Ethics and Logical Fallacies

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  • 8/13/2019 Ethics and Logical Fallacies

    1/1

    A logical fallacy is often what has happened when someone is wrong about something. It's a flaw in reasoning. Strong arguments are void of logical fallacies, whilst arguments that are weak tend to use logical fallacies to appear stronger than they are. They're like tricks or illusions of thought, and they're often

    very sneakily used by politicians, the media, and others to fool people. Dont be fooled! This poster has been designed to help you identify and call out dodgy logic wherever it may raise its ugly, incoherent head. If you see someone committing a logical fallacy online, link them

    to the relevant fallacy to school them in thinky awesomeness and win the intellectual affections of those who happen across your comment by appearing clever and interesting e.g. yourlogicalfallacyis.com/strawman

    This poster is published under a Creative Commons No Derivative Works license 2012 by Jesse Richardson. You are free to print, copy, and redistribute this artwork, including printing and selling for profit, with the binding proviso that you reproduce it in full so that others may share alike. This poster can be downloaded as a high resolution pdf from the website for printing at various sizes.

    Misrepresenting someones argument to make it easier

    to attack.

    Byexaggerating,misrepresenting,orjust completelyfabricatingsomeone's

    argument,it'smuch easierto presentyour ownposition asbeing reasonableor

    valid,butthis kindof dishonestyservesto underminerationaldebate.

    AfterWillsaidthatweshouldputmoremoneyintohealthandeducation,Warrenrespondedby sayingthathe wassurprisedthat Willhatesour country

    somuchthathewantstoleaveit defencelessbycuttingmilitaryspending.

    Cherry-picking data clusters to suit an argument, or

    finding a pattern to fit a presumption.

    Thisfalsecause fallacyiscoined aftera marksmanshootingatbarns andthen

    paintingbullseyetargetsaround thespot wherethe mostbullet holesappear.

    Clustersnaturallyappearby chance,anddont necessarilyindicatecausation.

    Themakersof SugaretteCandyDrinkspointtoresearchshowingthatof the

    fivecountrieswhereSugarettedrinkssellthemostunits,threeofthemarein

    thetop tenhealthiestcountries onEarth, thereforeSugarettedrinksare healthy.

    Attacking your opponents character or personal traits

    instead of engaging with their argument.

    Adhominemattacks cantake theform ofovertly attackingsomebody,ormore

    subtlycastingdoubtontheircharacter.Theresultofanad homattackcanbe

    toundermine someonewithoutactually havingtoengage withtheir argument.

    AfterSallypresents aneloquent andcompellingcase fora moreequitabletaxationsystem,Samasks theaudience whetherwe shouldbelieveanything

    fromawomanwhoisntmarried,wasoncearrested,andsmellsa bitweird.

    Asking a question that has an assumption built into it so

    that it cant be answered without appearing guilty.

    Loadedquestionfallaciesare particularlyeffectiveatderailingrational debates

    becauseoftheirinflammatorynature-therecipientof theloadedquestionis

    compelledtodefend themselvesandmay appearflusteredor onthe backfoot.

    GraceandHelen wereboth romanticallyinterestedinBrad. Oneday,with Bradsittingwithinearshot, Graceaskedin aninquisitivetone whetherHelen was

    havinganyproblemswith adrug habit.

    Believing that runs occur to statistically independent

    phenomena such as roulette wheel spins.

    Thiscommonlybelievedfallacycanbe fairlysaidto havecreatedanentire cityin

    thedesertof NevadaUSA.Thoughthe overalloddsof abigrun happeningmay

    below,each spinof thewheelis itselfentirelyindependentfromthe last.

    Redhadcomeupsixtimesinarowon theroulettewheel,soGregknewthatit

    wascloseto certainthatblackwouldbenextup.Sufferinganeconomicform

    ofnaturalselectionwiththisthinking,hesoonlostallofhissavings.

    Appealing to popularity or the fact that many people do

    something as an attempted form of validation.

    Theflawinthisargumentisthatthepopularityofanideahasabsolutelyno

    bearingonitsvalidity.Ifitdid,thentheEarthwouldhavemadeitselfflatfor

    mostof historyto accommodatepeoplespopular belief.

    Shamuspointeda drunkenfingeratSeanandaskedhimto explainhowso

    manypeoplecould believein leprechaunsiftheyre onlya sillyold superstition.

    Sean,however,hadhadafewtoomanyGuinnesshimselfandfelloffhischair.

    Where two alternative states are presented as the only

    possibilities, when in fact more possibilities exist.

    Alsoknown asthe falsedilemma,this insidioustactichas theappearanceof

    forminga logicalargument,butunder closerscrutiny itbecomes evidentthat

    thereare morepossibilitiesthan theeither/or choicethat ispresented.

