Assignment 1
Logical fallacies are everywhere, and can be surprisingly persuasive to those who are unaware of their existence. One logical fallacy is red herring, which throws in a random, unrelated idea to throw off the audience. For example, a recent article criticized the anti-gun protesters not because they were violent but because they were “rude to adults.” A more effective means of engaging the protesters would have been to have a reasoned argument based on their actual political points of view. Saying they were “rude” has nothing to do with the central argument, which is related to gun control.
Another logical fallacy is begging the question, which is commonly used also in the gun control debate. For example, gun advocates will claim that gun control is bad because all Americans have the right to own guns because of the Second Amendment. Referring to the Second Amendment is fine, because it is the grounds for Constitutional law. In this sense, the Inadequate Authority logical fallacy is also being invoked in this case. The means by which the Second Amendment is interpreted is the crux of the issue. Even when the audience does agree that the Second Amendment is an important right, that right does not necessarily include textual evidence supporting the possession of automatic weapons and assault rifles. To strengthen this argument, it would be best to dissect it and reach common ground about the fundamental purpose of the Second Amendment.
Appeal to emotion is one of the...
occurred after a, then it necessarily means that a caused B, even though there might not be any actual connection between the two events. The false cause fallacy commonly occurs in arguments for the efficacy of prayer, which suppose that because a certain desirable thing happened (or an undesirable thing did not happen) after someone prayed, then it necessarily means that their prayer caused (or prevented) thus event. Sweeping Generalization The
Critical Thinking and Logical Fallacies Author and speaker Brian Tracy says that people do not make decisions rationally, or logically. He believes that individuals make decisions emotionally, and then only seek to justify them on a rational, logical, or rational thought basis. For example, purchasing a vehicle is less often the rational decision regarding what is needed, and more often influences by what the person wants to gain from an individual
Ethics: Green's Dilemma Identifying Logical Fallacies Fallacy 1: Circular Definition (The definition includes the term being defined as a part of the definition, it is assumed because something is a rule it must be obeyed without saying why) "I believe that all rules should be strictly obeyed," the officer told himself. Fallacy 2: Conflicting Conditions (The definition is self-contradictory) "But this is a special circumstance. Don't all rules have exceptions? Fallacy 3: Argument from emotion.
Fallacies The choices that people make determine the shape of things to come. This observation holds true at the individual, organizational, national, and global level. Therefore, it is obvious that close attention needs to be paid to critical thinking ability or the way decisions are made. This inference can be drawn because critical thinking involves the formation of logical inferences, the development of cohesive and logical reasoning patterns, and careful and
So is the appeal to ignorance. One need look no further than Fox News to find such an appeal -- what else can one say about a news site that has a regular featured financial columnist called "the capitalist pig?" Jonathan Hoenig who proudly calls himself by this title, plays into the readers' likely assumptions that greed is good is lauded for selecting the highest yield profile over one
Fallacies in the business world can be fatal when making a decision. Fallacies can impede the critical thinking process, causing the decision maker to focus on solutions that are not the most appropriate, or confuse the issue at hand. For these reasons, it is important to understand what fallacies are out there and how they affect the critical thinking process. Only by being aware of them is a person able
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