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42
FALLACIES
For Free
Dr. Michael C. LaBossiere
 
 
1
 
Forty
 
Two
 
Fallacies
 
(For
 
Free)
 
By
 
Dr.
 
Michael
 
C.
 
LaBossiere,
 
ontologist@aol.com
 
Legal
 
Information
 
This
 
book
 
is
 
copyright
 
2002
‐
2010
 
by
 
Dr.
 
Michael
 
C.
 
LaBossiere.
 
It
 
may
 
be
 
freely
 
distributed
 
for
 
personal
 
or
 
educational
 
use
 
provided
 
that
 
it
 
is
 
not
 
modified
 
and
 
no
 
fee
 
above
 
the
 
normal
 
cost
 
of 
 
distribution
 
is
 
charged
 
for
 
it.
 
Fallacies
 
and
 
Arguments
 
In
 
order
 
to
 
understand
 
what
 
a
 
fallacy
 
is,
 
one
 
must
 
understand
 
what
 
an
 
argument
 
is.
 
Very
 
briefly
 
an
 
argument
 
consists
 
of 
 
one
 
or
 
more
 
premises
 
and
 
one
 
conclusion.
 
A
 
premise
 
is
 
a
 
statement
 
(a
 
sentence
 
that
 
is
 
either
 
true
 
or
 
false)
 
that
 
is
 
offered
 
in
 
support
 
of 
 
the
 
claim
 
being
 
made,
 
which
 
is
 
the
 
conclusion
 
(which
 
is
 
also
 
a
 
sentence
 
that
 
is
 
either
 
true
 
or
 
false).
 
There
 
are
 
two
 
main
 
types
 
of 
 
arguments:
 
deductive
 
and
 
inductive.
 
A
 
deductive
 
argument
 
is
 
an
 
argument
 
such
 
that
 
the
 
premises
 
provide
 
(or
 
appear
 
to
 
provide)
 
complete
 
support
 
for
 
the
 
conclusion.
 
An
 
inductive
 
argument
 
is
 
an
 
argument
 
such
 
that
 
the
 
premises
 
provide
 
(or
 
appear
 
to
 
provide)
 
some
 
degree
 
of 
 
support
 
(but
 
less
 
than
 
complete
 
support)
 
for
 
the
 
conclusion.
 
If 
 
the
 
premises
 
actually
 
provide
 
the
 
required
 
degree
 
of 
 
support
 
for
 
the
 
conclusion,
 
then
 
the
 
argument
 
is
 
a
 
good
 
one.
 
A
 
good
 
deductive
 
argument
 
is
 
known
 
as
 
a
 
valid
 
argument
 
and
 
is
 
such
 
that
 
if 
 
all
 
its
 
premises
 
are
 
true,
 
then
 
its
 
conclusion
 
must
 
be
 
true.
 
If 
 
all
 
the
 
argument
 
is
 
valid
 
and
 
actually
 
has
 
all
 
true
 
premises,
 
then
 
it
 
is
 
known
 
as
 
a
 
sound
 
argument.
 
If 
 
it
 
is
 
invalid
 
or
 
has
 
one
 
or
 
more
 
false
 
premises,
 
it
 
will
 
be
 
unsound.
 
A
 
good
 
inductive
 
argument
 
is
 
known
 
as
 
a
 
strong
 
(or
 
“cogent”)
 
inductive
 
argument.
 
It
 
is
 
such
 
that
 
if 
 
the
 
premises
 
are
 
true,
 
the
 
conclusion
 
is
 
likely
 
to
 
be
 
true.
 
A
 
fallacy
 
is,
 
very
 
generally,
 
an
 
error
 
in
 
reasoning.
 
This
 
differs
 
from
 
a
 
factual
 
error,
 
which
 
is
 
simply
 
being
 
wrong
 
about
 
the
 
facts.
 
To
 
be
 
more
 
specific,
 
a
 
fallacy
 
is
 
an
 
“argument”
 
in
 
which
 
the
 
premises
 
given
 
for
 
the
 
conclusion
 
do
 
not
 
provide
 
the
 
needed
 
degree
 
of 
 
support.
 
