Difference between revisions of "Logical Fallacies"
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| − | * Appeal to Force (Argumentum ad Baculum: Appeal to the "Stick") | + | * Appeal to Force (Argumentum ad Baculum: Appeal to the "Stick"): When this fallacy is employed, force or the threat of force is used instead of reason to justify a conclusion. |
| + | Example: "Those who believe in flat earth should have their children forcibly removed from their home." | ||
* Appeal to Pity (Argumentum as Misericordiam): With this fallacy, an attempt is made to distract from the truth of the conclusion by inspiring pity." | * Appeal to Pity (Argumentum as Misericordiam): With this fallacy, an attempt is made to distract from the truth of the conclusion by inspiring pity." | ||
Revision as of 12:51, 13 March 2021
One of the reasons that an unverifiable globe model with impossible dimensions has been able to be perpetuated for so long is that there is a serious lack of training in systematic logic. At one time, formal training in logic was an accepted and important part of classical education. It should surprise no one familiar with current world affairs that it is advantageous for those hoarding power and resources to keep the masses uneducated and their minds untrained. By learning about and pointing out the errors in logic known as logical fallacies when they occur, we can retrain our minds to think more logically and clearly about the nature of our world and other important issues.
Informal Fallacies
Informal fallacies can be determined only through analyzing the content of the argument, as opposed to formal fallacies which relate to the form of the argument.
- Appeal to Force (Argumentum ad Baculum: Appeal to the "Stick"): When this fallacy is employed, force or the threat of force is used instead of reason to justify a conclusion.
Example: "Those who believe in flat earth should have their children forcibly removed from their home."
- Appeal to Pity (Argumentum as Misericordiam): With this fallacy, an attempt is made to distract from the truth of the conclusion by inspiring pity."
Example: "These Flat Earth Discord mods keep muting me and suppressing my freedom of speech."
- Appeal to the People (Argumentum ad Populum)
Example: "Of course we live on a globe. 99% of the people understand this."
- Argument Against the Person (Argumentum ad Hominem)
Example: "Those who think the earth is flat must have never have completed elementary school."
- Argument From Incredulity
Example: "Common sense dictates that we live on a globe."
- Argumentum Ad Nauseam (also known as an argument by repetition) is the logical fallacy that something becomes true if it is repeated often enough.
Example: "The earth is round. The earth is round. The earth is round. The earth is round."
- Dicto Simpliciter
- Gish Gallop: Attempting to overwhelm a debate opponent by introducing a large number of topics on a shallow basis in rapid succession
Example: "But what about ships over the horizon? Is gravity real? Where's the edge? Why can't I fall off? Why would they lie? How do seasons work?"
- Straw Man
Example: "Flat earthers think the earth is a disc flying through space, but why would the earth be a different shape than other planets?"
- Missing the Point (Ignoratio Elenchi)
- Red Herring
Example: "You say the earth measures flat. What about gravity?"
- Appeal to Authority (Argumentum as Verecundiam)
- Appeal to Ignorance (Argumentum as Ignorantiam)
Example: "Flat earth has no working model, therefore it must be wrong."
- Hasty Generalization (Converse Accident)
- False Cause
- Slippery Slope
- Weak Analogy
- Wishful Thinking: This fallacy occurs when the desire for something to be true is used in place of actual evidence for the claim.
- Begging the Question (Petitio Principii)
Example: "Using the given earth radius of 3959 miles, I can easily show you that we live on a globe."
- Complex Question
- False Dichotomy
- Suppressed Evidence
Example: "Everyone knows we live on a globe, and there has never been any scientific evidence found to dispute this idea."
- Equivocation
- Amphiboly
- Composition
- Division
References
Cline, Austin. “What Is Suppressed Evidence Fallacy?” ThoughtCo, 13 Nov. 2019, https://www.thoughtco.com/suppressed-evidence-fallacy-250354
Hurley, Patrick J. A Concise Introduction to Logic. Wadsworth, 1988.
Logically Fallacious, Archieboy Holdings, LLC, 2020, https://www.logicallyfallacious.com/.
