ESSAY WRITING:

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ESSAY WRITING

• REASONING LOGICAL FALLACIES

School of Athens Plato and Aristotle
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Fallacies in Reasoning The Pitfalls of Arguing

• Logic (noun)
• The science concerned with the principles of
  valid reasoning and correct inference, either
  deductive or inductive.
• Method of reasoning, inference, argument, etc
  especially, correct or sound reasoning.
• Fallacy - a false or erroneous statement, or an
  invalid or deceptive line of reasoning.
• Why is it important to be aware of logical
  fallacies?
• So one can critically evaluate persuasive
  arguments and not be swayed by rhetoric or faulty
  argumentation

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INTRODUCTION Reasoning Logic

• Reasoning is the linking or combining of evidence
  in such a way that the conclusion we draw is
  correct, valid, sound, truthful, or highly
  probable.
• Faulty logic involves bad reasoning, or the
  linking or combining of evidence in such a way
  that the conclusion we draw is incorrect,
  invalid, unsound, not truthful, or improbable.

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Essays Argument

• Because your essays are based on arguments, and
  therefore based on logical reasoning, it is
  important to be familiar with the main types of
  logical fallacies so that you can avoid them in
  your own writing, and recognize them in someone
  elses argument.
• Fallacies can undermine the effectiveness of your
  arguments to support your thesis.
• If it involves the reasoning behind your thesis,
  a logical fallacy will result in an unsuccessful
  essay.

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A good argument should have

• a thesis that declares the writer's position on
  the problem at hand
• an acknowledgment of the opposition that points
  our or argues with other points of view
• a set of clearly defined premises that illustrate
  the argument's line of reasoning
• evidence that supports the argument's premises
• a conclusion that convinces the reader that the
  argument has been soundly and persuasively made.
• If your paper has these essential features, then
  you've probably presented a sound argument but
  how can you be sure that your argument is sound?

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UNDERSTANDING FORMAL LOGIC

• It's important to understand that an argument can
  be logical without necessarily being true.
  Consider, for example, the following
• All women are brilliant.
• I am a woman.
• Therefore, I am brilliant.
• Is this argument logical? Indeed, it is. The
  test for logic in this instance is not whether
  the statement is reasonable, but whether the
  argument follows the almost mathematical
  construction of the syllogism.

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• A syllogism, is made up of three statements the
  major premise, or general observation the minor
  premise, or particular observation and the
  conclusion, which is something that one might
  rightly deduce from the premises given.
• Everyone who has been exposed to the Ebola virus
  has died.
• John Q. has been exposed to the Ebola virus.
• John Q. will die.
• What is the difference between the two
  syllogisms?

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Answer?

• It's very clear that in the first syllogism, the
  major premise is not true.
• Surely there are women in the world who are not
  brilliant. On the other hand, the major premise
  of the second syllogism we can accept as true.
• While there may in fact be people who have been
  exposed to this virus and lived, we have no
  record of them.
• On the other hand, every case of E-Boli that
  we've seen has resulted in death. Therefore, we
  can proceed confidently from our major premise to
  a conclusion that is sound.

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All syllogisms must be true.

• Of course, in any syllogism all premises must be
  true (or considered true) if the argument is to
  stand. Consider the following syllogism
• Murder is a terrible crime.
• Abortion is murder.
• Abortion is a terrible crime.
• In this case, it is the minor premise that is
  most open to challenge. Is abortion indeed
  murder? If the writer can convince his reader
  that it is, then the reader will accept his
  conclusion.
• This way of arguing is called deduction. When one
  deduces, she moves from a general argument to a
  specific argument.

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Valid and true deductive arguments

• All persons are mortal.
• Socrates is a person.
• Therefore, Socrates is mortal.
• b) Essays are based on arguments.
• Logical fallacies weaken arguments.
• Therefore, logical fallacies weaken essays.
• c) All Fanshawe students receive grades.
• I am a Fanshawe student.
• Therefore, I receive grades.

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Valid and false deductive arguments

• c) Only Slugs crawl on the ground.
• I can crawl on the ground.
• Therefore, I am a slug.
• d) All those who favour censorship are fascists.
• Alice favours censorship.
• Therefore, Alice is a fascist.

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Inductive Reasoning

• Inductive reasoning begins with specific data and
  works to a general principle or conclusion.
• Whenever you interpret evidence, you reason
  inductively.
• For example, every time you turn on a light
  switch, the lights come on, so you can reasonably
  conclude that they will do so the next time you
  flick the switch.
• Inductive reasoning can never lead to absolute
  certainty, however, because the light may not
  come on the next timeyou can only conclude that
  it will, based on your observations.

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Inductive Reasoning

• An inductive argument is based on facts as
  evidence mounts, your reader will be more likely
  to agree with your conclusion.
• Your essays for this course should be organized
  inductively you state your logical conclusion
  first (your thesis statement), then you present
  the evidence on which it is based (your
  supporting arguments).

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Logical Fallacies

• Logicians have identified over 125 different
  categories of fallacies.
• We will look at ten of the most common ones for
  you to avoid in your writing.

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Euphemisms

• One example of rhetoric is euphemistic speech
• A euphemism is an evasive, more sanitized way of
  expressing something
• What are some euphemisms that have been used
  lately in the media?
• wardrobe malfunction friendly fire collateral
  damage operation freedom

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Logical Fallacy

• Question asked of Miss Alabama in the 1994 Miss
  USA contest if you could live forever, would
  you and why?

