You can make your arguments more logical if you use

good premises and provide good support for your

conclusion.
Some commit errors in reasoning as they become
emotional in their responses.
It is important to detect and avoid the use of illogical
reasoning to arrive at an objective evaluation or
decision of a matter.
You fail in your argument when you commit fallacies.
What is a FALLACY?
A type of argument that may seem to be
correct, but that proves on examination, not
to be so”.
Fallacies weaken arguments.
Common Fallacies
A. Language
1.Emotional Manipulation
2.Name-calling
B. Logic
1.Non-sequitur
2.Rationalizing
3.Hasty Generalization
4. Appeal to Authority
5. Bandwagon
6. Circular Reasoning
C. Muddling the Issue
1. Distraction
2. Personal Attack
Emotional Manipulation
words/phrases that are extensively loaded
with emotions are used to appeal to one’s
senses and biases to distract the
listeners/readers from the truth of the matter

Highly connotative words like disciplinarian

and authoritarian are examples.
Name-calling
Giving a mean or irritating label or title to an
individual or a group of people, concept or
view
Such labels are often insulting and derogatory
Examples of this are such words like ugly
duckling, traitor, infiltrator, etc.
Non-sequitur
means “does not necessarily follow”
Two incidents or occurrences following each
other may not be directly related so it is not
right to assume that events always follow
casual relation.
The president raised taxes and then the rate
of violent crime went up.
Rationalizing
This faulty reasoning justifies a wrong
deed.
A wife who buys a pair of shoes worth
P5,000 is reprimanded by his husband.
When confronted, she reasons out that
he, too, bought a shirt worth P5,000.
Hasty Generalization
making one’s judgment based on limited
sampling
A decision arrived at based on hasty
generalization is always inaccurate and
biased.
A tourist pickpocketed in the city claimed
that the Philippines should not be a tourist
spot.
Appeal to Authority
This uses well-known personalities in
television, politics, sports and the like
usually endorsing products to persuade
consumers and to a certain extent,
influence the buying behavior of the public.
We should abolish death penalty. Many
respected people such as Chris Rock stated
their opposition to it.
Bandwagon
a form of illogical reasoning that
encourages someone to follow what
most people are doing
It gives the impression that since
everybody is doing it, it is what is popular
and right.
Circular Reasoning
This occurs when the conclusion is merely
restated in another way instead of providing
proofs or evidence to the argument.
For instance, a conclusion stating that “Traffic
is a perennial problem in Metro Manila
because it is continuing” employs circular
reasoning.
To arrive at this conclusion, pieces of
evidence should be cited such as narrow
and obstructed streets, undisciplined
drivers, and proliferation of vehicles.
Distraction

This means veering away the argument

from the main point of discussion.
Personal Attack

This fallacy is likewise known as

“character assassination”.
It attacks a person’s character instead of
the argument presented.