Fallacies of

insufficient evidence

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Fallacies of insufficient
evidence
 These are fallacies in which the
premises, though relevant to the
conclusion, fail to provide sufficient
evidence for the conclusion

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Inappropriate Appeal to
authority
 We rely on information from others –
teachers, parents, scientists
 There is shared trust –basic honesty
and reliability
 Trust in authority is the “very
foundation of civilization”
 However uncritical reliance on
authority may bring the downfall of a
civilization
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Inappropriate Appeal to
authority
 Circumstances:
 When the source is not a genuine
authority on the subject at issue
 When the source is biased or has
some other reason to lie or mislead
 When the accuracy of the source’s
personal observations or experiences
are doubtful
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Inappropriate Appeal to
authority
 When we have the reason to believe
that a media source, a reference
work, or an internet source is
generally unreliable
 When we have reason to believe that
the source has not been cited
correctly
 When the source’s claim conflicts with
expert opinion
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Inappropriate Appeal to
authority
 When the issue is not one that can be
settled by expert opinion
 When the claim made by the source is
in itself improbable

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Appeal to ignorance

 When we lack evidence for or against

a claim it is best to suspend
judgement
 We cannot assume that a claim must
be true because no one has proven it
false, or conversely, that a claim must
be false because no one has proven it
true

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False alternatives
 The arguer poses a false either/or
choice:

Either you support a pure free-market

economy or you support a communist
police state

(There are more than the two choices)

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Loaded Question

 A loaded question is a question that

contains an unfair or questionable
assumption

Eg.: Have you stopped cheating on

exams?

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Questionable Cause

 When an arguer claims, without

sufficient evidence, that one thing is
the cause of something else, he
commits the fallacy of questionable
cause.
 The post hoc fallacy (“after this,
therefore because of this”)
- superstitions; coincidences
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Hasty Generalization

 A generalization is a statement that

asserts that all or most things of a
certain kind have a certain property or
characteristic.
 We commit the fallacy of hasty
generalization when we draw a
general conclusion from a sample
that is biased or too small.

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Slippery slope

 We commit the slippery-slope fallacy

when we claim, without sufficient
evidence, that a seemingly harmless
action, if taken, will lead to a
disastrous outcome

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Weak Analogy

 The fallacy of weak analogy occurs

when an arguer compares two (or
more) things that aren’t really
comparable in relevant respects.
 “That is like comparing apples and
oranges.”

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Inconsistency

 Two statements are inconsistent when

they both can’t be true.
 The fallacy of inconsistency occurs
when an arguer asserts inconsistent
premises, asserts a premise that is
inconsistent with his or her
conclusion, or argues for inconsistent
conclusions

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Inconsistency

 Philosophy professor: Error doesn’t

exist.
 Student: I deny that

 Philosophy professor: Well, then

you’re dead wrong

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THANK YOU

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