Fallacies

1
Fallacies

• Pathos, Ethos, Logos

2
Fallacies of Emotional Argument(Pathos)

• Appeal to Fear, or Scare Tactics
• attempts to convince by implicitly threatening
  the audience.
  
• Reduce complicated issues to threats, or
  exaggerate a possible danger well beyond its
  statistical likelihood
  
• Magnify existing, sometimes legitimate, fears
  into panic or prejudice

3
Examples

• You know, Professor Bewick, I really need to
  get an A in this class. I'd like to stop by
  during your office hours later to discuss my
  grade. I'll be in your building anyways, visiting
  my father. He's your dean, by the way. I'll see
  you later.
• I don't think a Red Ryder BB gun would make
  a good present for you. You'll put your eye
  out!
  
• Osama Bin Laden wants you to vote for

4
Either/Or Choices

• This fallacy focuses on two alternatives, with
  the preferred option drawn in the warmest light,
  and the alternative cast as an ominous shadow.
  

5
Either/Or Fallacy

• Example
• If you dont believe the governess
• is credible, than you must believe
• she is an evil, sociopathic
• murderer.

6
Slippery Slope

• This fallacy exaggerates the future consequences
  of an action, usually with the intention of
  frightening.
  

7
Examples

• "We have to stop the tuition increase! The next
  thing you know, they'll be charging 40,000 a
  semester!"
  
• The fact that Flora lied is proof that she is
  capable of any level of deception."

8
Sentimental Appeals

• Uses emotions excessively to distract readers
  from facts
  
• often highly personal
• focuses attention on heart-warming or
  heart-wrenching situations that make readers feel
  guilty about raising legitimate objections to
  related proposals or policies

9
Examples

• Jill Hes a terrible coach. Bill But he ran
  into a burning building and saved three children
  and almost died!
  
• "I'm positive that my work will meet your
  requirements. I really need the job since my
  grandmother is sick"

10
Sentimental Appeals

• Flora and Miles are too young and too beautiful
  to be capable of deception or evil.

11
Poisoning the Well

• A person poisons the well by making a claim that
  discourages, or makes impossible, an open
  discussion of the issue.
  
• The claim intimidates the listener who fears that
  any disagreement or resistance will lead to a
  personal argument rather than critical discussion.

12
Examples

• Only fascists support President Bush.
• Any decent person has to recognize the
  governesss innocence.
  

13
Ad Hominem Arguments

• Translated from Latin to English, "Ad Hominem"
  means "against the man" or "against the person."
  
  
• An Ad Hominem is a general category of fallacies
  in which a claim or argument is rejected on the
  basis of some irrelevant fact about the author
  of,or the person presenting, the claim or
  argument.

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• The reason why an Ad Hominem (of
• any kind) is a fallacy is that the
• character, circumstances, or actions of
• a person do not (in most cases) have a
• bearing on the truth or falsity of the
• claim being made (or the quality of the
• argument being made).

15
Example

• Many critics see imagism as a profound literary
  movement. However, the fact that its founder,
  Ezra Pound, was a Nazi sympathizer challenges
  that assessment.

16
Fallacies of Logical Argument(Logos)

• Hasty Generalization
• This is an inference drawn from
• insufficient evidence.

17

• For example, one appearance of a river in a poem
  is not enough to warrant the statement that it is
  a central symbol. Several mentions, however,
  might justify this conclusion.

18
Sweeping Generalization

• A generalization that cannot be supported no
  matter how much evidence is supplied.
  

19
Example

• All the critics like Henry James writing.
• All students despise the writing of Henry James.

20
Begging the Question(Circular reasoning)

• Offering as proof a claim that is made on
  grounds that cannot be accepted because the
  grounds are in doubt
  
• In other words, you state a
• debatable premise as if it were true.

21
Examples

• Tom "God must exist." Jill "How do you know."
  Tom "Because the Bible says so." Jill "Why
  should I believe the Bible?" Tom "Because the
  Bible was written by God."

22
Example

• Hemingways negative portrayals of women have
  caused his popularity to decline in recent
  years.
  

23
Non Sequitur

• A conclusion that does not logically follow from
  what comes before it.

24
Example

• John Updike writes critically acclaimed novels,
  so he must be a gifted poet.

25
Bandwagon

• A fallacy that occurs when you try to establish
  that something is true just because everyone
  believes it is.

26
Examples

• The romance novel The Flame and The Flower must
  be incredible because it has sold more than a
  million copies.
  
• Lindsay Lohans book of poetry must be great
  since so many people bought it.