THE FALLACIES

AND
ETHICAL ARGUMENT
Subtitle
FALLACIES
- pose as logical
proof, but in
reality, are
pseudoproofs that
prove nothing at
all
A GOOD ARGUMENT INCLUDE:
 a thesis or claim that declares the writer's position on the problem at
hand;
 an acknowledgment of other perspectives;
 a set of clearly defined premises that illustrate the argument's line of
reasoning;
 evidence that validates the argument's premises;
 a conclusion that convinces the reader that the argument has been
soundly and persuasively made.
THEREFORE, WE NEED TO:
• Avoid quoting sources that contain fallacies
• Avoid fallacies in our own writing

BECAUSE…

THEY WEAKEN OUR ARGUMENT AND DAMAGE OUR ETHOS

CATEGORIES OF GENUINE PROOFS

1) Logic
2) Character
3) Emotion
1) Begging the Question (also called Circular Reasoning)

“Capital punishment deters crime because it keeps criminals from

committing murder.”
“She is ignorant because she was never educated.”

Imagine that the arguer, when asked for support, begs off and simply
restates the claim in the same or different words.

FALLACIES IN LOGIC
2) Red Herring

“I don’t believe Manny Pacquiao is worthy of his international fame in

sports. He doesn’t even pay his taxes!”

Irrelevant and misleading support is provided that pulls the audiences

away from the real argument

FALLACIES IN LOGIC
3) Non Sequitur

“That man with the powerful new computer must be highly skilled in
computer technology.”

Non sequitur is Latin for “it does not follow.”

FALLACIES IN LOGIC
4) Straw Man

A political candidate sets up a straw man by claiming that his

opponent has said he is too old to do the job, when in fact the
opponent has never mentioned age as an issue. Then, the candidate
refutes the age issue by detailing the advantages of age and appears
to win the argument.

This fallacy suggests competence where it might not actually exist.

FALLACIES IN LOGIC
4) Stacked Evidence

“TV is an uplifting and inspiring medium. Nature shows are

educational, afternoon drama promotes personal bonds, and news
programs keep audiences informed.”

Stacking evidence to represent only one side of an issue that clearly

has two sides gives a distorted impression of the issue.

FALLACIES IN LOGIC
5) Either-Or

“Philippines: love it or leave it.”

“Shut down all nuclear power plants, or watch your children and
grandchildren die from radiation poisoning.”

Only two possibilities are presented when in fact several exist.

FALLACIES IN LOGIC
6) Post Hoc, ergo propter
hoc

Latin phrase that translates

as “after this, therefore
because of this.”
-this is the fallacy of faulty
cause

FALLACIES IN LOGIC
7) False Analogy

“I do not know of a mother who gave birth to a child and deliberately

destroyed that child. This is the same situation with America.
America guided and nurtured the Philippines in the ways of
democracy. Can anyone seriously think that the U.S. will
deliberately destroy our country, her own child?

Arguer misuses illustrations or analogies as proof

FALLACIES IN LOGIC
8) Hasty generalization

“The legislative department has lost its integrity. Just look at how the
two senators continue to attack each other.”

“I won’t risk sending my son/daughter to study in UPLB. After the

series of killings in Los Baños, it’s clearly a dangerous place.

- The fallacy committed by jumping to conclusions.

FALLACIES IN LOGIC
9) Ad Ignorantium

“Darwin’s theory of evolution has not been disproved either by rival

theories or empirical evidence. It is, therefore, to all intents and
purposes, true.”

- Something must be true because it has never been proven false;

something must be false because it has never been proven true

FALLACIES IN LOGIC
FALLACIES THAT AFFECT
CHARACTER OR ETHOS
1) Ad Hominem

Miriam Defensor Santiago labeled Juan Ponce Enrile as a

“Psychopathic Hypersexualized Serial Womanizer”

Latin phrase which means “to the man”

It attacks a person’s character rather than a person’s ideas or policies.

FALLACIES IN ETHOS
2) Guilt by Association

“She is the Chief of Staff of the legislator charged with submitting fake
SAROs. I always thought there was something doubtful about her
dealings.
“I saw our priest with the city mafia boss. No wonder the church
received cash donations from dubious sources.”

