Logical Fallacies

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Logical Fallacies Logical fallacies are arguments based on flawed logic. While logical fallacies can sometimes persuade an audience, they risk long-term damage to your credibility. Examples of Logical Fallacies Ad hominem: the writer attacks the opponent’s character instead of the opponent’s argument. Don’t listen to Dr. Brown—she’s just a loudmouthed egomaniac with an axe to grind. Appeal to false authority: the writer supports the argument with testimony from an unqualified or irrelevant authority figure. According to this famous soccer player, we should negotiate with the Middle East. Bandwagon appeal: the writer attempts to persuade the audience by arguing that most other people accept the argument. Ninety percent of Americans agree with my tax plan. Why don’t you? False dichotomy: the writer argues that there are only two possible stances toward an issue. Either you stand with us, or you stand with the enemy. False equivalence: the writer treats two incomparable things as if they were of equal magnitude. Sure, I plagiarized my paper. But he forgot to cite a quotation! Why aren’t you failing him? Hasty generalization: the writer makes an assumption about a group based on a few examples. I avoid classes taught by young professors. Every young professor I’ve had has been horrible. Slippery slope: the writer argues that one thing will lead to another, which will lead to another, and so on. If we cancel class on Friday, then soon students will want us to cancel on Thursday, then Wednesday. Eventually, there won’t even be a school day! Straw man: the writer misrepresents the opponent’s argument. If you oppose for-profit colleges, then you must want to see businesses fail. .

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Many People Think That an Argument Means an Emotional Or Angry Dispute with Raised Voices and Hot Tempers
How to Form a Good Argument To begin with, it is important to define the word “argument.” Many people think that an argument means an emotional or angry dispute with raised voices and hot tempers. That is one definition of an argument, but, academically, an argument simply means “a reason or set of reasons presented with the aim of persuading others that an action or idea is right or wrong.” Hence, most arguments are merely a series of statements for or against something or a discussion in which people calmly express different opinions. A good argument can be very educational, enriching, and pleasant. Many people have bad experiences with the “disagreement” type of argument, but the academic version is actually enjoyed by many people, who don’t consider it uncomfortable or threatening at all. They consider it intellectually stimulating and a satisfying way to wrap their heads around interesting ideas, and they find it disappointing when other people become hotheaded during a rational discussion. An academic argument is a process of reasoning through which we present evidence and reach conclusions based on it. When it is approached as an intellectual exercise, there is no reason to get upset when another person has different ideas or opinions or produces different, valid evidence. When you understand the rules of logic, or become practiced in debating skills, your discomfort and emotional defensiveness will subside, and you will begin to relax and have more confidence in your ability to argue rationally and logically and to defend your own position. You might even begin to find that it’s fun! One of the best ways to learn to form a good argument is to become familiar with the rules of logic.
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E PL UR UM IB N U U S Congressional Record United States th of America PROCEEDINGS AND DEBATES OF THE 117 CONGRESS, FIRST SESSION Vol. 167 WASHINGTON, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2021 No. 28 House of Representatives The House was not in session today. Its next meeting will be held on Monday, February 15, 2021, at 9:30 a.m. Senate SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2021 The Senate met at 10:01 a.m. and was If there is no objection, the Journal We have supported our position with called to order by the President pro of proceedings of the trial are approved images, videos, affidavits, documents, tempore (Mr. LEAHY). to date. tweets, and other evidence, leaving no f And I would ask the Sergeant at doubt that the Senate should convict. Arms to make the proclamation. We believe we have proven our case. TRIAL OF DONALD J. TRUMP, The Acting Sergeant at Arms, Jen- But last night, Congresswoman PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED nifer A. Hemingway, made the procla- JAIME HERRERA BEUTLER of Wash- STATES mation as follows: ington State issued a statement con- The PRESIDENT pro tempore. The Hear ye! Hear ye! All persons are com- firming that in the middle of the insur- Senate will begin as a Court of Im- manded to keep silence, on pain of imprison- rection, when House Minority Leader ment, while the Senate of the United States KEVIN MCCARTHY called the President peachment. is sitting for the trial of the Article of Im- PRAYER peachment exhibited by the House of Rep- to beg for help, President Trump re- The Chaplain, Dr.
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Georgia State University ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University Learning Sciences Faculty Publications Department of Learning Sciences 4-2019 Cognitive Sciences for Computing Education Anthony V. Robins University of Otago Lauren Margulieux Georgia State University Briana B. Morrison University of Nebraska at Omaha Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/ltd_facpub Part of the Instructional Media Design Commons Recommended Citation Robins, Anthony V.; Margulieux, Lauren; and Morrison, Briana B., "Cognitive Sciences for Computing Education" (2019). Learning Sciences Faculty Publications. 22. https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/ltd_facpub/22 This Book Chapter is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of Learning Sciences at ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in Learning Sciences Faculty Publications by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. This document is a pre-publication draft of: Robins, A. V., Margulieux, L. E., & Morrison, B. B. (2019). Cognitive sciences for computing education. In S. A. Fincher & A. V. Robins (Eds.) The Cambridge Handbook of Computing Education Research. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, [231-275]. The published version has been further edited, please obtain and cite the published version from: http://www.cambridge.org/9781108721899 https://www.amazon.com/s?k=cambridge+handbook+computing+education This draft has been made available (in an institutional archive or document repository) with permission, under the Cambridge University Press Green Open Access policy: https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/open-access-policies/introduction-to-open-access Cognitive sciences for computing education Anthony V. Robins, Lauren E.
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List of Fallacies
List of fallacies For specific popular misconceptions, see List of common if>). The following fallacies involve inferences whose misconceptions. correctness is not guaranteed by the behavior of those log- ical connectives, and hence, which are not logically guar- A fallacy is an incorrect argument in logic and rhetoric anteed to yield true conclusions. Types of propositional fallacies: which undermines an argument’s logical validity or more generally an argument’s logical soundness. Fallacies are either formal fallacies or informal fallacies. • Affirming a disjunct – concluding that one disjunct of a logical disjunction must be false because the These are commonly used styles of argument in convinc- other disjunct is true; A or B; A, therefore not B.[8] ing people, where the focus is on communication and re- sults rather than the correctness of the logic, and may be • Affirming the consequent – the antecedent in an in- used whether the point being advanced is correct or not. dicative conditional is claimed to be true because the consequent is true; if A, then B; B, therefore A.[8] 1 Formal fallacies • Denying the antecedent – the consequent in an indicative conditional is claimed to be false because the antecedent is false; if A, then B; not A, therefore Main article: Formal fallacy not B.[8] A formal fallacy is an error in logic that can be seen in the argument’s form.[1] All formal fallacies are specific types 1.2 Quantification fallacies of non sequiturs. A quantification fallacy is an error in logic where the • Appeal to probability – is a statement that takes quantifiers of the premises are in contradiction to the something for granted because it would probably be quantifier of the conclusion.
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