Logical Fallacies

INSIGHT INTO THINKING CRITICALLY

What We Will Go Over

WHAT ARE LOGICAL FALLACIES

WHY THEY ARE IMPORTANT

EXAMPLES IN MEDIA

COMMON LOGICAL FALLACIES

What are they?

Logical fallacies are an error in

reasoning that are used to
persuade people to agree with
something.

They may be good arguments that

may,

Lack substantial evidence

Contain a questionable premise

Or be completely invalid

Why is this important to know?

Logical fallacies are errors in reasoning, and these errors can

influence people to think a certain way, when these ideas are on a
grand scale they can lead to great discomfort for certain groups

This is often times seen in debates concerning controversial topics

such as abortion, medical marijuana, same-sex marriage, gun
control policy, etc.

These errors can be seen in commercials too, and this makes or

breaks sales for the company.

Its important to know how to articulate your argument, and to also

know when your opponent lacks intellect on the subject, once that
has been established you know you have them beat

WHAT IS THE TACTIC BEHIND THIS

COMMERCIAL?

What about this one?

They are every where!

Can you spot them?

Common Logical Fallacies

Bandwagon is the using a trends increasing popularity to prove its

truth

Strawman - misrepresents a position in order to make it appear

weaker than it actually is, refutes this misrepresentation of the
position, and then concludes that the real position has been
refuted.

Ad Hominem attacking a persons physical appearance, or simply

insulting the, instead of addressing the issue at hand

Appeal to Force- is an attempt to persuade using threats

Appeal to Pity- attempts to persuade using emotionspecifically,

sympathyrather than evidence

continued.

Appeal to Authority- is an argument from the fact that a person

judged to be an authority affirms a proposition to the claim that the
proposition is true.

Slippery Slope- arguments falsely assume that one thing must lead
to another. They begin by suggesting that if we do one thing then
that will lead to another, and before we know it well be doing
something that we dont want to do.

Genetic Fallacy- is committed when an idea is either accepted or

rejected because of its source, rather than its merit.

Begging the Question/ Circular Reasoning- its conclusion is among

its premises, if it assumes (either explicitly or not) what it is trying to
prove. Such arguments are said to beg the question. A circular
argument fails as a proof because it will only be judged to be sound
by those who already accept its conclusion.

..continued.

Red Herring- a fallacy of distraction, and is committed when a

listener attempts to divert an arguer from his argument by
introducing another topic.

Cum Hoc- is committed when it is assumed that because two things

occur together, they must be causally related.

Sweeping Generalization- when one applies a general statement

too broadly

Hasty Generalization- A fallacy in which a conclusion is not logically

justified by sufficient or unbiased evidence.

***A hasty generalization always proceeds from the

particular to the general***** Sweeping generalization
applies the general to a particular.****

A FEW MORE JUST FOR KICKS

Thinking Outside of the Box

What would happen if companies didnt use logical fallacies and

stated truths instead?

What would that look like with a beer commercial, or a cigarette

commercial?

Would it be as effective?

Were you aware of these marketing strategies?

How would politicians be viewed if they actually stated what their

intentions were?

Can the people handle the truth, or must we have everything sugar
coated?

~YOU HAVE FIVE MINUTES TO REFLECT ON THESE QUESTIONS, THEN

PEER SHARE AND PREPARE TO DISCUSS AS A CLASS~