(Logical)Fallacies

JoachimDeBeule MethodsofScientificResearch 14/11/2008

Whatisa(logical)fallacy?
A"fallacy"isamistake,anda"logicalfallacyis amistakeinreasoning.

Inlogic,theterm"fallacy"isusedintworelated, butdistinctways.Forexample:

"ArgumentumadHominemisafallacy." "Yourargumentisafallacy."

Tobeafallacy,atypeofreasoningmustbe potentiallydeceptive.Moreover,inorderfora fallacytobeworthidentifyingandnaming,it mustbeacommontypeoflogicalerror.

History

Aristotlewasboththefirstformallogician codifyingtherulesofcorrectreasoningand thefirstinformallogiciancatalogingtypesof incorrectreasoning(fallacies). Hewasboththefirsttonametypesoflogical error,andthefirsttogrouptheminto categories.TheresultishisbookOn SophisticalRefutations.

History

Plato(Aristotle'steacher)wasthefirst philosophertocollectexamplesofbad reasoning,whichisanimportantpreliminary pieceoffieldworkbeforenamingand cataloging. Plato's"Euthydemus"preservesacollectionof fallaciousargumentsindialogueform,putting theperhapsexaggeratedexamplesintothe mouthsoftwosophists.Forthisreason, fallaciousargumentsaresometimescalled "sophisms"andbadreasoning"sophistry".

History

InthecenturiessincePlatoandAristotle,many greatphilosophersandlogicianshave contributedtofallacystudies,amongthemJohn Locke,JohnStuartMill,JeremyBentham,and ArthurSchopenhauer. http://www.fallacyfiles.org/

Whystudyfallacies?

Evenifyoucouldcountonreasoningcorrectly100%ofthe time,youcannotcountonothersdoingso.Inlogicalself defense,youneedtobeabletospotpoorreasoning,and moreimportantlytounderstandit. Studyingformallogicandtherulesofcorrectreasoningislike havingaroadmapthatshowshowtogetfrompointAtopoint B.However,eventhebestnavigators sometimesgetlost,andithelpsifthe roadsthatgonowhereareclearly labeled"DEADEND","WRONGWAY", or"DONOTENTER".

Taxonomyoffallacies

Aristotleclassifiedhislistoffallaciesintotwotypes:

Linguistic:Thosewhichdependonlanguage. Nonlinguistic:Thosewhichdonotdependonlanguage.

SubsequentlogicianshaveusuallyextendedAristotle's classificationbysubdividingthesecond,nonlinguistic,category into,forinstance,fallaciesofrelevanceandfallaciesof presumption.However,mostsuchclassificationshaveremained relatively"flat",withallfallaciesonthesamelevel Inrecentyears,somelogicianshavebeguntomakeuseofthe notionofasubfallacy,thatis,afallacywhichisaspecific versionofamoregeneralfallacy.Asubfallacyhaswhatever featuresthemoregeneralfallacyhas,togetherwithspecific featureswhichsetitapartandmakeitworthnaminginitsown right.

Informalvsformalfallacies

Aninformalfallacyisonethatisnotformal,thatis,itisatypeof fallacyinwhichthecontentoftheargumentisrelevanttoits fallaciousness,orwhichisfallaciousforepistemological, dialectical,orpragmaticreasons.Typically,informalfallacies occurinnondeductivereasoning,whichreliesoncontentas wellasformforcogency. Aformalfallacyisbasedsolelyonlogicalform,andaninformal fallacytakesintoaccountthenonlogicalcontentofthe argument. RobertAudi(GeneralEditor),TheCambridgeDictionaryof Philosophy,1995. S.MorrisEngel,WithGoodReason:AnIntroductiontoInformal Fallacies(FifthEdition)(St.Martin's,1994).

ExamplesofFormalFallacies

ThemaskedmanisMr.Hyde;Thewitnessbelievesthatthemaskedman committedthecrime;Therefore,thewitnessbelievesthatMr.Hyde committedthecrime. P=Q;b(P=R);Thereforeb(Q=R) Nomoslemsarechristians;Nojewsaremoslems;Therefore,nojewsare christians. Not(PandQ);Not(PandR);ThereforeNot(QandR) Itisn'tbothrainingandsnowing;Itisn'training;Therefore,it'ssnowing. Not(PandQ);NotP;Therefore(NotQ)

P

TaxonomyofInformalfallacies

Onesidedness

Alsoknownas:CardStacking,IgnoringtheCounter evidence,OneSidedAssessment,Slanting,Suppressed Evidence

Hewhoknowsonlyhisownsideofthecase, knowslittleofthat.Hisreasonsmaybegood, andnoonemayhavebeenabletorefute them.Butifheisequallyunable torefutethe reasonsontheoppositeside;ifhedoesnotso muchasknowwhattheyare,hehasno groundforpreferringeitheropinion.(John StuartMill,Onliberty)

