Unveiling Fallacies: Understanding Critical Thinking Pitfalls

1. Critical ThinkingLecture 5bMore Fallacies By David Kelsey

2. Ad Hominem • To commit this fallacy is to think that some consideration about a person refutes the claims that he or she makes. • Confusing the person and the claim: • Criticizing the person not the claim itself

3. A personal attack ad hominem: claiming that because someone has certain negative features it follows that a claim she makes is false. Examples Inconsistency ad hominem: to hold that what someone says is false because it is inconsistent with something else she has said or done. Examples Ad Hominem again

4. Circumstantial ad hominem: holding that because a person’s circumstances are a certain way it follows that some claim she makes is false. Priest example Positive ad hominem: holding that the claim a person makes follows from some positive consideration about the person. Circumstantial &Positive ad hominem

5. Poisoning the Well • To poison the well • an in advance ad hominem. • For example,

6. Genetic Fallacy • When one tries to refute a claim based on its origin or history she has committed the genetic fallacy. • Belief in God’s existence • Genetic fallacy vs. Circumstantial ad Hominem

7. Straw Man • Straw man fallacy: • trying to refute a claim or argument by distorting it or oversimplifying it or misrepresenting it in such a way that it can be easily refuted. • Reconfiguring a claim • Knocking down a straw man • Knocking down a straw man is easy business but knocking down a good argument is not.

8. False Dilemma • False dilemma • limits considerations to a choice between only two alternatives although other reasonable alternatives are available. • The form of a false dilemma: • Using a false dilemma for the purpose of deception • Example:

9. Perfectionist fallacy • Perfectionist fallacy • Rejecting a policy or claim because it isn’t perfect. • A kind of false dilemma • Example:

10. Line Drawing Fallacy • The Line-Drawing fallacy • insisting that a conceptual line must be drawn at a particular point when drawing such a line isn’t necessary. • Examples: • Rich • Bald • Excessive force • Line drawing and Vagueness

11. Slippery Slope • Slippery Slope: • Claiming that if we let some thing X occur it follows that something else Y will occur, yet there is no reason to think that if X occurs so must Y. • Causation and slippery slope arguments • Example: • Hand gun laws

12. Misplacing the Burden of Proof • Misplacing the burden of proof: • Misplacing the burden of proof on the wrong side of an issue. • The 2 sides of an issue • Example: • Should we go to war with Iraq?

13. The burden of proof • To say the burden of proof rests on a claim: • This just means that if one is to hold this position, then she must support it with argumentation. • Example: • Iraq again • Temporal Priority

14. Where does the burden lie? • Placing the burden • Plausibility: • Example: • Affirmative: • Example:

15. The burden of proof #3 • Special Circumstances: • Under special circumstances the burden of proof is placed on a particular side of an issue. • The court:

16. Appeal to ignorance • Appeal to ignorance • claiming that we should believe that some claim is true because no one has proved it false. • Example:

17. Begging the Question • One begs the question when one of the premises of her argument assumes the truth of the conclusion. • Examples: • Abortion • An argument for God’s existence • Circular reasoning