RHETORICAL FALLACIES On Friday, December 7, you will have a test on rhetorical fallacies. This handout / worksheet supplements the handouts I have given and the notes you should have taken on your classmates’ presentations. Therefore, it may not contain everything you need to know for the quiz. For the test, be sure you understand the meaning of “rhetorical fallacy” and the difference between logos, ethos, and pathos. Furthermore, you are responsible for the following terms (Latin terms included) and concepts. You should be able to define / explain them in your own words, to identify the fallacy, to explain a specific example of a fallacy , to generate some original examples, to avoid the use of them, and to repair sentences containing fallacies. LOGICAL FALLACY (PRESENTER) ad ignorantiam / appeal to ignorance (Robin) ad nauseam / argument by repetition (Laurens) ad populum / appeal to the public (Joel) circulus in demonstrando / circular reasoning (Dara) and petitio principii / begging the question (Tommy) DEFINITION / EXPLANATION IN YOUR OWN WORDS EXAMPLES Since the class has no questions concerning the topics discussed in class, the class is ready for a test. In spite of all the talk, not a single flying saucer report has been authenticated. Therefore, there is no such thing as flying saucers. Drugs are wrong, drugs are wrong. If you aren’t convinced yet, I’ll say it again – drugs are wrong! Since most people in the world eat meat, there are no ethical issues involved in meat-eating. Since 88% of the people polled believed in UFOs, they must exist. You can’t give me a C. I’m an A student! She is unattractive because she is ugly. We know that God exists, since the Bible says God exists. What the Bible says must be true, since God wrote it and God never lies. To say abortion is a private matter is to lose touch with common sense. How we treat one another is practically the definition of a public moral matter. Of course, there are many private aspects of human relations, but the question EXPLANATION OF THE EXAMPLES YOUR OWN EXAMPLES either-or fallacy (Aaron) of whether one human being should be allowed to fatally harm another is not one of them. Abortion is inescapably a public matter. You are either with us or against us. equivocation / half-truths (Marina) You have to eat your vegetables or you won’t grow up big and strong. Evolution is just a theory. Therefore, it shouldn’t be taught in the public schools as fact. false analogy (Nate) The average family has 2.5 children. Well, Jane’s family is very average. So, they must have 2.5 children. Employees are like nails. Just as nails must be hit in the head in order to make them work, so must employees. non sequitur (Canissa) People are like dogs. They respond best to clear discipline. Racism is wrong; therefore, we need affirmative action. slanted language (Karl) Smoking is dangerous, but nearly everything in life has some danger, such as driving a car. So, if you are willing to drive a car, you should also be wiling to smoke. I am firm. You are obstinate. He is pigheaded. testimonials (Laura) anecdotal evidence Our valiant heroes have prevailed. Their savage forces have been defeated. Shaquille O’Neal drinks Pepsi, so it must be better than Coke. "There's abundant proof that God exists and is still performing miracles today. Just last week I read about a girl who was dying of cancer. Her whole family went to church and prayed for her, and hasty generalizations A hasty generalization draws a general rule from a single, perhaps atypical, case. sweeping generalization assumes that what is true under certain conditions must be true under all conditions Describes a complex situation in simplistic terms that neglect the complexity of the situation Latin = after this, therefore because of this; argues that one thing caused another just because it happened before it oversimplification post hoc ergo propter hoc / false-cause fallacy red herring irrelevant topic is presented in order to divert attention from the original issue. special pleading a person applies standards, principles, rules, etc. to others while taking herself (or those she has a special interest in) to be exempt, without providing adequate justification for the exemption. stacked evidence represents only one side of the issue, thus distorting the issue. ETHICAL FALLACY (PRESENTER) ad hominem / argument directed at the person (Damita) DEFINITION / EXPLANATION IN YOUR OWN WORDS she was cured." My neighbor is a very annoying, angry man. He is a doctor. Therefore, all doctors are annoying and angry people. Jogging is healthy exercise, so you should take it up for your heart condition." Unemployment would cease to be a major problem if we got rid of illegal aliens. Over a period of 20 years, there was an increase of stork sighting in a town in Germany. During the same period, there were increased births. Therefore, the storks must have caused the increase in births. You may claim that the death penalty is an ineffective deterrent against crime -- but what about the victims of crime? How do you think surviving family members feel when they see the man who murdered their son kept in prison at their expense? Barbara accepts that all murderers should be punished for their crimes. Although she murdered Bill, Barbara claims she is an exception because she really would not like going to prison. Therefore, the standard of punishing murderers should not be applied to her. Cats are superior to dogs because they are cleaner, cuter, and more independent. EXAMPLES Who cares what you think about movies? You're just an ignorant American who doesn't know anything about real culture. Prof. Smith says to Prof. White, EXPLANATION OF THE EXAMPLES YOUR OWN EXAMPLES "You are much too hard on your students," and Prof. White replies, "But certainly you are not the one to say so. Just last week I heard several of your students complaining." Einstein is a genius, and he believed that a strong government is one with left-wing tendencies. You think that 1+1=2. But Adolph Hitler believed that 1+1=2, so you shouldn’t believe it. ad verecundiam / false authority (Adam) guilt by association (Denise) straw man / straw person (Veasey) PATHETIC FALLACY (PRESENTER) ad baculum / appeal to fear (Kidus) ad antiquitatem / appeal to tradition (Ayasha) ad misericordiam / appeal to pity or sentimentality (Julia) bandwagon (Paula) false need (Leah) DEFINITION / EXPLANATION IN YOUR OWN WORDS EXAMPLES You should believe in my God, because if you do not and he is real, you will go to Hell. You need to get all A’s on your transcript in order to get into college. You need an expensive car or people won’t think you are cool. WEBSITES A List of Fallacious Arguments: http://www.don-lindsay-archive.org/skeptic/arguments.html The Fallacy Files: http://www.fallacyfiles.org/ A Guide to Logical Fallacies: http://www.galilean-library.org/int16.html Logic in Argumentative Writing: http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/659/03/ Logical Fallacies: http://leo.stcloudstate.edu/acadwrite/logic.html Logical Fallacies and the Art of Debate: http://www.csun.edu/~dgw61315/fallacies.html Rhetorical Fallacies: http://projects.uwc.utexas.edu/handouts/?q=node/30 EXPLANATION OF THE EXAMPLES YOUR OWN EXAMPLES