7 th period

1. 7th period Logical Fallacies

2. Ad HominemFallacy Definition: 3Examples: Ad Hominem Fallacy: short for argumentum ad hominem, is a fallacious argumentative strategy whereby genuine discussion of the topic at hand is avoided by instead attacking the character, motive, or other attribute of the person making the argument, or persons associated with the argument, rather than attacking the substance of the argumentitself. Trump Tweets:He critques people’s features or characater while shying away fromusingfactsorevidencetobattletheiropinion. ● Movie: “A Time to Kill”:In the trial scene with Mr. Bass, Kevin Spacey uses a past rape trial against a witness in a new case. He uses this as a way to disprove the witness, thus attacking his former character; however the rape victim was his later proved to be wife (She was 17 he was 23; the town called it rape, not the couple) ● Websites: https://medium.com/@chelseaninaursin/trump-tweets-as-examples-of-common-logical-fallacies -b01492932bdc https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O90-DO9P6q0 https://www.boredpanda.com/funny-wendy-tweets-jokes/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=o rganic&utm_campaign=organic Wendy’s Twitter:On twitter, Wendys attacks customers of other fast food chains andthechainthemselvesinsteadofarguingaboutqualityorservice. ● https://philosophy.stackexchange.com/questions/50581/why-do-they-say-i-am-committing-a-fal lacy-when-i-am-just-insulting-someone

3. Appeal to IgnoranceMichael Story • An appeal to ignorance fallacy occurs when a person mistakenly believes something to be true that is not, because he or she does not know enough about the subject, or has not been given enough evidence, to know otherwise. Examples • One major example of an appeal to ignorance is Adolf Hitler’s anti-Semitic speeches that endorsed Jewish stereotypes and blamed them for the struggles of the German people post WWI as many wanted to assign blame to a people they already disliked. • Another example is if one argues that god does not exist as they cannot prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that he does, such as in the movie Contact, this fallacy occurs. • A third example would be assuming that if a Democrat is elected to the presidency, then the rule of law will break down as anyone would be able to come into the U.S. through open borders bringing drugs and violence. Text Box

4. Attacking the Motive • Thomas Han argues that people should give money to ASB. But, Thomas is apart of ASB as well. Obviously, his argument is self-serving nonsense. • Donald Trump has argued that we need to build a new campus. But, Trump is the owner of Trump’s Construction Company. He’ll Make a fortune if his company is picked to build the new campus.Obviously, his argument is self-serving nonsense. Attacking the Motive occurs when one person argues that another person's position is invalid solely due to motives that could affect the claim. It is considered a fallacy of relevance in that it only takes into consideration the motive, not the claim. • Bob said there is no scientific evidence that smoking can cause cancer. But, Bob is a spokesperson for the tobacco corporations, so you shouldn’t believe that there is no such evidence just because he says there isn’t Kyra Minter 7th

5. Hasty Generalization A fallacy in which a conclusion is not logically justified by sufficient or unbiased evidence Rachel lapointe 7 Four out of five dentists recommend Happy Glossy Smiley toothpaste brand. Therefore, it must be great. Some teenagers in our community recently vandalized the park downtown. Teenagers are so irresponsible and destructive. "As I drove to school this morning, not one car which was turning had its turn signal on. Thus, I conclude that drivers in Alabama are not trained to drive very well."

6. Appeal to pity Definition: a fallacy in which someone tries to win support for an argument or idea by exploiting his or her opponent’s feelings of pity or guilt Examples: 1) Animal commercials showing sad puppies and kittens before asking for a donation. 2) Giving a long explanation on how you couldn’t finish an assignment due to your tiredness from staying up late the night before. 3) When someone says a “Yo Mamma” joke and it hits close to home so you say, “Actually, my mother passed away.”, even if she didn’t. Dawson McLean

7. The straw man fallacy Definition: A fallacy that occurs when a person distorts, exaggerates, or misrepresents someone else’s argument for one that is easier to refute or ridicule. Examples: • During a 2016 Presidential Debate, Donald Trump claimed Hilary Clinton wanted to abolish the Second Amendment when her position was on gun control. • Feminists advocating for more women’s rights being attacked for hating men. • The novel To Kill A Mockingbird by Harper Lee being removed from required school reading lists due to its usage of racial slurs and therefore overall racist position, despite the antiracist argument of the novel. Marylise Bridges 7th period

