Lesson 8: Fallacies

• LOGIC

• Branch of philosophy that focuses on the analysis of arguments

• Studies and elaborates on good argumentation.

• Study of correct thinking and reasoning

• FALLACY

• Group of statements that appear to be arguments, but fail to support the conclusion.

Argumentum ad Hominem (“Attacking the Person”)

• This fallacy literally means hitting the person below the belt instead of focusing on the issue at hand. Attacking the person presenting the argument instead of the argument itself.

Hominem

• Latin word “homo” which means man

Argumentum ad Hominem (“Attacking the Person”)

• EXAMPLES:

  • “How can we believe him when he talks about social distancing, he is a lawyer who is a liar.”

  • “Of course, he believes that the government is flawed, he is a rebel and a Communist!”

Argumentum ad Baculum (Appeal to Force)

• Using the threat of force or an undesirable event to advance an argument.

Baculum

• Latin word which means scepter or stick.

Argumentum ad Baculum (Appeal to Force)

• EXAMPLES:

  • “TV Patrol is the best news program on TV. If you don’t believe me, I won’t let you watch the TV.”

  • “If this peace agreement will not be signed by the government, then we will have no recourse but to go to war.”

Argumentum ad misericordiam (Appeal to Pity)

• A person uses emotion such as pity to convince someone using emotions such as pity or sympathy.

Misericordia

• Latin word Misericordia which means pity or compassion.

Argumentum ad misericordiam (Appeal to Pity)

• EXAMPLES:

  • “Forgive me, officer, there are a lot of boarders in this apartment including myself. Only the owner was issued a quarantine pass. We don’t have food we can’t give our ATM to the owner.

    That’s why I went out. So I did not violate the Bayanihan act Heal as One.

  • “All these charges are baseless; this is just plain harassment- can’t you see how this affects my family?”

Argumentum ad Populum (“Appeal to people”/ Bandwagon fallacy)

• Most TV commercials are guilty of this argument which exploits people’s vanity, desires, etc. The idea is presented as acceptable because a lot of people accept it.

Populum

• Latin word for people.

Argumentum ad Populum (“Appeal to people”/ Bandwagon fallacy)

• EXAMPLES:

  • “I’m sure you want to have an iPhone. Almost 80% of your schoolmates are using it.”

  • “Every boy at your age already has a girlfriend, you should go find one!”

Argumentum ad Tradition/ Antiquitatem (Appeal to Tradition)

• Advancing an idea since it has been practiced for a long time.

• The idea is acceptable because it has been true for a long time. “This is the way it has always been done”.

Traditio

• means tradition.

Argumentum ad Tradition/ Antiquitatem (Appeal to Tradition)

• EXAMPLES:

  • “All of us in the family, from our ancestors up to now, are devout Catholics, so it is only right that you will be baptized as a Catholic.“

  • “Marriage should be between a man and a woman. It has been so for a long time in this country; it should remain so today and in the future.”

Argumentum ad Ignorantiam (Appeal to Ignorance)

• Whatever has been proven false must be true and vice versa.

• Committed when a person could not give a counterargument or if he/she could not present any evidence or witnesses to prove or disprove the statement of another, his/ her assertions are correct and the opponent is wrong.

Ignorantiam

• Latin word for ignorance.

Argumentum ad Ignorantiam (Appeal to Ignorance)

• EXAMPLES:

  • “According to Zecharia Sitchin, the author of the book Cosmic Code, Adam was the first test tube baby. Since nobody proves otherwise, therefore it is true.”

  • “I am sure that the students have understood the instructions perfectly well because no one raised a hand to ask anything of them.”

Petitio Principii (Begging the Question)

• A fallacy in which a conclusion is taken for granted in the premise.

• Assuming the thing or idea to be proven is true. Also known as “circular argument”

Petitio Principii (Begging the Question)

• EXAMPLES:

  • “I have the right to free speech, therefore you cannot stop me from talking.”

  • “What is a declarative sentence? It is a sentence that declares.”

  • “Cheating is wrong because it is immoral”

Hasty Generalization

• This fallacy is committed when one reaches a generalization based on insufficient evidence.

Hasty Generalization

• EXAMPLES:

  • “Our neighbor who is a police officer was convicted of being a drug dealer, therefore, all police officers are drug dealers. “

Cause-and-effect

• Assuming that the effect is related to a cause because both events occur one after the other.

• Assuming a “cause-and-effect relationship between unrelated events.

Cause-and-effect

• EXAMPLES:

  • “Ever since you bought that sweater, everything has been going wrong in your life. You should get rid of it.”

  • “Jen comes to class just as the bell rings every day. Jen’s arrival at class causes the bell to ring.”

  • “She became an old maid because she used to sing while cooking.”

Fallacy of Composition

• Infers that something is true of a part, is true of a whole.

• Assuming that what is true of a part is true for the whole.

• Individual to all

Fallacy of Composition

• EXAMPLES:

  • “You are a doctor, therefore you came from a family of doctors.”

  • “These cases of robbery in this district have convinced me that the city has become a den of thieves and criminals”

Fallacy of Division

• Infers that something is true of the whole, must also be true on its parts.

• Assuming that what is true for the whole is true for its parts.

• All to individual

Fallacy of Division

• EXAMPLES:

  • “Your family is smart, therefore you are smart.”

  • “You come from a family of doctors and intellectuals! Surely you can do better in this course!”

Fallacy of Equivocation

• Using the same term in a different situation with a different meaning.

• Calling two different things by the same name.

• Resulting from the use of a particular word/ expression in multiple senses throughout an agreement leading to a false conclusion.

Fallacy of Equivocation

• EXAMPLES:

  • “Humans walk by their legs. The table has legs. Therefore the table walks by its legs.”

  • “A ruler measures 12 inches, Mayor Isko Moreno is a ruler; therefore, Mayor Isko is 12 inches.”

Fallacy of Accident

• Occurs when one attempts to apply a general rule to an irrelevant situation.

Fallacy of Accident

• EXAMPLES:

  • Cutting people with knives is a crime.

    Surgeons cut people with knives.

    Surgeons are criminals.

Argumentum ad Verecundiam (Argument from Authority)

• Committed when a person uses a name of a popular celebrity or name of an expert to put more weight in the assertion being made.

Argumentum ad Verecundiam (Argument from Authority)

• EXAMPLES:

  • “My assignment in Philosophy is not wrong. Ms. Aguirre, my English Academic teacher who is known internationally as a novelist, confirmed my answer.”

False Dichotomy

• Seen in the dilemma of the two main political families in the Philippines: the Aquinos and the Marcoses.

• This is not to differentiate the two but to present the third most often used fallacy: the false dichotomy.

• When you’re asked to take sides on only two objects but you really have other options to choose from.

• Doesn’t accept the concept of neutrality, but rather adopts the concept of binary.

False Dichotomy

• EXAMPLES:

  • The dichotomy of Marcos vs Aquino’s family

Red Herring

• When a person talks about oranges, rebuts it, however in the form of supporting the bananas.

• Diverting the topic and making an argument for it

Red Herring

• EXAMPLES:

  • “#NeverAgain!” “Eh kumusta naman ang Hacienda Luisita?”