    Whilstrallyingsupportfor hisplan tofundamentallyunderminecitizens rights,

    theSupremeLeadertoldthepeopletheywereeitheronhisside,oron theside

    oftheenemy.

    A circular argument in which the conclusion is included

    in the premise.

    Thislogicallyincoherent argumentoftenarises insituations wherepeoplehave

    anassumptionthatis veryingrained,andthereforetakenintheirmindsasa

    given.Circularreasoningis badmostlybecause itsnot verygood.

    ThewordofZorbotheGreatisflawlessandperfect.Weknowthisbecauseit

    sayssoinTheGreatandInfallibleBookofZorbosBestandMostTruestThings

    thatareDefinitelyTrueandShouldNotEverBeQuestioned.

    Using the opinion or position of an authority figure, or

    institution of authority, in place of an actual argument.

    Muchof thetime expertshavebetter informationandunderstandingthan

    others,but holdinga positionof authoritydoesn'tnecessarilymean that

    someoneisright.Afterall,thehighestmedicalauthoritiesusedtothinkthatbleedingpeoplewas agood generalcurefor sickness.

    NotabletodefendhispositionthatevolutionisnttrueBobsaysthatheknows

    ascientist whoalso questionsevolution(and presumablyisnta primate).

    Making the argument that because something is natural

    it is therefore valid, justified, inevitable, or ideal.

    Justbecausesomething isnatural doesntmeanits good.For instancemurder

    isnatural,butmostofus agreethatwedon'tthinkit'saverygoodthingtobe

    doing,nor doesits 'naturalness'constituteanykind ofjustificationfor it.

    Themedicine manrolled intotown onhis bandwagonofferingvariousnatural

    remedies,suchasveryspecialplainwater.Hesaidthatitwasonlynaturalthat

    peopleshould bewary ofartificialmedicinessuch asantibiotics.

    Assuming that whats true about one part of something

    has to be applied to all, or other, parts of it.

    Oftenwhensomethingistrueforthe partitdoesalsoapplytothewhole,but

    becausethisisntalwaysthecaseitcantbepresumedtobetrue.Wemust

    showevidencefor whya consistencywillexist.

    Danielwasa precociouschildandhadalikingforlogic.Hereasonedthat

    atomsareinvisible,andthathewasmadeofatomsandthereforeinvisibletoo.

    Unfortunately,despitehisthinkyskills,helostthegameofhideandgoseek.

    Using personal experience or an isolated example instead

    of a valid argument, especially to dismiss statistics.

    Itsoften mucheasier forpeople tobelieve someonestestimonyasopposed to

    understandingvariationacrossa continuum.Quantitativescientificmeasures

    arealmost alwaysmoreaccuratethan individualperceptionsandexperiences.

    Jasonsaid thatthat wasall cooland everything,buthis grandfathersmoked,

    like,30cigarettesadayandliveduntil97- sodontbelieveeverythingyouread

    aboutmetaanalyses ofsound studiesshowingproven causalrelationships.

    Making what could be called an appeal to purity as a way

    to dismiss relevant criticisms or flaws of an argument.

    Inthis formof faultyreasoningonesbelief isrendered unfalsifiablebecauseno

    matterhowcompelling theevidence is,one simplyshiftsthe goalpostssothat

    itwouldntapply toa supposedlytrueexample.

    AngusdeclaresthatScotsmendonotputsugarontheirporridge,towhich

    Lachlanpointsoutthatheis aScotsmanandputssugaronhisporridge.

    Furious,likeatrueScot,Angusyellsthatno trueScotsmansugarshis porridge.

    Saying that a compromise, or middle point, between two

    extremes is the truth.

    Muchofthetimethetruthdoesindeedliebetweentwoextremepoints,butthis

    canbiasour thinking:sometimesathing issimplyuntrue anda compromiseof

    itisalsountrue.Halfwaybetweentruthandalie,isstillalie.

    Hollysaidthat vaccinationscaused autisminchildren,but herscientifically

    well-readfriendCalebsaid thatthisclaim hadbeen debunkedandprovenfalse.

    Theirfriend Aliceoffereda compromisethatvaccinationscausesomeautism.

    Judging something good or bad on the basis of where it

    comes from, or from whom it comes.

    Toappealto prejudicessurroundingsomethingsoriginis anotherred herring

    fallacy.Thisfallacyhas thesame functionas anad hominem,butapplies

    insteadto perceptionssurroundingsomethingssourceor context.

    Accusedonthe 6oclocknews ofcorruption andtakingbribes,the senatorsaid

    thatweshouldallbeverywaryofthethingswehearinthemedia,becausewe

    allknowhow veryunreliablethe mediacanbe.

    Using double meanings or ambiguities of language to

    mislead or misrepresent the truth.

