fallacy polarizes stands on issues and ignores common group or other solutions.
Ex: Black and white reasoning.
Questionable cause
Occurs when a person assumes, without sufficient evidence, that one thing is the cause of another.
Ex: Earthquake weather caused the earthquake.
Slippery slope
According to this fallacy, if we permit a certain action, then all actions of this type, even the extreme ones, will definitely occur.