8. Bandwagon Definition: Bandwagonargues that one must accept or reject an argument because of everyone else who accepts it or rejects it and is similar to peer pressure. Examples: Sports- Many sports fans will just go for whichever team is winning in a game or who ever everyone around them goes for. Technology- Every time a new phone or computer comes out everyone wants to have it because they see everyone else with it. Crucible- During the trial, Abigail claims to see women with the devil and the other girls hop on the bandwagon and agree with her. Cassidy Cooper

9. Equivocation The use a key term or phrase in an argument in an ambiguous way, with one meaning in one portion of the argument and then another meaning in another portion of the argument, making the argument misleading. Ex. 1) https://youtu.be/DHs2zckkVOE - In this example there is a misconstrued meaning of the word “bags,” one man is referring to the two women in the video, while the other is referring to literal, physical bags. This difference in the meanings of these words causes some confusion. Ex. 2) Feathers are light. What is light cannot be dark. Therefore, feathers are not dark. “light” refers to weight in the first sentence, but to color in the second. Ex. 3) Dictators support attacks on journalists. Therefore if you attack one journalists opinion, you are pro-dictator. The use of the term "attack" can be assumed that the arguer is referring to physical attacks on journalists of the dictators. In the second use of the word "attack" the arguer is specifically referring to "attacks on opinion.” The two forms of attack are very different and can be misleading Ex. 4)Noisy children are a real headache. Two aspirin will make a headache go away. Therefore, two aspirin will make noisy children go away. This example refers to a “headache” as pain in the skull, and a feeling over being overwhelmed and annoyed. Therefore, it may confuse the reader into thinking both versions of a “headache” can be cured the same way. Austin Fannin

10. Two wrong Make a Right When a person attempts to justify an action against another person because the other person did take or would take the same action against him or her. Donald Trump Defends his misogynistic comments on women by pointing out Bill Clinton’s affair against Hillary Clinton Person 1 did X to person 2. Therefore, person 2 is justified to do X to person 1. Person 1 believes that person 2 would do X to person 1. Therefore, person 1 is justified to do X to person 2. Example #1: Jimmy stole Tommy’s lunch in the past. Therefore, it is acceptable for Tommy to steal Jimmy’s lunch today. Example #2: It looks like the waiter forgot to charge us for the expensive bottle of champagne.  Let’s just leave -- after all, if he overcharged us, I doubt he would chase us down to give us our money back that we overpaid. George murders Lenny because of the trouble Lenny has gotten into by killing small animals and hurting the farmers wife America creates a bomb that is clearly overly powerful and destroys 2 cities in japan killing thousands which also leads to multiple innovations that threaten the world of nuclear annihilation because Japan attacked pearl harbor

11. Slippery Slope A fallacy in which a course of action is objected to on the grounds that once taken it will lead to additional actions until some undesirable consequence results Examples: 1.) Smoking cigarettes 2.) Abortion 3.) the book, “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie” Hyunseo Cho

12. Faulty Causal Generalization (Post hoc ergo propter hoc - after this, therefore resulting from it) • This is when it is assumed that because one thing occurred after another, it must have occurred as a result of it. EXAMPLES • Most people who have read the last rites end up dying shortly afterward. THEREFORE, priests are going around killing people with magic words. (Roman Catholic: last prayers and ministrations given to individuals before death- ill, injured, execution, etc.) • Another example with prayers could be concluding that because someone prayed for something, and it happened the way they wanted it, that the event must have happened because they prayed for it (although it could have been coincidental). • A last example could be any sportsman who commits to pre-match rituals that they believe to bring good luck since it gave them a good result the previous time they did it. The first time gave them success, so logically the next time they do it, it should bring success again. Christopher Fechter

13. Weak Analogy • An analogy too dissimilar to be effective in an argument. - Ex 1: Believing in the literal resurrection of Jesus is like believing in the literal existence of zombies. - Ex 2: A dog acts the same way as a cat because they are both mammals. - Ex 3: A pound of pennies is worth the same as a pound of wire because they are both made of copper. Michael Fechter

14. Red herring A red herring fallacy is the introduction of an irrelevant topic that is supposed distract the audience from the actual issue. • President Trump avoids a question regarding pollution: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyulquUwi1Q&t=1s • During a rape trial in Ireland, the defendant insisted that the jury should “look at the way she was dressed” deflecting the blame from his actions by claiming the victim was “open to meeting someone” due to her attire that evening. • In the film The Sixth Sense, Malcom Crowe’s patient Cole Sear and his ability to see ghosts acted as a red herring to Crowe’s actual problem, which caused the people around him to ignore his existence after an accident with a previous patient. Zoe Moreland

