APELAC Fallacies and Vocab

ad hominem

diversionary tactic of switching the argument from the issue at hand to the character of the other speaker

ad populum (bandwagon appeal)

occurs when evidence boils down to "everybody's doing it, so it must be a good thing to do"

appeal to false authority

This fallacy occurs when someone who has no expertise to speak on an issue is cited as an authority.

begging the question

A fallacy in which a claim is based on evidence or support that is in doubt.

circular reasoning

a fallacy in which the writer repeats the claim as a way to provide evidence

either/or (false dilemma)

A fallacy in which the speaker presents two extreme options as the only possible choices.

faulty analogy

a fallacy that occurs when an analogy compares two things that are not comparable

hasty generalization

A fallacy in which a faulty conclusion is reached because of inadequate evidence.

logical fallacy

potential vulnerabilities or weaknesses in an argument

post hoc ergo propter hoc

This fallacy is Latin for "after which therefore because of which," meaning that it is incorrect to always claim that something is a cause just because it happened earlier. Correlation does not imply causation.

straw man

A fallacy that occurs when a speaker chooses a deliberately poor or oversimplified example in order to ridicule and refute an idea.

Aristotelian Triangle/Rhetorical Triangle

A diagram that illustrates the interrelationship among the speaker, audience, and subject in determining a text.

Audience

The listener, viewer, or reader of a text. Most texts are likely to have multiple audiences.

Concession

An acknowledgment that an opposing argument may be true or reasonable. In a strong argument, a ___________ is usually accompanied by a refutation challenging the validity of the opposing argument.

Connotation

Meanings or associations that readers have with a word beyond its dictionary definition, or denotation.

Context

The circumstances, atmosphere, attitudes, and events surrounding a text.

Counterargument

An opposing argument to the one a writer is putting forward.

Ethos

Speaker's credibility or trustworthiness on any given topic.

Logos

An appeal based on logic or reason, offering clear, rational ideas and using specific details, examples, facts, stats, or expert testimony to back them up.

Occasion

The time and place a speech is given or a piece is written.

Pathos

An emotional appeal to motivate the audience. Plays on the audience's values, desires, hopes, fears, and prejudices.

Persona

Greek for "mask." The face or character that a speaker shows to his or her audience.

Polemic

Greek for "hostile." An aggressive argument that tries to establish the superiority of one opinion over all others---generally do not concede that opposing opinions have any merit.

Propaganda

The spreading of ideas to promote a cause or to damage an opposing cause.

Purpose

The goal the speaker wants to achieve.

Refutation

A denial of the validity of an opposing argument. In order to sound reasonable---often follow a concession that acknowledges that an opposing argument may be true or reasonable.

Rhetoric

The art of finding ways to persuade the audience.

Rhetoric Appeals

Rhetorical techniques used to persuade an audience by emphasizing what they find most important or compelling (Ethos, Pathos, Logos).

SOAPS

Subject, Occasion, Audience, Purpose, Speaker

Speaker

The person or group who creates a text, delivers a speech, draws a cartoon, or commissions an advertisement.

Subject

The topic of a text. What the text is about.

Text

While this term generally means the written word, in the humanities it has come to mean any cultural product that can be "read" - meaning not just consumed and comprehended, but investigated. This includes fiction, nonfiction, poetry, political cartoons, fine art, photography, performances, fashion, cultural trends, and much more.

Alliteration

The repetition of initial consonant sounds or syllables.

Allusion

Brief reference to a person, event, or place (real or fictitious) or to a work of art

Anaphora

The repetition of a word or phrase at the beginning of successive clauses or lines.

Antimetabole

Repetition of words in reverse order.

Antithesis

Opposition, or contrast, of ideas or words in a parallel construction.

Archaic Diction

Old-fashioned or outdated choice of words.

Asyndeton

Omission of conjunctions between coordinate phrases, clauses, or words.

