From: Kalkor (kalkor@kalkor.com)
Date: Mon Mar 04 2002 - 13:02:26 MST
L'Ermit recently mentioned the "ad populum" fallacy in a response to NNG,
and I thought I'd delve into the subject for my own education. I've never
participated in or been educated in formal debate or argument, and would
like to start a thread about the logical fallacies.
I found an interesting site about the subject at
http://radicalacademy.com/logicalfal1.htm, which I printed out and have been
studying. I decided to make for myself an outline of the fallacies to help
me learn them and recognize them in conversation, advertisement, etc. If you
folks would help me out by possibly providing better definitions or
examples, especially those pertaining to achieving rational self efficacy
and Level 3 of conciousness, I think this would help me and perhaps others
sort through the garbage we're exposed to daily. I've organized this outline
as follows:
Categories (I)
Subcategories (A)
Types or example (1)
Examples (a)
I'll post this on my web site sometime today, and update as necessary, so
please [SNIP] the outline below and use things like III.A.2.b. to refer to
specific parts for correction, emphasis, addition, etc.
Here goes:
I. Fallacies of Relevance
A. Ad Hominem (attack on person)
1. Abusive
a. Since she is a religious fanatic, there is no reason to accept her
arguments for or against having bible study in public schools.
2. Circumstantial
a. Since he is himself a gun owner, there is no reason to accept his
arguments for or against gun control.
3. Tu Quoque (diversion)
a. Since you have never fought in a war, you are not qualified to
criticize my mistreatment of combat captives.
B. Ad Populem (appeal to people)
1. Appeal to UTism
a. You should consume brand X because everyone else does.
2. Ad Misericordiam (appeal to pity)
a. Free this jailed murderer because his family suffers in his
absence.
C. Ad Baculum (appeal to force)
1. Sign this confession or it will go harder on you when you're
convicted.
D. Ad Verecundiam (appeal to authority)
1. Buy brand X toothpaste, because I am a famous football player and I
recommend it.
II. Fallacies of Ambiguity
A. Equivocation (multiple definitions of the same term)
1. Animals can not talk. Man is an animal. Therefore, he can not talk.
B. Amphiboly (poorly composed premise)
1. Four out of five doctors recommend brand X. (implies four out of
EVERY five, but literally can mean only five were surveyed)
C. Composition
1. The whole has the characteristics of the parts
a. The bricks used to build this building are rectangular, so
therefore the building is rectangular.
2. The collection has the characteristics of the parts
a. The members of this crowd each have two ears, therefore the crowd
has two ears.
D. Division
1. The parts have the characteristics of the whole
a. This judicial system is fair, therefore she got a fair trial.
2. The parts have the characteristics of the collection
a. This pile of bricks is asymmetrical, therefore each brick is
asymmetrical.
III. Fallacies of Presumption
A. Petitio Principii (begging the question)
1. God exists because the bible says so.
B. Ad Ignorantium (argument from ignorance)
1. You have not proved him guilty, therefore he is innocent. (This is
the explicit foundation of our legal system. Bravo!)
2. You have not proved yourself innocent, therefore you are guilty.
(Drug testing)
C. Non Causa Pro Causa (implying cause from correlation)
1. The economy improved during his reign, therefore he is responsible
for improving the economy.
D. Fallacy of Accident (applying generalization to specific cases)
1. Running improves heart condition. Therefore you should run after a
double bypass to improve your heart condition.
E. Hasty Generalization (the root of prejudice)
1. I had a bad marriage to a woman, therefore all women are bad.
F. Complex Question
1. Have you stopped beating your wife?
G. Ignoratio Elenchi (irrelevant conclusion)
1. We should convict and sentence this woman for murder because murder
is such a horrible crime.
IV. Other Fallacies
A. Emphasis or Accent
1. I've never SEEN any complaints about this. (you may have HEARD
complaints)
B. Significance
1. Sixty percent of children in this city read below grade level.
(what's the ratio in other cities? countries?)
C. Quotes out of Context
1. "I would sleep with you if and only if you were the last man on earth
and needed to produce offspring."
2. "I would sleep with you ... to produce offspring."
D. False Dilemma (offering two choices where there are more than two)
1. With crime increasing like it is, you must either carry a gun or live
in fear.
E. Straw Man
1. We must legalize murder because we can not completely enforce it.
F. Statistical Fallacies
1. Brand X gets your teeth 50% whiter than brand Y.
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