• Answer I would not live forever, because we
  should not live forever, because if we were
  supposed to live forever, then we would live
  forever, but we cannot live forever, which is why
  I would not live forever.

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Fallacies of Emotional Argument

• Using emotional arguments can be powerful and
  appropriate in some cases however, when you
  attempt to evoke excessive or inappropriate
  feelings on your reader, it violates the
  legitimacy of an argument
• Opponents of gun control warn that any
  legislation regulating firearms is the first step
  towards government seizing all weapons

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1. Appeal to Pity

• Sentimental Appeals use excessive emotion to
  distract readers from facts makes readers feel
  guilty about raising legitimate objections
  seldom gives complete pictures emotions stop
  people from thinking clearly
• The boy shot three unarmed people in cold blood,
  but we should not sentence him because he was
  orphaned when he was four years old, and has had
  an unhappy life ever since.
• The woman should be forgiven for neglecting her
  children because she is homeless, lives off the
  street, and has been neglected herself when she
  was a child.

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2. Non Sequitur

• A statement that does not follow logically from
  what has just been said a conclusion that does
  not follow from the premise
• EXAMPLE You must not love me because you didnt
  call me back
• EXAMPLE My teacher is pretty I'll learn a lot
  from her.
• EXAMPLE George Bush was a war hero he'll be
  willing to stand tough for America.

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3. Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc

• Latin for After this, so because of this
• Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc The mistake of
  assuming that, because event a is followed by
  event b, event a caused event b.
• EXAMPLE It rained today because I washed my car.
• EXAMPLE The stock market fell because the
  Japanese are considering implementing an import
  tax.

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4. Circular Reasoning

• Circular Reasoning Asserting a point that has
  just been made. Sometimes called "begging the
  question." Such an assertion begs the question
  by drawing as a conclusion a point stated in the
  premise
• Example She is ignorant because she was never
  educated. Or
• Example We sin because we're sinners.
• Example He is lazy because he doesnt like to
  work

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5. Bandwagon

• An argument saying, in effect, Everybody is
  doing or saying or thinking this, so you should
  too.
• EXAMPLE Everyone else is cheating, so why
  shouldnt I?
• EXAMPLE As everyone knows, marijuana use leads
  to heroin addiction.
• EXAMPLE Everyone knows that policing is a
  difficult career, so citizens should do their
  part and help law enforcement.

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6. Hasty Generalization

• A generalization based on too little evidence or
  on exceptional or biased evidence
• EXAMPLE All men are testosterone-driven idiots.
  Or
• After being in New York for a week, I can tell
  you all New Yorkers are rude.

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7. Ad Hominem

• Ad Hominem Arguing against the man instead of
  against the issue.
• EXAMPLE We can't elect him mayor. He cheats on
  his wife!
• EXAMPLE Sure shes got lots of ideas about how
  to invest wisely her family has
  been rich for generations.

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8. Red Herring

• Red Herring Distracting the audience by drawing
  attention to an irrelevant issue.
• EXAMPLE How can he be expected to manage the
  company? Look at how he manages his home! Or Why
  worry about nuclear war when we're all going to
  die anyway?
• EXAMPLE Why worry about terrorism when we ought
  to be doing something about acid rain?

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9. Either / or Fallacy

• Either/Or Fallacy Only two possibilities are
  presented when in fact several exist.
• EXAMPLE Shut down all nuclear power plants, or
  watch your children and grandchildren die from
  radiation poisoning.
• EXAMPLE Youre either with us or against us
  (George Bush).

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10. False Analogy

• The assumption that because two things are alike
  in some ways, they must be alike in other ways
• EXAMPLE Just as it was wrong to deny women the
  vote, it is also wrong to deny the vote to
  sixteen year olds
• EXAMPLE Saddam Hussein is a modern-day Hitler.
• EXAMPLE Employees are like nails. Just as nails
  must be hit in the head in order to make them
  work, so must employees.

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In Class Workshop

• Work with your partner (or alone depending) to
  organize the structure of your research essay
  (and presentations)
• Decide whos going to do what? How will you
  divide the work?
• If you dont know your topic yet, you must choose
  one and clear it with me in advance Brain storm
  your ideas use your time wisely!

Your Preliminary Thesis Statement
1issue/area
4issue/area
2issue/area
3issue/area
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Making an outline

• Topic Capital Punishment
• Title Till Death Do Us
  Part
• Capital Punishment, Social
  Deterrence and the Law
• Introductory Paragraph then
• Thesis Statement As some government studies
  show, capital punishment does not deter
  criminals. Although many people believe that
  capital punishment prevents crime, it fails to do
  so because most crimes are crimes of passion. In
  such cases, criminals do not think about the
  consequences of their actions therefore, the
  idea that stronger penalties will deter them is
  false. The relationship among passion, action and
  penalty is central to the understanding of
  capital punishment as an ineffective solution to
  the prevention of criminal behavior.
• Topic sentence for first and second body
  paragraphs (Deals with Crimes Passion)
• Supporting point with example
• Supporting point with example
• Supporting point with example
• Topic sentence for third and fourth body
  paragraphs (Consequences of Actions)
• Supporting point with example
• Supporting point with example
• Supporting point with example
• Topic sentence for fifth and sixth body
  paragraphs (Stronger Penalties)
• Supporting point with examples
• Supporting point with examples
• Supporting point with examples

You may have 3 to 6 sub points for first 2
paragraphs
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End of Slides
non sequitur.