Cumulative Sentence

Sentence that completes the main idea at the beginning of the sentence and then builds and adds on.

Hortative Sentence

Sentence that exhorts, urges, entreats, implores, or calls to action.

Imperative Sentence

Sentence used to command or enjoin.

Inversion

Inverted order of words in a sentence (variation of the subject-verb-object order).

Juxtaposition

Placement of two things closely together to emphasize comparisons or contrasts.

Metaphor

Figure of speech comparing two different things without using like or as.

Oxymoron

Paradoxical juxtaposition of words that seem to contradict one another.

Parallelism

Similarity of structure in a pair or series of related words, phrases, or clauses.

Periodic Sentence

Sentence whose main clause is withheld until the end.

Personification

Attribution of a lifelike quality to an inanimate object or an idea.

Rhetorical Question

Figure of speech in the form of a question posed for rhetorical effect rather than for the purpose of getting an answer.

Synedoche

Using one part of an object to represent the entire object (for example, power in the hands of the wrong people).

Zeugma

Use of two different words in a grammatically similar way that produces different, often incongruous, meanings.

Argument

A process of reasoned inquiry; a persuasive discourse resulting in a coherent and considered movement from a claim to a conclusion.

Assumption/Warrant

In the Toulmin model, the __________ expresses the assumption necessarily shared by the speaker and the audience.

Backing

In the Toulmin model, backing consists of further assurances or data without which the assumption lacks authority.

Claim

Also called an assertion or a proposition, a claim states the argument's main idea or position--differs from a topic or subject in that a claim has to be arguable.

Claim of Fact

Asserts that something is true or not true.

Claim of Policy

Proposes a change.

Claim of Value

Argues that something is good or bad, right or wrong.

The Classical Oration

Five-part argument structure used by classical rhetoricians.

Introduction

Introduces the reader to the subject under discussion

Narration

Provides factual information and background material on the subject at hand or establishes why the subject is a problem that needs addressing.

Confirmation

Usually the major part of the text, includes the proof needed to make the writer's case.

Conclusion

Brings the essay to a satisfying close.

Closed Thesis

A statement of the main idea of the argument that also previews the major points the writer intends to make.

Deduction

A logical process whereby one reaches a conclusion by starting with a general principle or universal truth (a major premise( and applying it to a specific case (a minor premise)---usually demonstrated in the form of a syllogism.

Fallacy

Potential vulnerabilities or weaknesses in an argument.

First-hand Evidence

Evidence based on something the writer knows, whether it's from personal experience, observations, or general knowledge of events.

Induction

From the Latin inducere, "to lead into"; a logical process whereby the writer reasons from particulars to universals, using specific cases in order to draw a conclusion, which is also called a generalization.

Open Thesis

A thesis that does not list all the points the writer intends to cover in an essay.

Qualifier

In the Toulmin model, the __________ uses words like usually, probably, maybe, in most cases, and most likely to temper the claim, making it less absolute.

Quantitative Evidence

Includes things that can be measured, cited, counted, or otherwise represented in numbers.

Reservation

In the Toulmin model, a _______ explains the terms and conditions necessitated by the qualifier.

Rogerian Argument

Developed by psychiatrist Carl Rogers, _________________ are based on the assumption that having a full understanding of an opposing position is essential to responding to it persuasively and refuting it in a way that is accommodating rather than alienating.

Second-hand Evidence

Evidence that is accessed through research, reading, and investigation. It includes factual and historical information, expert opinion, and quantitative data.

Syllogism

A logical structure that uses the major premise and minor premise to reach a necessary conclusion.

Toulmin Model

An approach to analyzing and constructing arguments:

Because (evidence as support), therefore (claim), since (warrant or assumption), on account of (backing), unless (reservation).

Synthesis

Considering various viewpoints in order to create a new and more informed viewpoint.

Bias

Prejudice in favor of or against one thing, person, or group compared with another, usually in a way considered to be unfair.