    Politiciansareoftenguiltyof usingambiguitytomisleadandwilllaterpointto

    howtheyweretechnicallynotoutrightlyingiftheycomeunderscrutiny.Itsaparticularlytrickyandpremeditatedfallacyto commit.

    Whenthe judgeaskedthe defendantwhyhe hadn'tpaidhis parkingfines,he

    saidthathe shouldn'thaveto paythembecausethe signsaid'Fine forparking

    here'andso henaturallypresumedthatitwouldbefinetoparkthere.

    Presuming that a real or perceived relationship between

    things means that one is the cause of the other.

    Manypeopleconfuse correlation(thingshappeningtogether orin sequence)

    forcausation(that onething actuallycausesthe otherto happen).Sometimes

    correlationis coincidental,orit maybe attributabletoa commoncause.

    Pointingtoa fancychart,Roger showshow temperatureshave beenrising overthepastfewcenturies,whilstatthesametimethenumbersofpirateshave

    beendecreasing;thus piratescoolthe worldand globalwarmingis ahoax.

    Presuming that because a claim has been poorly argued,

    or a fallacy has been made, that it is necessarily wrong.

    Thereare fewthingsmore frustratingthanwatchingsomeone poorlyargue a

    positiononeholds.Muchof thetimeadebateiswonnotbecausethevictorisright,butbecause s/heis betterat debatingthantheir opponent.

    RecognisingthatAmandahad committedafallacyin arguingthatwe should

    eathealthyfood becauseit waspopular,Alyse resolvedtoeat bacondouble

    cheeseburgerseveryday.

    Manipulating an emotional response in place of a valid or

    compelling argument.

    Appealsto emotionincludeappeals tofear, envy,hatred,pity,pride, andmore.

    Thougha validargumentmaysometimes havean emotionalaspect,one mustbecareful thatemotion doesntreplacesensiblelogic.

    Lukedidntwant toeat hissheepsbrains withchoppedliver andbrussels

    sprouts,buthisfathertoldhimtothinkaboutthepoor,starvingchildrenin a

    thirdworldcountrywhowerentfortunateenoughtohaveanyfoodatall.

    Avoiding having to engage with criticism by turning it

    back on the accuser - answering criticism with criticism.

    Literallytranslatingasyou toothis fallacyiscommonly employedasan

    effectiveredherringbecauseittakestheheatofftheaccusedhavingtodefendthemselvesandshifts thefocus backonto theaccuser themselves.

    Theblue candidateaccusedthe redcandidateofcommittingthe tuquoque

    fallacy.Theredcandidaterespondedbyaccusingthe bluecandidateofthe same,

    afterwhichensuedan hourof backandforth criticismwithnotmuch progress.

    Saying that the burden of proof lies not with the person

    making the claim, but with someone else to disprove.

    Theburdenof prooflieswithsomeonewhoismakingaclaim,andisnot upon

    anyoneelse todisprove.The inability,ordisinclination,to disproveaclaim doesnotmakeitvalid(howeverwemustalwaysgobythe bestavailableevidence).

    Bertranddeclaresthata teapotis,atthisverymoment,inorbitaroundtheSun

    betweentheEarthandMars,andthatbecausenoone canprovehimwrong

    hisclaimisthereforeavalidone.

    Saying that because one finds something difficult to

    understand that its therefore not true.

    Complexsubjectslike biologicalevolutionthroughnatural selectionrequire

    someamountofunderstandingofhowtheyworkbeforeoneisabletoproperlygraspthem; thisfallacyis usuallyused inplace ofthat understanding.

    Kirkdrewa pictureofa fishandahumanandwitheffusivedisdainaskedRichard

    ifhereallythoughtwewerestupidenoughtobelievethatafishsomehow

    turnedintoa humanthroughjust,like, randomthingshappeningovertime.

    Moving the goalposts or making up exceptions when a

    claim is shown to be false.

    Humansarefunny creaturesandhave afoolish aversionto beingwrong.

    Ratherthanappreciatethe benefitsof beingableto changeonesmind through

    betterunderstanding,manywill inventwaysto clingto oldbeliefs.

    EdwardJohnsclaimed tobe psychic,butwhen hisabilitiesweretested underproperscientificconditions,they magicallydisappeared.Edwardexplainedthis

    sayingthatonehadtohavefaithinhisabilitiesforthemtowork.

    Asserting that if we allow A to happen, then Z will

    consequently happen too, therefore A should not happen.

    Theproblemwiththisreasoningisthatitavoidsengagingwiththeissueat

    hand,andinstead shiftsattentionto baselessextremehypotheticals.The merits

    ofthe originalargumentare thentaintedby unsubstantiatedconjecture.

    ColinClosetassertsthatifweallowsame-sexcouplestomarry,thenthenextthingweknowwellbeallowingpeopletomarrytheirparents,theircarsand

    evenmonkeys.