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5+6.critical Thinking Chapter 5-6
5+6.critical Thinking Chapter 5-6
2. Fallacies of
Insufficient
Evidence
What is a Fallacy?
A (logical) fallacy is an argument that contains a
mistake in reasoning.
Fallacies of Relevance
Arguments in which the premises are logically
irrelevant to the conclusion.
Fallacies of Insufficient Evidence
Arguments in which the premises, though logically
relevant to the conclusion, fail to provide sufficient
evidence for the conclusion.
“There is nothing so stupid as an educated man,
if you get him off the thing he was educated in”
- Will Rogers
Fallacies of Relevance
A statement is RELEVANT to another statement if it
provides at least some reason for thinking that the
second statement is true or false.
There are three ways in which a statement can be
relevant or irrelevant to another:
A statement is positively relevant to another
statement if it provides at least some reason for
thinking that the second statement is true.
Example:
Dogs are cats. Cats are felines. So dogs are felines
Fallacies of Relevance
A statement is negatively relevant to another
statement if it provides at least some reason for
thinking that the second statement is false.
Example:
Marty is a high-school senior. So, Marty likely has
a Ph.D.
A statement is logically irrelevant to another
statement if it provides no reason for thinking that
the second statement is either true or false.
Example:
The earth revolves around the sun. Therefore,
marijuana should be legalized.
Fallacies of Relevance
1. X is a bad person.
Pattern
2. Therefore X's argument must be bad.
Personal Attack
Even if it is true that Hefner is a bad person, that doesn’t
mean he is incapable of offering good arguments on the
topic of censorship.
The fallacy of personal attack occurs only if:
(1) An arguer rejects another person’s argument or claim
(2) The arguer attacks the person who offers the arguments or
claim, rather than considering the merits of that argument or
claim.
Millions of innocent people died in Stalin’s ruthless ideological
purges. Clearly, Stalin was one of the most brutal dictators
of the twentieth century
No Fallacy
Personal Attack -EX
"Bill says that we should give tax breaks to
companies. But he is untrustworthy, so it must be
wrong to do that."
Example:
Doctor: You should quit smoking.
Patient: Look who’s talking! I’ll quit when you do, Dr.
Smokestack!
Examples:
“I don’t feel guilty about cheating on Prof. A’s online quiz.
Half the class cheats on his quiz.”
Example:
Diplomat to diplomat: I’m sure you’ll agree that we are the
rightful rulers of the Iraq. It would be regrettable if we had to
send armed forces to demonstrate the validity of our claim.
Logical Form:
Person 1 makes claim Y.
Person 2 restates person 1’s claim (in a distorted
way).
Person 2 attacks the distorted version of the claim.
Therefore, claim Y is false.
Straw Man
Example:
Zebedee: What is your view on the Christian God?
Mike: I don’t believe in any gods, including the
Christian one.
Zebedee: So you think that we are here by
accident, and all this design in nature is pure
chance, and the universe just created itself?
Mike: You got all that from me stating that I just
don’t believe in any gods?
Straw Man
Explanation:
Mike might have no beliefs about these things
whatsoever. Perhaps he distinguishes between
“accident” and natural selection, perhaps he thinks
the concept of design is something we model after
the universe, perhaps he has some detailed
explanation based on known physics as to how the
universe might have first appeared, or perhaps he
believes in some other supernatural
explanation. Regardless, this was a gross
mischaracterization of Mike’s argument.
Straw Man
Person A has position X.
Person B presents position Y (which is a distorted version of
X).
Person B attacks position Y.
Therefore X is false/incorrect/flawed.
false emphasis,
Equivocation
When an arguer uses a key word in an argument in two
(or more) different senses.
Example:
It is crime to smoke grass. Kentucky bluegrass is
a grass. Therefore, it is a crime to smoke
Kentucky bluegrass.
In the summer of 1940, Londoners were bombed
almost very night. To be bombed is to be
intoxicated. Therefore, in the summer of 1940,
Londoners were intoxicated almost every night.
Example:
Bungee – jumping is dangerous because it’s
unsafe.
Capital punishment is morally wrong because it is
ethically impermissible to inflict death as
punishment for a crime.
Which fallacy?
A) Loaded Question
B) Personal Attack +Attacking the motive
C) Bandwagon Argument
D) Scare Tactics
Mini Quiz – Solution 1
A) Bandwagon Argument
B) Personal Attack
C) Straw Man
D) Scare Tactics
Mini Quiz – Solution 2
Bandwagon argument.
Authority Assessment
1. Is the source an authority on the subject at issue?
2. Is the source biased?
3. Is the accuracy of the source observations questionable?
4. Is the source known to be generally unreliable?
5. Has the source been cited correctly?
6. Does the source’s claim conflict with expert opinion?
7. Can the source’s claim be settled by an appeal to
expert opinion?
8. Is the claim highly improbable on its face?
Inappropriate Appeal to
Authority
The Source is Not an Authority on the Subject at Issue?
An authority is a person who possesses special
knowledge, competence, or expertise in a particular field.
Ex: My barber told me that Einstein’s general theory of
relativity is a lot of hogwash. I guess Einstein wasn’t as
smart as everybody thinks he was.
the arguer’s barber is not an authority on Einstein’s general
theory of relativity this argument commits the fallacy of
inappropriate appeal to authority.
appeal to a person who is not a genuine authority on the
subject at issue.
Inappropriate Appeal to
Authority
The Source is Biased?
we should be cautious about accepting a claim when the
person making the claim is biased or has some other
obvious motive to lie or mislead.
Examples:
Ned Bumpley has been paid $100,000 by the Sensational
Enquirer tabloid for his story that he is Bill Gates’s
illegitimate son. Given Mr. Bumpley’s reputation for
honesty, I think we should believe him, even though he has
produced no corroborating evidence and DNA tests fail to
suport his claim.
The testifier has an obvious motive to lie (financial gain) biased
fallacious
Inappropriate Appeal to
Authority
The Accuracy of the Source’s Observations is
Questionable.
A source may also be unreliable if we have reason to
doubt the accuracy of his or her observations or
experiences.
Examples:
After taking LSD and drinking seven beers, Jill claims she
had a conversation with Elvis’s ghost in the alley behind
McDearmon’s Bar. I’ve never known Jill to lie. So, I think
we should believe her.
there are obvious reasons for doubting the reliability of the
witnesses’ observations or experiences. Consequently,
these appeals to authority are fallacious
Inappropriate Appeal to
Authority
The Source Is Known to Be Generally Unreliable.
It is reasonable to accept claims made in reputable
newspapers, magazines, encyclopedias, radio and
television news programs, and Internet Web sites.
But we must be cautious about accepting claims found in
sources that we have reason to believe are generally
unreliable.
Here is an example from the Weekly World News:
Scientists’ Research Reveals . . . It Takes 3 Million Years
for a Human Soul to Reach Heaven . . . And No One from
Earth Has Arrived There Yet!
Appeal to Ignorance
Appeal to Ignorance
Claiming that something is true because no one has
proven it false or vice versa.
Example:
There must be intelligent life on other planets. No one has
proved that there isn’t.
No one has proven that global warning is occurring.
Therefore, we must conclude that it is not occurring.
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False Alternatives
False Alternatives
Posing a false either/or choice.
Questionable cause.
Inconsistency.
Slippery slope.