Fallacies

Formal Fallacies

Any fallacy in an deductive argument —>

“If a hack is gifted, then he can log into any computer network

Julian, a hacker, can log into any computer network

Therefor, Julian is gifted”

Confuses it, commits a converse error

Informal Fallacy

Fallacies found in inductive arguments, broadly about errors in argumentation

“Everyone knows know the d*ck cruncher 9000

I am the inventor of the d*ck cruncher 9000

Everyone knows me”

What is Argument Ad Ignoratium?

An appeal to ignorance —> Argues something is true because there’s no counter evidence

“He is guilty, because there is no evidence he is innocent!”

Argument Ad Verecundiam

Appeal to inappropriate authority

“Yea Ferrari’s are great, Brad down the street drives one”

Complex Questions

Two questions rolled into one

“Are you still in a relationship with him?”

“No”

“So you were IN THE PAST”

Argument Ad Hominem

Attacks against a person

Accidents

Jumps quickly from a generalization

“Killing is a crime. Therefore soldiers are no different from criminals”

Converse accident

Jumps quickly to a generalization

“My neighbour and I both went to school, and cannot speak Filipino. Therefore ALL PRIVATE SCHOOL KIDS cannot speak Filipino”

False Cause

Creates a causal connection when there is none to be had

“I won PSDC because I listened to Awit ng Kabataan the ride there”

Petitio Principii

Begging the Question — uses circular reasoning (Your conclusion has to basically restate the premise)

“Murder is a very serious crime. Therefore capital punishment is also a very serious crime”

“Everyone loves me, because I am so popular”

Argument ad Populum

Types?

• 1) Appeal to emotion — uses evocative language

• 2) Snob appeal: Appeals to the position of a few select elite —> You should buy an Iphone, nobody else can get it eh

• 3) Bandwagon: Appeals to the position of the majority —> Everyone should use FB! Everyone loves Facebook

Argument Ad Misericordiam

Miseri

Uses the feeling of guilt or pity to support an argument

“You cannot fire me! My wife and three children will starve”

Argument Ad Baculum

Uses force

“Sir, don’t give me a D, I’ll kill you”

Ignoratio Elenchi

irrelevant conclusions

“I love Ria. Therefore, I must kill you”

Equivocation

Basically when you use the same word or phrase in different meanings of it

"The priest told me to have faith, and I have faith in my son's success; therefore, the priest should be happy with me." (Religious belief vs. confidence in someone). 

Composition

Argues the whole has an attribute, because the part has that attribute

“Yeah, he’s pretty good, so the entire debate team must be that good”

Division

The part has an attribute the whole has

“That team is good at rebuttal. He is part of the team, thus he must be good at rebuttal”

Red Herring

You change the topic to divert attention from the issue

“He killed people!

Yeah but he made graduation!”

Strawman

You misrepresent, and oversimplify an issue

“You people against constructing high-rise buildings are just against progress”

You pro-LGBTQ are just anti conservative!"

Weak or False analogy

Makes a comparison between two things that isn’t strong enough to support the argument

Ex.

“She and I are both debaters. She is wildly successful, therefore I must also be wildly successful”

Falso Dichotomy

When you force an either-or scenario

“You love Aquino? Ah you must hate Marcos then brother”