FALLACIES謬誤學(xué).ppt

FALLACIES,EQUIVOCATION,A fallacy committed when some word (or group of words) is used in different senses. Example: Its not wrong for newspapers to pass on rumours about sex scandals. Newspapers have a duty to print stories that are in the public interest, and the public clearly has a great interest in rumours about sex scandals., TAN Yoo Guan and Mark NOWACKI,False Dichotomy/ False Dilemma,A fallacy committed when an arguer presents as jointly exhaustive two alternatives that are in fact no so. Example: Either we stop all whaling or whales will become extinct. We certainly dont want whales to become extinct. Therefore we must stop all whaling., TAN Yoo Guan and Mark NOWACKI,Composition,A fallacy committed when an attribute of the parts is illegitimately transferred to the whole. Every part of a thing X has property F. Thing X has property F., TAN Yoo Guan and Mark NOWACKI,Example,The table is made of atoms and atoms are colourless. Therefore the table is colourless., TAN Yoo Guan and Mark NOWACKI,Division,A fallacy committed when an attribute of the whole is illegitimately transferred to the parts. Thing X has property F. Every part of a thing X has property F., TAN Yoo Guan and Mark NOWACKI,Example,Poverty isnt a problem for America because America is a rich country., TAN Yoo Guan and Mark NOWACKI,Argument against the person/ Poisoning the well,A fallacy committed when an arguer directs his or her attack against the opponent instead of the argument or position. Example: Ken broke the vase, but he would not admit it. Anyway, its just like him. The little coward., TAN Yoo Guan and Mark NOWACKI,False Cause/ Post Hoc,A fallacy that arises from treating as the cause of something that which is not really its cause., TAN Yoo Guan and Mark NOWACKI,Example,The Japanese, who eat a lot of fish, have longer average life expectancy than any other nation. Developed nations should therefore encourage their citizens to increase their consumption of fish so that on average their citizens live longer., TAN Yoo Guan and Mark NOWACKI,Red Herring aka Smoke Screen,A fallacy that occurs when the arguer diverts the attention of the listener by arguing for or addressing a different issue. Example: Harvard President Derek Bok, justifying a tuition hike: “If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.”, TAN Yoo Guan and Mark NOWACKI,Complex Question,A fallacy that occurs when a single question, which is really two questions, is asked, and a single answer demanded. Example: Have you stopped beating your husband?, TAN Yoo Guan and Mark NOWACKI,Hasty Generalisation,An argument with too few supporting instances/ examples. Example: You cant speak French. I cant speak French. Therefore nobody in NJC can speak French.,Hypothesis Contrary to Fact/ Forced Hypothesis,A conclusion based on an incorrect theory. Results from a failure to consider other possible explanation. Example: If Einstein had not discovered atomic energy, Japan would not have surrendered in World War Two and we would still be living under Japanese rule.,Slippery Slope,The assumption that one step will inevitably lead to an undesirable second step. (think: avalanche/ snowballing effect getting carried away) Example: Legalised abortion will lead to euthanasia.,Contradictory premises,When the premises of an argument contradict each other and there is no argument. Example: If God can do anything, can HE make a stone so heavy that HE wont be able to lift? God is invincible vs God can defeat himself,Ad Misericordiam,Appealling to emotions, without addressing the issue. Examples: Please donate. My little girl needs blood. I deserve to pass this course because Ive had a lot of problems at home.,Begging the Question,To assume part of the argument is true without supporting it. Example: KI is a waste of time. It should be made a non-compulsory subject.,Identify fallacies,- Each of us has been teaching for more than 20 years. So together, our group has more than 100 years of teaching experience., TAN Yoo Guan and Mark NOWACKI,- An elephant is an animal . So a small elephant is a small animal., TAN Yoo Guan and Mark NOWACKI,- ASEAN will be made richer by a free-trade zone, so if some member states fail to welcome the removal of tariff barriers, either they fail to realise that they will benefit or they dont want to benefit., TAN Yoo Guan and Mark NOWACKI,- Superstition can be a positive force. It gives you a sense of control by making you think you can work out whats going to happen next. And it makes you feel lucky and confident. To take a risk or to enter into a chancy situation, you really have to believe in your own luck. In that sense, its a very useful way of thinking, because the alternative is fatalism, which is to say, “Oh, theres nothing I can do.” At least superstition makes people do things., TAN Yoo Guan and Mark NOWACKI,- The upsurge in crime on Sundays is the result of the reduced rate of church attendance in recent years.,If I were not on the hockey team, our school would not have lost the match today. Professor Reddings students have received either As or Bs last semester. He must be an excellent teacher.,- Political life must lead many to excessive drinking. In the last six months, five members of Congress have confessed to alcoholism.,- After the Hyatt Hotel changed the layout of its entrance by installing these angled doors, its business increased ten fold. Clearly geomancy is not nonsense., TAN Yoo Guan and Mark NOWACKI,Censoring pornography will lead to the end of freedom for the press.,A man applies for a job. When the potential employer asks him what his qualifications are, he replies that he has a wife and six children at home, that the wife is a helpless cripple, the children have nothing to eat, no clothes to wear, no shoes on their feet; there are no beds in the house, no coal in the cellar and winter is coming.,If teenage couples hug and kiss public, they will end up engaging in premarital sex.,Professor Johnson teaches in the Political Science