Upload
alex
View
218
Download
0
Embed Size (px)
Citation preview
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.