Fallacies

Fallacy examples by Jessica Hausmann

Fallacies – Stuff that makes bad arguments

Look out for these things in the sources you use and avoid them in your own arguments.

Pathos fallacies

Appeal to symbols – The mom and apple pie argument. When people try to convince their listeners by connecting their argument with revered symbols weighted with emotional appeal and little else. For example: “I stand here before you, under the flag of this great nation, and assure you that I am the leader who will protect our prosperity for the future.” – This says very little of substance, but does link the speaker to the flag, and also to the idea of “future.” It’s tough to be opposed to the flag or the future.

Appeal to labels – Similar to appeal to symbols, this is the use of weighted terms to obscure the issues that are being discussed. For example: “That’s un-American. That’s what they did in the Soviet Union.” OR “That’s communism.” This is big on the show Politically Incorrect. Any kind of call for government regulation or intervention can be labeled “communism” and thus dismissed. Another one: “My opponents policies are clearly anti-family.”

Appeal to what’s comfortable – Saying something is good because it’s what people are used to, or what seems normal, or saying it’s bad because it isn’t what people are used to. For example:“ Homosexuality is wrong because it is not normal. It’s unnatural. ”OR “Prayer should be allowed in schools because religion has always been an important part of this country and an important part of the lives of Americans.” 

Appeal to popularity – You should do this or think this because most people do. For example: “The death penalty is right because a majority of people are in favor of it.” OR “This is the top selling brand of laundry detergent, so you should buy it.”

Ethos Fallacies 

False appeal to authority – Appealing to a popular figure and presenting them as an authority figure when they are not. For example: celebrities endorsing political candidates, like Michael Jordan’s ad in favor of Bill Bradley. OR “I’m not a doctor, but I play one on TV….”

Associating yourself with a popular figure or authority – Exploiting a relationship that you have with someone as a means of showing your worth. For example, George Bush talking about his dad’s war experience. OR That elephant from the Snickers commercial: “My dad was president. My mom says I look like my dad….”

Ad Hominem attack – Attacking the person rather than the argument. For example, in the very good film The Contender (now playing at a theater near you – and yeah it’s about politics – oh no!) Joan Allen plays a woman who is appointed by the president to be vice president after the elected vice president dies. The people who oppose her confirmation try to discredit her by revealing that she supposedly had group sex in college.(Note: sometimes an ad hominem argument is not a fallacy. For example, in court, if a witness is a hired witness, or if they are a pathological liar, the lawyer would want to point that out.You need to assess if it’s legitimate.)

Logos Fallacies

Begging the question – an argument that uses its original premise as proof that it’s true. For example: “My opponent cannot be trusted because she has proven himself to be untrustworthy.” That may be true, but there is no information given in the assertion – when or how was she untrustworthy? OR “Abortion is murder because it is intentionally killing another person.” Intentionally killing another person is the definition of murder – that’s like saying “Abortion is murder because it is murder.” That’s not debate or argumentation.

False either/or – Always assuming that there are two and only two sides to controversy. “Either we ban guns and keep our children safe, or we allow people free access to guns and we will always be in danger.”This doesn’t acknowledge possibilities like increased regulation, child safety locks, etc. You can still think guns need to be banned, but you need to explain why those other things aren’t enough and at least acknowledge that there are more than two alternatives.

Slippery slope – This is when you argue that once we start going in a certain direction, we will have to keep going that way. For example: “If we allow the government to take away our automatic assault rifles, than they will take away all of our guns and we won’t be able to hunt or shoot recreationally.” Again, this can sometimes be a legitimate argument in legal cases because of legal precedents, but mostly it is overused and abused.

Hasty generalizations – Basically leaping to a conclusion based on too little evidence. For example, because the case a couple years ago where a little boy kissed a little girl in kindergarten and was suspended, a number of people concluded that children were being oppressed in schools and were unable to express themselves because of overbearing sexual discrimination laws. While too strict rules could be a problem, it is a fallacy to jump to that conclusion based on this one case without extensive research.

Mistaking correlation for causation – Basically assuming that because two things are both true, one caused the other. For example: A study might show that people who exercise more also do better in school or at work. We could not say for sure, though, that exercise necessarily causes people to do well in school or at work. It may be that people who work hard at work also work hard to keep in shape. Or it could be that people who are very organized do well in work and also manage their time well so they can find time to exercise.

Mistaking the part for the whole – When you make decisions about something by focusing on a part of it that we don’t like. For example: “Welfare should be discontinued because some people cheat the system. ”This focuses attention on the few people who cheat and makes it almost seem like they are the norm.