The Fallacies!

Logical fallacies are arguments that are either missing a premise or have a conclusion that doesn’t follow the premise (AKA evidence). In simple terms, a logical fallacy is the use of faulty reasoning.

This does not mean that they are not useful, simply that they do not use logic or reasoning to achieve their goal.

Someone who uses logical fallacies may be attempting to be manipulative, deceptive, or simply be ignorant.​

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Attacking one's character instead of questioning their logic.​

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Example: ​“Bolding is unfit to be a teacher because he isn’t a fan of Sparta Praha.”

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​Attacking a position your opponent doesn't hold.

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A: I'd rather have a cat than a dog.

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B: Oh my god! Why do you hate dogs?​!

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Appealing to your audiences lack of knowledge in order to justify your stance.​

​“We have no evidence that the Illuminati ever existed. Therefore, they must have been so clever they destroyed all the evidence.”

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​I call this...the ultimatum. Basically, when someone makes you believe there are only two options.

​Either you are with me or against me.

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You either love Mike Tyson or you hate him.

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​Using highly specific language to confuse the other side.

Basically...imagine using language that you would see in a tax form...but in argument.

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“His political party wants to spend your precious tax dollars on big government. But my political party is planning strategic federal investment in critical programs.”

Ad Hominem

Strawman

Appeal to Ignorance

False Dichotomy

Equivocation​

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Write these down!

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1. Red Herring

2. Appeal to Authority

3. Slippery Slope

4. Bandwagon

Using an unqualified/biased "expert" or authority figure's personal opinion as evidence to support a claim.

Ex. As Mr. Bolding once said, we are taxed too much and need reform.

Appeal to Authority

Giving a clue or piece of information that is meant to be misleading or confuse the opposition.
Ex. The topic of a debate is pollution. A speaker instead pivots and focuses on the high cost of new regulations.

Red Herring

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ih1EuMLspY

Stating that relatively minor event will lead to a chain of related events.

I don't agree that we should have school uniforms. All it takes is one student to not wear the required clothing. Administration will punish them. The students will riot. The school will shut down. The students will end up on the street! IS THAT WHAT YOU WANT?! *Smashes table.

The choice fallacy of the populist.

When appealing to the bandwagon, the arguer uses popular opinion to justify their conclusion without credible evidence.

Ex. We're gonna take Greenland. All the people want it! It'll be the greatest invasion ever. The best.

Your school has decided to entertain the idea of making school uniforms mandatory. You are scheduled to give the opening remarks for a debate (against uniforms). Through muckraking and research, you find the following background about your opponent:

1. Their family is allegedly involved in a money-laundering scandal

2. They stand to financially benefit from a contract with a uniform supplier

3. They attended a private school with uniforms and frequently claim it was “the best school in the country”

4. They have no formal training in education, child psychology, or pedagogy

5. They have publicly stated that students today are “less disciplined” than students in the past

WITH A PARTNER, write your opening remarks using fallacies covered above. We will look at 3-4 of your speeches and analyze them for the fallacies.

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At home, find...

A short video of a speech, public address or debate. During class on Friday, be prepared to state briefly what the topic of the video was, the main points of the speaker, and what fallacies they used.

The next topic in class -- Rhetoric, The Art of Persuasion.

Malicious Pathos

Using pathos specifically and solely to manipulate the opponent. Good use of pathos uses emotion to support a logical argument. The appeal to emotion fallacy uses emotion to replace logical argument.
Examples: I know I was speeding, but I've been having a terrible day.
If you don't vote for me, this country is going to chaos.

An argument based on the fact that something is "natural" or "unnatural."

It's new!

An argument with reasoning based on something being beneficial or good solely because it is a new idea.

Appeal to ignorance False Dichotomy
Appeal to nature Equivocation
Appeal to novelty Red Herring
Appeal to emotion Slippery Slope
Ad Hominem Bandwagon
Strawman