Suggests that people’s character can be judged by examining the

character of their associates.
FALLACIES IN ETHOS
3) Using Authority Instead of Evidence

“Dr. Quack says that abortion is always morally wrong, regardless of

the situation. He has to be right, after all, he is a respected expert in
his field."

The arguer relies on personal authority to prove a point rather than on

evidence.

FALLACIES IN ETHOS
EMOTIONAL FALLACIES
1) Bandwagon Appeal

“Everyone is going vegetarian; I think I should too.”

Since a majority of the people polled hold a certain opinion, you

should adopt it also.

FALLACIES IN PATHOS
2) Slippery Slope

"We have to stop the RH Bill! The next thing you know, we’ll have
divorce laws and the notion of family as we know it will crumble!“

A scare tactic that suggests that if we allow one thing to happen, we

will immediately be sliding down a slippery slope to disaster.

FALLACIES IN PATHOS
3) Creating False Needs

An arguer will create a

false sense of need where
none exists or will
unrealistically heighten
an existing need.

FALLACIES IN PATHOS
4)Ad Misericordiam (argument to pity)

“The cases against the former priest must be dropped. He is, right this
minute, suffering from heart ailment. Let us have compassion for the
man, who once preached the words of God. There must be something
good left in his heart.”

Arguer appeals to our emotional side, instead of presenting proofs

FALLACIES IN PATHOS
REMEMBER!

Using your good sense of what constitutes

fallacious reasoning, you now have what
you need to evaluate the strength and
validity of the proofs in an argument.
EXERCISE ON FALLACIES

Evaluate each of the following sentences as to the validity of their

arguments. They may exhibit more than one fallacy in their
reasoning. Be ready to defend your answer.
1) What an incompetent English teacher! Imagine spelling “length” as
“length” in his letter to the dean?

2) See this adorable, laughing baby? This is the baby you murder hen
you have an abortion.

3) The witness has had estafa charges filed against her. Her testimony
must be doubtful as well!
4) Why worry about nuclear war when we're all going to die anyway?

5) An old grandmother's advice to her granddaughter, who is

contemplating living with her boyfriend: "Why should he buy the
cow when he can get the milk for free?"
6) The stock market fell because the Japanese are considering
implementing an import tax.

7) We've got to stop them from banning pornography. Once they start
banning one form of literature, they will never stop. Next thing you
know, they will be burning all the books!
8) “I overheard my friend John argue that the Bible has errors in it.
Funny, I never figured him for an atheist.”

9) “My opponent has argued that there’s an urgent need to reduce

greenhouse gases in order to minimize global warming. But the most
serious problem facing future generations is the risk posed by
nuclear weapons in the hands of rogue states and terrorists. This is
where we need to focus our attention and resources.”
10) “We sin because we're sinners.”
HOMEWORK NO. 1

Look at advertisement that appear in print, on television, or online.

Listen to political speeches and political commentary; visit Web
sites, blogs, or simply listen to your friends and family.
Then, find an example of fallacy and explain (in 1 to 2 sentences) why
it is a fallacy.
Submit in one short bond paper. If it is visual, append the
photo/graphic. Due first meeting on January. 
HOMEWORK NO. 2
Read the article “The Ethics of Higher Studies” by Etienne Gilson on
pages 408 to 411 of Reading into Writing 2.

Then, draw the thesis statement (one sentence only) of the article.
Write your answer on the same page where your answered
Homework No. 1.
REFERENCES:
Logic and argument. Institute for Writing and Rhetoric. Retrieved from
http://dartmouth.edu/writing-speech/learning/materials-first-year-
writers/logic-and-argument on November 10, 2013.
Full Text of Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago's speech. Retrieved from
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/breaking-news/2013/12/04/full-text-
senator-miriam-defensor-santiagos-speech-317053 on December 6,
2013.
Dadufalza, C. D. (1992). Reading into writing II. Makati City,
Philippines: Bookmark Inc.
Wood, N. V. (2009). Perspectives on argument. 6th ed. New Jersey:
Pearson Education, Inc.