Top Thirteen Fallacies

1
Top Thirteen Fallacies

• Irrelevant and inadequate support create
  ridiculous fallacies.

2
What are biased arguments?

• They are based on two types of reasoning.
• Fallacies are errors in logical thought.
• Propaganda is persuasion that spreads bias
  designed to support or oppose a person, product,
  cause, or organization
• Most often propaganda is based on just an
  emotional appeal the arousal of emotion to give
  meaning or power to an idea.

3
What are the thirteen most common fallacies?

• Personal attack
• Straw man
• Begging the question
• Name-calling
• Testimonials
• Bandwagon
• Plain Folks

• Either-Or
• False comparison
• False cause
• Card stacking
• Transfer
• Glittering generalities

4
The first false support is personal attack.

• Ad hominem is abusive remarks without evidence.
• President Bush is so stupid that he cannot even
  speak correctly. We should never listen to
  anything the man has to say.

5
The second false support is the straw man.

• It is a weak argument substituted for a stronger
  one to make the argument easier to challenge.
• Jill "We should clean out the messy closets."
  Bill "We just went through those closets last
  year. Do we have to clean them everyday?" Jill
  "You want too keep your junk forever."

6
The third false support is begging the question.

• Circular reasoning restates the point of an
  argument as the support and conclusion.
• If driving sixty mph were not illegal, it would
  not be against the law.

7
The fourth false support is name-calling.

• It uses negative labels for a product, idea, or
  cause.
• "Those wacky conservatives! They think a strong
  military is the key to peace!"

8
The fifth false support is testimonials.

• It uses irrelevant personal opinions to support a
  product, idea, or cause.
• Football superstar Payton Manning drinks Diet
  Sprite every morning. Why dont you try it, too?

9
The sixth false support is the bandwagon.

• It is an appeal that uses the irrelevant detail
  that everyone is doing it.
• Joe "Bill, I know you think that Asians are good
  at math. But we don't accept that sort of thing
  in our group. " Bill "I was just joking. Of
  course I don't believe that."

10
The seventh false support is plain folks.

• It uses irrelevant details to build trust on
  commonly shared values.
• Visiting a church, the President dresses in a
  dark suit and blue shirt. He walks slowly and
  with hands together in front of him. He talks
  gravely with people. He sings with joy and prays
  with fervor. Later that day, he has changed into
  denims and fleece top to take the dog for a walk.
  He meets a dog owner and exchanges cheery
  pleasantries.

11
The eighth false support is either-or.

• The false dilemma assumes that only two sides of
  an issue exist.

America love it or leave it. My country right
or wrong. Better dead than red.
12
The ninth false support is false comparison.

• The false analogy assumes that two things are
  similar when they are not.
• "Skis and roller skates are both strapped on your
  feet. Skis help you travel over snow
  efficiently, so roller skates would help you
  travel efficiently over snow."

13
The tenth false support is false cause.

• Post hoc assumes that because events occurred at
  the same time, they have a cause-and-effect
  relationship.
• My girlfriend gave me neon laces for my spikes
  and I won my next three races. Those laces must
  be good luck...if I keep on wearing them I can't
  help but win!

14
The eleventh false support is card-stacking.

• One-sidedness omits factual details to
  misrepresent a product, idea, or cause.
• A minister of a new church group sets up in a
  poor area, feeds people who will listen, tells
  them of how the poor will be saved, and so on.
• He doesnt mention that his church doesnt
  believe that Jesus is divine.

15
The twelfth false support is transfer.

• It creates a false association between a product,
  idea, or cause with a symbol or image that has
  positive or negative values.
• Would it be good for a Catholic priest to invite
  Michael Jackson to his church?

16
The thirteenth false support is glittering
generalities.

• Glittering Generalities offer general positive
  statements that cant be proven.
• Miracle Diet Tea helps you to lose weight by
  absorbing fat you eat before digestion.
• Doctor-approved studies show Miracle Diet Tea
  helps millions of Americans!

17
Review the top thirteen false reasons!

• Personal attack
• Straw man
• Begging the question
• Name-calling
• Testimonials
• Bandwagon
• Plain Folks

• Either-Or
• False comparison
• False cause
• Card stacking
• Transfer
• Glittering generalities