A
 
deductive
 
fallacy
 
is
 
a
 
deductive
 
argument
 
that
 
is
 
invalid
 
(it
 
is
 
such
 
that
 
it
 
could
 
have
 
all
 
true
 
premises
 
and
 
still
 
have
 
a
 
false
 
conclusion).
 
An
 
inductive
 
fallacy
 
is
 
less
 
formal
 
than
 
a
 
deductive
 
fallacy.
 
They
 
are
 
simply
 
“arguments”
 
which
 
appear
 
to
 
be
 
inductive
 
arguments,
 
but
 
the
 
premises
 
do
 
not
 
provided
 
enough
 
support
 
for
 
the
 
conclusion.
 
In
 
such
 
cases,
 
even
 
if 
 
the
 
premises
 
were
 
true,
 
the
 
conclusion
 
would
 
not
 
be
 
more
 
likely
 
to
 
be
 
true.
 
Example
 
of 
 
a
 
Deductive
 
Argument
 
Premise
 
1:
 
If 
 
Bill
 
is
 
a
 
cat,
 
then
 
Bill
 
is
 
a
 
mammal.
 
Premise
 
2:
 
Bill
 
is
 
a
 
cat.
 
Conclusion:
 
Bill
 
is
 
a
 
mammal.
 
 
2
 
Example
 
of 
 
an
 
Inductive
 
Argument
 
Premise
 
1:
 
Most
 
American
 
cats
 
are
 
domestic
 
house
 
cats.
 
Premise
 
2:
 
Bill
 
is
 
an
 
American
 
cat.
 
Conclusion:
 
Bill
 
is
 
domestic
 
house
 
cat.
 
Example
 
of 
 
a
 
Factual
 
Error
 
Columbus
 
is
 
the
 
capital
 
of 
 
the
 
United
 
States.
 
Example
 
of 
 
a
 
Deductive
 
Fallacy
 
Premise
 
1:
 
If 
 
Portland
 
is
 
the
 
capital
 
of 
 
Maine,
 
then
 
it
 
is
 
in
 
Maine.
 
Premise
 
2:
 
Portland
 
is
 
in
 
Maine.
 
Conclusion:
 
Portland
 
is
 
the
 
capital
 
of 
 
Maine.
 
(Portland
 
is
 
in
 
Maine,
 
but
 
Augusta
 
is
 
the
 
capital.
 
Portland
 
is
 
the
 
largest
 
city
 
in
 
Maine,
 
though.)
 
Example
 
of 
 
an
 
Inductive
 
Fallacy
 
Premise
 
1:
 
Having
 
 just
 
arrived
 
in
 
Ohio,
 
I
 
saw
 
a
 
white
 
squirrel.
 
Conclusion:
 
All
 
Ohio
 
squirrels
 
are
 
white.
 
(While
 
there
 
are
 
many,
 
many
 
squirrels
 
in
 
Ohio,
 
the
 
white
 
ones
 
are
 
very
 
rare).
 
Fallacies
 
Ad
 
Hominem
 
Also
 
Known
 
as:
 
Ad
 
Hominem
 
Abusive,
 
Personal
 
Attack
 
Description:
 
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.
 
Typically,
 
this
 
fallacy
 
involves
 
two
 
steps.
 
First,
 
an
 
attack
 
against
 
the
 
character
 
of 
 
person
 
making
 
the
 
claim,
 
her
 
circumstances,
 
or
 
her
 
actions
 
is
 
made
 
(or
 
the
 
character,
 
circumstances,
 
or
 
actions
 
of 
 
the
 
person
 
reporting
 
the
 
claim).
 
Second,
 
this
 
attack
 
is
 
taken
 
to
 
be
 
evidence
 
against
 
the
 
claim
 
or
 
argument
 
the
 
person
 
in
 
question
 
is
 
making
 
(or
 
presenting).
 
This
 
type
 
of 
 
“argument”
 
has
 
the
 
following
 
form:
 
1.
 
Person
 
A
 
makes
 
claim
 
X.
 
2.
 
Person
 
B
 
makes
 
an
 
attack
 
on
 
person
 
A.
 
3.
 
Therefore
 
A’s
 
claim
 
is
 
false.
 
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).
 
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