Fallacy

Eng 102

Fallacies & Non-persuasion Directions: In each argument, identify the fallacies and explain how they render the argument non-persuasive. 1. Either we legalize marijuana or we watch a steady increase in the number of our citizens who break the law.

2. Smoking must cause lung cancer because a much higher percentage of smokers get lung cancer than do nonsmokers.

3. Smoking does not cause cancer because my grandfather smoked two packs per day for fifty years and died in his sleep at age ninety.

4. Society has an obligation to provide housing for the homeless because people without adequate shelter have a right to the resources of the community.

5. Based on my observations of the two renters in our neighborhood, I have concluded that people who own their own homes take better care of them than those who rent. [This arguer provided detailed evidence about the house-caring practices of the two renters and of the homeowners in the neighborhood.]

6. Intelligent design must qualify as a scientific theory because hundreds of scientists endorse it. 7. If we pass legislation requiring mandatory registration of handguns, well open the door to eventual confiscation of hunting rifles.

8. Those who support gun control are wrong because they believe that no one should have the right to defend himself or herself in any situation.

9. Most other progressive nations have adopted a program of government-provided health insurance. Therefore it is time for the United States to abandon its present employer-funded insurance system and adopt federally funded universal health insurance. 10. You should discount Dr. Smiths objections to federally funded health care because as a doctor he may face a loss of some income.

Fallacy

Eng 102

Slippery Slope - Based on the fear that once we put a foot on a slick mountainside, we are doomed to slide right out of sight Red Herring - Throwing an audience off-track by raising an unrelated or irrelevant point Non Sequitur - Any claim that doesnt follow from its premises or is supported by irrelevant premises Post hoc - Occurs when a sequential relationship is mistaken for a causal relationship Bandwagon - Popularity of something is irrelevant to its actuality Ad Hominem - Argument directed at the character of an opponent rather than at the quality of the opponents reasoning False Authority - Use famous people to testify on issues about which these persons have no special competence Hasty Generalization - Someone makes a broad generalization on the basis of too little evidence Appeal to the People - Appeal to the fundamental beliefs, biases, and prejudices of the audienceSway opinion through a feeling of solidarity among those of the group Appeal to Ignorance - Persuades audience to accept as true a claim that hasnt been proved false or vice versa Appeal to Pity - Arguer appeals to audiences sympathetic feelings in order to support a claim that should be decided on more relevant or objective grounds Poisoning the Well - Arguers discredit an opponent or an opposing view in advance (through bias) Straw Man - Occurs by oversimplifying an opponents argument to make it easier to refute or ridiculeRather than summarize opposing view fairly and completely, the arguer makes up the argument they wish the opponent had made because its easier to knock over Part for the Whole - Arguers pick out a part of the whole and then claim that what is true of the part is true for the wholeArguer picks only the best examples to make a case and conveniently forgets about examples that weaken the case Circular Reasoning - Provide a reason that simply restates the claim in different words False Dilemma - arguer oversimplifies a complex issue so that only two choices appear possibleOne of the choices is made to seem unacceptable False Analogy - Has to be some similarities between objects being comparedHas to appeal to audiences logic