Logical Fallacies
INSIGHT INTO THINKING CRITICALLY
What We Will Go Over
WHAT ARE LOGICAL FALLACIES
WHY THEY ARE IMPORTANT
EXAMPLES IN MEDIA
COMMON LOGICAL FALLACIES
What are they?
Logical fallacies are an error in
reasoning that are used to
persuade people to agree with
something.
They may be good arguments that
may,
Lack substantial evidence
Contain a questionable premise
Or be completely invalid
Why is this important to know?
Logical fallacies are errors in reasoning, and these errors can
influence people to think a certain way, when these ideas are on a
grand scale they can lead to great discomfort for certain groups
This is often times seen in debates concerning controversial topics
such as abortion, medical marijuana, same-sex marriage, gun
control policy, etc.
These errors can be seen in commercials too, and this makes or
breaks sales for the company.
Its important to know how to articulate your argument, and to also
know when your opponent lacks intellect on the subject, once that
has been established you know you have them beat
WHAT IS THE TACTIC BEHIND THIS
COMMERCIAL?
What about this one?
They are every where!
Can you spot them?
Common Logical Fallacies
Bandwagon is the using a trends increasing popularity to prove its
truth
Strawman - misrepresents a position in order to make it appear
weaker than it actually is, refutes this misrepresentation of the
position, and then concludes that the real position has been
refuted.
Ad Hominem attacking a persons physical appearance, or simply
insulting the, instead of addressing the issue at hand
Appeal to Force- is an attempt to persuade using threats
Appeal to Pity- attempts to persuade using emotionspecifically,
sympathyrather than evidence
continued.
Appeal to Authority- is an argument from the fact that a person
judged to be an authority affirms a proposition to the claim that the
proposition is true.
Slippery Slope- arguments falsely assume that one thing must lead
to another. They begin by suggesting that if we do one thing then
that will lead to another, and before we know it well be doing
something that we dont want to do.
Genetic Fallacy- is committed when an idea is either accepted or
rejected because of its source, rather than its merit.
Begging the Question/ Circular Reasoning- its conclusion is among
its premises, if it assumes (either explicitly or not) what it is trying to
prove. Such arguments are said to beg the question. A circular
argument fails as a proof because it will only be judged to be sound
by those who already accept its conclusion.
..continued.
Red Herring- a fallacy of distraction, and is committed when a
listener attempts to divert an arguer from his argument by
introducing another topic.
Cum Hoc- is committed when it is assumed that because two things
occur together, they must be causally related.
Sweeping Generalization- when one applies a general statement
too broadly
Hasty Generalization- A fallacy in which a conclusion is not logically
justified by sufficient or unbiased evidence.
***A hasty generalization always proceeds from the
particular to the general***** Sweeping generalization
applies the general to a particular.****
A FEW MORE JUST FOR KICKS
Thinking Outside of the Box
What would happen if companies didnt use logical fallacies and
stated truths instead?
What would that look like with a beer commercial, or a cigarette
commercial?
Would it be as effective?
Were you aware of these marketing strategies?
How would politicians be viewed if they actually stated what their
intentions were?
Can the people handle the truth, or must we have everything sugar
coated?
~YOU HAVE FIVE MINUTES TO REFLECT ON THESE QUESTIONS, THEN
PEER SHARE AND PREPARE TO DISCUSS AS A CLASS~