15. BEGGING THE QUESTION Begging the question is a logical fallacy in which the writer or speaker assumes the statement under examination to be true. The validity of the argument all depends on whether or not their claim is actually true or not. I am confident that God exists because it says so in the Bible. And the Bible contains God's word. In this example, the argument does not actually prove the claim, and their evidence is based on the assumption that God does exist. The Apple iPhone is the best smartphone on the planet because no one makes a better smartphone than Apple does. This example does not actually provide any real, concrete evidence to support the claim, and instead restates it to disguise it as evidence. The death penalty is wrong because killing people is immoral. The example above, like before, does not provide any additional information or evidence, leaving it vague and only supported by the claim itself. Maggie Allwein

16. False Alternative (either or) Fallacy False alternative fallacy - An either-or fallacy is a type of fallacy in which a person makes a statement that presents only two possible options, when there are actually more than those two. In other words, it is when only two choices are presented yet more exist. This type of fallacy is often made by someone attempting to persuade someone else into believing that the answer is black or white with no gray area in between. Examples: You are either for or against abortion. Abortion laws and their enforcement have fluctuated through various eras. The sides of the issue are often presented only as for or against when in fact a person could be against abortion as a form of birth control, but support abortion in medical cases in which the mother’s life is at stake. People are either good or evil. Bad people can do good things and good people can be driven to do bad things. For example, in the book The Things They Carried, Rat Kiley, a medic who normally patched up his fellow soldiers, was so distraught over the loss of his best friend, Curt Lemon, he repeatedly shot and tortured a Viet Cong water buffalo. If you don’t go to college you will not make money. There are many career options that allow a person to make good money without requiring a college degree, and having a college degree does not guarantee financial success. College degrees can also come with loads of debt that can affect your financial security for years. Rebecca Hill

17. Appeal to Force (Scare-Tactics) • Definition: When force, coercion, or even a threat of force is used in place of a reason in an attempt to justify a conclusion. It is not relevant to the argument itself. • General Idea: If you don’t accept X as true, I will hurt you. • Example #1: Melvin: Boss, why do I have to work weekends when nobody else in the company does?Boss: Am I sensing insubordination?  I can find another employee very quickly, thanks to Craigslist, you know. • Example #2: Jordan: Dad, why do I have to spend my summer at Jesus camp?Dad: Because if you don’t, you will spend your entire summer in your room with nothing but your Bible! • Example #3: If Peter does not deny knowing Jesus than he will be arrested by the Romans and because he doesn’t want to be arrested he denies knowing Jesus. • Exception:  If the force, coercion, or threat of force is not being used as a reason but as a fact or consequence, then it would not be fallacious, especially when a legitimate reason is given with the “threat”, direct or implied. -Melvin: Boss, why do I have to wear this goofy-looking hardhat?Boss: It is state law; therefore, company policy.  No hat, no job. Sam Budge 7

18. Logical Fallacy: Inconsistency Definition: An argument that includes a contradiction; two claims that are inconsistent with each other Example 1: "Nobody goes there anymore. It's too crowded." - Yogi Berra (Famous Baseball Player) Example 2:“I shall not comment on such distasteful programs.” - Mr. Tung (Hong Kong Chief Executive) Example 3: "I feel so miserable without you, it's almost like having you here." - Stephen Bishop (Singer and Actor) https://www.csus.edu/indiv/d/dowdenb/misc/inconsistency.htm Alejandro Pickart

19. Loaded Question Definition: Also called a Complex Fallacy, a Loaded Question is a trick question which presupposes some unverified piece of information. Examples: • “Do you actually support that lazy president of ours?” • “Do you think that we should convict this criminal?” • “When did you stop stealing from your partner?” Jacob Helgeson

20. Inappropriate Appeal to Authority Definition: occurs when an arguer uses a person of authority as evidence for a claim to be true Examples: Advertising • A commercial claims that a specific brand of cereal is the best way to start the day, because Michael Jordan said that is what he eats for breakfast. • The vitamin brand, SugarBearHair, using Kylie Jenner to spread the news about how amazing their product is. • “More Doctors Smoke Camels than any other cigarette!” Emily Stiles

21. CARD Stacking Card Stacking is a technique, most commonly used in propaganda, that manipulates an audience’s impression of an issue by emphasizing one side or suppressing the contradictory. Braden Kramer 5th period