Question.605 - Your text talks about 8 types of common fallacies to avoid. (there are actually many more than that). Click on this "Fallacies" link. For each claim made here, tell me what type of fallacy it is, and how you know it's that kind of fallacy (in other words, explain where the reasoning breaks down.) If you absolutely cannot figure out the name of the fallacy, you must still tell me what is wrong with the reasoning.
Answer Below:
"My roommate said her philosophy class was hard, and the one I'm in is hard, too. All philosophy classes are hard!" Hasty Generalization It is a case of hasty generalization, as this is a perceived notion by two individual and not by the entire population. Which is a logical fallacy. "President Obama raised taxes, and then the rate of violent crime went up in Chicago, where he’s from. Obama is responsible for the rise in crime." Ad Hominem This fallacy attacks the person rather than dealing with the crime. Here, the most important aspect is the crimes have gone up in Chicago, but it is illogical to blame it on Obama’s policy to increased taxes. "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." Slippery Slope logical fallacy In the above claim, an emphasis is given on animal experimentation which subsequently leads to different subsequent events. This type of reasoning fails to look at alternate cause of factors that leads to the mishaps. "We should abolish the death penalty. A lot of famous people, like Johnny Depp, have publicly stated their opposition to it." Inappropriate appeal to authority The claim is to abolish the death penalty, a credible source to oppose death penalty should be someone who has a required knowledge degree or education to defend this claim, like criminal psychology or law. Johnny Depp hardly adheres to these norms. "The border wall should not be built because58% of Americans don’t want it!" Bandwagon Fallacy The percentage does not exactly reveal opinion of the complete population. It also implies that 58% of the people on a survey indicated a belief or attitude on a survey. “If you are a woman, you have an obligation to vote for all female candidates.” Begging the question fallacy The claim does not provide any strong evidence on voting women, apart from gender role. "Andrea Dworkin has written several books arguing that pornography harms women. But Dworkin is just an ugly, bitter person." False cause fallacy Pornography harms women and Dworkin is an ugly, bitter person. Both are contrasting statements. At the same time, the second claim is weak to provide any support for the first statement. There is no justification for the cause. "I know the exam is graded based on performance, but you should give me an A. My cat has been sick, my car broke down, and I've had a cold, so it was really hard for me to study!" Straw man fallacy It shows the weaker side of the argument. The first claim refers to exam is graded based on performance. While, the second claim is a weaker claim which cannot support the first claim. The reasons does not support for higher grades in the exam. "Grading this exam on a curve would be the most fair thing to do. After all, classes go better when the students and the professor are getting along well." Red Herring Fallacy This fallacy talks about, the arguer goes off on a tangent, raising a side issue that distracts the audience from what's really at stake. Grading of the exam cannot be aligned about the relationship between professor and students. "Caldwell Hall is in bad shape. Either we tear it down and put up a new building, or we continue to risk students' safety.” False cause fallacy Since the claim has only two choices, the arguer then eliminates one of the choices and we are left with one option. "Giving money to charity is the right thing to do. So charities have a right to our money." Appeal to tradition Since, charity has been always considered a traditional thing. Charities have always been put on pedestal. However, it cannot be considered a true judgement. Maria drives a really nice car. She must be rich. False Cause Driving a nice car does not qualifies for a reason that she must be rich. It may be her friend’s car she is driving, while she may be broke.More Articles From Public Speaking
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