Types+of+Fallacies

Fallacies

1. Generalizations fallacies - Hasty Generalization & Unqualified Generalization 2. Appeal to Popularity 3. Appeal to pity 4. Appeal to Anonymous Authority 5. Appeal to Authority 6. Doubtful Cause 7. Slippery Slope 8. False Analogy 9. False Dilemma 10. Attacking the Person =**PIRATEPAD NOTES: http://piratepad.net/fallacies311**=
 * this is quite good! : http://www.nizkor.org/features/fallacies/**


 * Examples**


 * //Jessie Lim//**

Unqualified Generalisation e.g. My teacher never gives A's (This is a fallacy because there may be exceptions where the teacher does give A's and hence it is a form of steteotype due to some cases where the teacher did not give an A to the student.) Source: http://dsc.dixie.edu/owl/writing_revision/LogicalFallacies.htm

False Analogy e.g. Government is like business, so just as business must be sensitive primarily to the bottom line, so also must government. (This is a fallacy because despite showing similarities of the 2 objects, they may have entirely different properties and principles.) Source: http://onegoodmove.org/fallacy/falsean.htm

Doubtful cause e.g. I got full marks for the test by playing computer games before the test so playing computer games before a test helps me get full marks. (There is not sufficient evidence to conclude that playing computer games had any impact on results, hence this is a doubtful cause.)


 * //Lou Shan//**

Appeal to Popularity

E.g. I read the other day that most people really like the new gun control laws. I was sort of suspicious of them, but I guess if most people like them, then they must be okay.

(Appeal to popularity has the following form: 1. Most people like X (have favorable feelings towards X) 2. Therefore X is okay This is a fallacy because what the majority likes may not be correct. Many people may like the new gun control laws, but that does not make it acceptable. The person falls prey to this fallacy because he accepts the claim as true simply because others approve of it.) //http://www.nizkor.org/features/fallacies/appeal-to-popularity.html//

Attacking the person

E.g. You claim that Mr. Jones is innocent, but why should anyone listen to you? You are a Mormon after all.

(This is attacking the person as 1. being a mormon has nothing to do with whether Mr. Jones is innocent or not. 2. You are insulting the person on a matter unrelated to the one discussed.) //http://www.goodart.org/attack.htm//

False Analogy

E.g. Both Alice and Betty are girls. Because she likes trucks, Betty likes trucks as well.

(This analogy fails because although Alice and Betty shares 1 similarity—they are both girls—that does not mean that they are similar in all other ways—liking trucks.) //**Emeline**//

Slippery Slope E.g. "We have to stop the tuition increase! The next thing you know, they'll be charging $40,000 a semester!" (This sort of "reasoning" is fallacious because there is no reason to believe that the second event must inevitably follow from the first event. This is especially clear in cases in which there is a significant number of steps or gradations between one event and another.) //[]//

Appeal to Pity E.g. "My son was murdered when he was still so very young - he never really had a chance to live and enjoy life. There are so many things he will now miss out on which he should have had a chance to experience. Well, I think that his killer should be executed. If you don't agree, then you don't really sympathize with my position." (However much these relatives are suffering, our pity for their plight in no way serves as a rational basis to believe their claim that the murderer should be executed. No matter how serious their grief, that does not make it more likely that it is moral to use capital punishment.) //[]//

False Dilemma E.g. "America: love it or leave it." (This offers only two options, but there are plenty of others. Staying but not loving it, and leaving but still loving it, are only two of the many possibilities. Notice the difference between this false dilemma and the similar claim, "America: if you don't love it, you ought to leave it." //[]//

//Man Lin// //Hasty generalisation// //E.g.// "The five subjects in our experiment responded well to our intervention. We can therefore recommend the procedure to everyone." (Too small a sample size to draw an accurate conclusion) []

Appeal to pity E.g. "I did not murder my mother and father with an axe! Please don't find me guilty; I'm suffering enough through being an orphan.” (No link between being an orphan and why she shouldnt be charged guilty, but it's trying to appeal to one's tender emotions) []

False analogy E.g. The book //Investing for Dummies// really helped me understand my finances better. The book//Chess for Dummies// was written by the same author, was published by the same press, and costs about the same amount. So, this chess book would probably help me understand my finances. (irrelevant analogy) <span style="color: #23262a; display: block; font-family: Georgia,'Times New Roman',Times,serif;">[]

<span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Cheryl <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Hasty Generalization <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">e.g. Smith, who is from England, decides to attend graduate school at Ohio State University. He has never been to the US before. The day after he arrives, he is walking back from an orientation session and sees two white (albino) squirrels chasing each other around a tree. In his next letter home, he tells his family that American squirrels are white. <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This is a fallacy because Smith draws a conclusion about a population based on a sample that is not large enough.

