Bellwork Friday November 18th

In your Writing Journal please respond to the following prompt:

What is the most ridiculous argument you have heard? Remember this is NOT “fight” argument. I’m talking trying to convince someone of a point argument. Describe the argument and what about it made it so ridiculous and/or ineffective.

If you are not writing when I walk in, you are late. Do NOT stop writing until I tell you to.

Fallacious Reasoning

What NOT to do in an argument

Fallacious what?

➔ Fallacious◆ Adjective◆ Based on mistaken belief

➔ Any argument that is based on faulty thinking or incorrect evidence

➔ An argument that is desperately lacking “why” proof-ness

What are logical fallacies?

● flaws in reasoning that lead to faulty, illogical statements.

● Unreasonable persuasive tactics (named for what has gone wrong during the reasoning process. )

Ad Hominem – Making it Personal•An attack on the person proposing an argument rather than on the argument itself.

Example-

-Sara is divorced, so whatever relationship advice she gives you can’t be good.

–Senator Jones was a conscientious objector during the Vietnam War, so his proposal to limit military spending has no merit.

Circular Reasoning

➔ Any statement that…◆ assumes what you are trying to prove is true◆ has no evidence◆ is a “because” statement

➔

Circular Reasoning- Examples

➔ “I’m in charge.” “Why?” “Because I said so.”

➔ “I am late because I’m always late.”

Circular Reasoning

Circular Reasoning

Self Contradiction

➔ Any statement that…◆ contradicts supposed purpose◆ non consistent

Self Contradiction Example

➔ “I don’t care what you believe, as long as those beliefs don’t harm others.”

➔ “I hate the cold, but I love the snow.”

Self Contradiction Example

Bandwagon

➔ A statement that is…◆ assumed correct because everyone

thinks/says it is

Bandwagon

➔ “I did it, so you should too!”

➔ “Everyone’s doing it!”

➔ Celebrity advertising

Bandwagon

➔ “I did it, so you should too!”

➔ “Everyone’s doing it!”

➔ Celebrity advertising

Bandwagon

➔ “I did it, so you should too!”

➔ “Everyone’s doing it!”

➔ Celebrity advertising

False Cause/ Faulty Causality

➔ A statement that…◆ assuming one thing caused another when

they are not directly (or sometimes indirectly) connected

False Cause/ Faulty Causality

➔ “If you do not do your homework a monster will get you!”

➔ “If you don’t eat your vegetables you won’t grow!”

False Cause/ Faulty Causality

False Cause/ Faulty Causality

False Cause/ Faulty Causality

Over-Generalization

➔ A statement that…◆ does not have enough evidence found

before an assumption is made of the entire group

◆ assumes what is true of an individual is true of a group with no support

Over-Generalization

➔ “The first two people I saw at Comic Con with Dr. Who shirts on were short. Whovians must be all be short.

➔ Mr. Gildea likes brownies and he is a teacher. All teachers must like brownies.

Over-Generalization➔ “The first two people I saw at Comic Con with Dr. Who shirts on were short.

Whovians must be all be short.➔ Mr. Gildea likes brownies and he is a teacher. All teachers must like

brownies.

Over-Generalization➔ “The first two people I saw at Comic Con with Dr. Who shirts on were short.

Whovians must be all be short.➔ Mr. Gildea likes brownies and he is a teacher. All teachers must like

brownies.

Hasty Generalization

➔ A statement that…

◆ is based on an inference on too SMALL a sample

◆ uses one example to explain a much broader topic

Hasty Generalization

➔ “Laura dated a guy with blond hair last year, she must only like blondes.”

Ashton’s car is black, that must be his favorite color.

Hasty Generalization

➔ “Laura dated a guy with blond hair last year, she must only like blonds.”➔ Ashton’s car is black, that must be his favorate color.

False Dichotomy (either or fallacy)

•the arguer sets up the situation so it looks like there are only two choices. The arguer then eliminates one of the choices, so it seems that we are left with only one option: the one the arguer wanted us to pick in the first place.

Example- "Caldwell Hall is in bad shape. Either we tear it down and put up a new building, or we continue to risk students' safety. Obviously we shouldn't risk anyone's safety, so we must tear the building down."

**Post Hoc** (This one is everywhere in politics)

● Short for post hoc, ergo propter hoc, which means after this, therefore caused by this.This fallacy assumes that just because B happened after A, it must have been caused by A.

Example-

Since Governor Bush took office, unemployment of minorities in the state has decreased by seven percent. Governor Bush should be applauded for reducing unemployment among minorities.

False Analogy

•

Example-

–

Non Sequitur (Does not follow)

•

–

Straw Man

● This move oversimplifies an opponent's viewpoint and then attacks that hollow argument.

Example-

People who don't support the proposed state minimum wage increase hate the poor.

Red Herring

This is a diversionary tactic that avoids the key issues, often by

avoiding opposing arguments rather than addressing them.

Example-

The level of mercury in seafood may be unsafe, but what will fishers

do to support their families?

Slippery Slope

➔ a person asserts that some event must inevitably follow from another without any argument for the inevitability of the event in question. ◆ The outcome stated tends to be extreme and dramatic

Slippery Slope

● Because mom was late getting home the dinner wasn’t ready so I knew I would starve to death.

● There is Ebola in Dallas. America is going to die.

Slippery Slope

More exampleshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cNgnYl2HyFk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plB51zfAIOQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2CxDu7jiyE