<span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">http://www.nizkor.org/features/fallacies/hasty-generalization.html

False Dilemma e.g. Either medicine can explain how Ms. X was cured, or it is a miracle. Medicine can't explain how she was cured. Therefore it is a miracle. This is a fallacy because we are forcing ourselves to be convinced that we have to choose between two and only two mutually exclusive options, when that is untrue.

http://grammar.about.com/od/fh/g/falsedilterm.htm

<span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Appeal to Popularity <span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">e.g. Jill and Jane have some concerns that the rules their sorority has set are racist in character. Since Jill is a decent person, she brings her concerns up in the next meeting. The president of the sorority assures her that there is nothing wrong with the rules, since the majority of the sisters like them. Jane accepts this ruling but Jill decides to leave the sorority.

<span style="display: block; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">This is a fallacy because the claim is accepted as being true simply because most people are favorably inclined towards the claim.

[]


 * Jia Le**

__Appeal to Popularity__ Since everyone chose this answer, it must be correct.

__Slippery Slope__ You should never gamble. Once you start gambling you find it hard to stop. Soon you are spending all your money on gambling, and eventually you will turn to crime to support your earnings. Source: []

__Appeal to Authority__ In a survey, 80% of doctors agreed that this drug can be very effective. Therefore, you should buy this product! Adapted from: []

**//Eleanor Koh//**

Attacking the Person e.g. Bill claims that Jane would be a good treasurer. However Bill is always lying, so i'm not going to vote for Jill (This is a fallacy because even when someone is seen to be a pathological liar, saying that he is always unreliable is a weak attack as they may speak the truth on some occasions.)

Appeal to Popularity e.g. I heard the other day that the government is cutting capital punishment. I think it was a bit too much, but I guess if most people seem to agree, then it must be okay. (This is a fallacy because simply saying that most people agree is not a strong argument because there is no substantiate claim or evidence.)

Doubtful cause e.g. I got a water gun from under a tree therefore trees will always provide me with water guns. (There is not sufficient evidence to conclude that playing tress has any relationship on water guns, hence this is a doubtful cause.)


 * // Michelle Ng //**

Appeal to Popularity E.g. Everyone is queuing up to buy from that store. The things they sell must be good. (This is a fallacy because this is an assertion that the things the store sells is good just because there are many people buying from it.)

Hasty Generalizations E.g. Yesterday, i saw three Singaporeans snatching to enter the train. No patience at all! All Singaporeans are like that one! (This is a fallacy as 'i' only saw three Singaporeans, yet concluded that ALL Singaporeans behave the same as the three.)

Appeal to Pity E.g. Please don't send me to jail! My family have not eaten for days, don't let them suffer anymore. (This is a fallacy because the pitiful state of this person has no direct relevance or bearing on the issue under discussion.)

**//Aletheia Chia//** Unqualified Generalisation e.g. My dog is brown. Therefore, all dogs are brown. (This is a fallacy because even though a dog is brown, it doesn't mean that all dogs have to be brown as well. It is making an assumption.)

False Analogy e.g. "<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 17px;">Animal experimentation reduces our respect for life. If we don't respect life, we are likely to be more and more tolerant of violent acts like war and murder. Soon our society will become a battlefield in which everyone constantly fears for their lives. It will be the end of civilization. To prevent this terrible consequence, we should make animal experimentation illegal right now." <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 17px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">source: http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/fallacies.html (This is a fallacy because t<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 17px;">he arguer asserts that if we take even one step onto the "slippery slope," we will end up sliding all the way to the bottom; he or she assumes we can't stop halfway down the hill.)

Appeal to pity e.g. I know entrance is based on merit, but I was really sick this year, so take pity on me and let me in. (The information is not logically relevant, so you're <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; line-height: 17px;">simply trying to get your audience to agree with you by making them feel sorry for someone .)

//**Esther Leong**//

Appeal to Pity <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">I'm positive that my work will meet your requirements. I really need the job since my grandmother is sick. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">(This is a fallacy because the fact that his grandmother is sick does not mean his works meet the requirement.) <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Source: http://www.nizkor.org/features/fallacies/appeal-to-pity.html

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Hasty Generalizations

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Two weeks ago a bank was robbed and the suspect is a black man. Yesterday a black teenager snatched an old lady's purse while she was waiting at the corner bus stop. Clearly, blacks are nothing but a pack of criminals.

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">(This is a fallacy because two blacks being robbers do not make all blacks criminals.)

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Source: http://www.lich-mc.com/vietnam/hasty_generation.htm

Slippery Slope

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">You should never gamble. Once you start gambling you find it hard to stop. Soon you are spending all your money on gambling, and eventually you will turn to crime to support your earnings.

(This is a fallacy because there is no reason to believe that one cause will lead to another.)

Source: http://onegoodmove.org/fallacy/ss.htm