Onesidedness

Q:You'vespokeabouthavingseenthechildren'sprisons inIraq.Canyoudescribewhatyousawthere A:TheprisoninquestionisattheGeneralSecurity Servicesheadquarters,whichwasinspectedbymyteamin Jan.1998.Itappearedtobeaprisonforchildrentoddlers uptopreadolescentswhoseonlycrimewastobethe offspringofthosewhohavespokenoutpoliticallyagainst theregimeofSaddamHussein.Itwasahorrificscene. ActuallyI'mnotgoingtodescribewhatIsawtherebecause whatIsawwassohorriblethatitcanbeusedbythosewho wouldwanttopromotewarwithIraq,andrightnowI'm wagingpeace. Source:MassimoCalabresi,"ScottRitterinHisOwnWords", Time,9/14/2002

Onesidedness

Aonesidedcasepresentsonlyevidencefavoringits conclusion,andignoresordownplaystheevidenceagainstit.In inductivereasoning,itisimportanttoconsiderallofthe availableevidencebeforecomingtoaconclusion.Forexample, supposethatyouhaveobservedseveralwhiteswans;thenyou mightconclude: Allswansarewhite. Butiftheevidenceavailabletoyouconsists inobservationsofseveralwhiteswansanda blackone,whateverconclusionthatyoudraw needstobeconsistentwiththisevidence. Toleavetheblackswanoutofyourreasoning wouldbe Onesidedness.

Onesidedness

Itisbynomeansalwaysfallacioustopresentaonesidedargument. Asisusualwithfallacies,wehavetotakethecontextoftheargument intoconsideration.

atrialattorneypresentsaonesidedcaseinfavorofaclient. theprosecutor'sjobistopresentaonesidedcaseforconviction. Apoliticalcandidate'scampaignwillpresentonlyapositivecase forthecandidate'selection,andacaseagainstthecandidate's opponents. Theothersidecanalwaysbereliedupontopresentthenegative case.Wevoters,bylisteningtobothsidesofthecampaign,can makeanobjectivedecisionabouthowtovotebaseduponallthe availableevidence.Thisiswhyitisimportanttopayattentiontoall sidesduringacampaign,andtoheardifferentpoliticalpointsof view.Peoplewholistentoonlyonesidewillinevitablyformone sidedopinions.

Onesidedness

Anothermajorsourceofnonfallaciousbiasisintheworldof advertising.Wehavenoreasontoexpectadvertisersor salespeopletotelluswhatiswrongwiththeirproduct,orwhywe shouldbuysomeothermanufacturer'sproductinstead.Thisis whyweshouldtakesuchpitcheswithaheavydoseofskepticism. Inthiscase,unfortunately,alltooseldomdoweheartheother sideoftheargument,aspromotersofproductsseemtobe reluctanttocriticizecompetitors. Asrationalconsumers,weneedtoturntoconsumerpublications toheartheothersideofthestory.

Onesidedness

Onesidednessisfallaciousincontextswherewehavearightto demandobjectivity.Twosuchcontextsarenewsstoriesandscientific orotherscholarlywriting:

Mostmajornewspapersaspiretoareputationforobjectivity,or fairness,ontheirnewspages.Slantinginanewsstorymaylead thereaderintodrawingfalseconclusions,whichmeansthatthe storyisaboobytrap. Scholarsareexpectedtoexaminealloftheevidenceandcometo aconclusion.Thus,aonesidedlackofobjectivityisacardinal scholarlysin.Thisiswhyscholarsshouldlistentoothersintheir fieldevenwheninfact,especiallywhentheydisagree.Itisonly whenscholarshaveconsideredallofthearguments,thattheycan cometoanobjectiveconclusion.

Onesidedness

MonroeC.Beardsley,ThinkingStraight:PrinciplesofReasoningfor ReadersandWriters(PrenticeHall,1950),Section14,pp.7780. T.EdwardDamer,AttackingFaultyReasoning:APracticalGuideto FallacyFreeArguments(ThirdEdition)(Wadsworth,1995),pp. 147149. PeterSuber,"TheOneSidednessFallacy".Ahandoutforalogic course.

RedHerring

AlsoknownasIgnoratioElenchi("ignoranceofrefutation"),Irrelevant Thesis Thenameofthisfallacycomesfromthesportoffoxhuntinginwhich adried,smokedherring,whichisredincolor,isdraggedacrossthe trailofthefoxtothrowthehoundsoffthescent. Thus,a"redherring"argumentisonewhichdistractstheaudience fromtheissueinquestionthroughtheintroductionofsome irrelevancy. Thisfrequentlyoccursduringdebateswhenthereisanatleast implicittopic,yetitiseasytolosetrackofit. Byextension,itappliestoanyargumentinwhichthepremissesare logicallyirrelevanttotheconclusion.

Appealtoconsequences

AlsoknownasAppealtoConsequencesofaBelief,Argumentumad Consequentiam Positiveform:

(Beliefin)pleadstogoodconsequences. (Wherethegoodconsequencesareirrelevanttothetruthofp.) Therefore,pistrue. (Beliefin)pleadstobadconsequences. (Wherethebadconsequencesareirrelevanttothefalsityofp.) Therefore,pisfalse.

Negativeform:

Appealtoconsequences

Example:Iwanttolistseventeensummarystatementswhich,if true,provideabundantreasonwhythereadershouldrejectevolution andacceptspecialcreationashisbasicworldview.

13.Beliefinspecialcreationhasasalutaryinfluenceonmankind,sinceit encouragesresponsibleobediencetotheCreatorandconsiderate recognitionofthosewhowerecreatedbyHim. 16.Beliefinevolutionandanimalkinshipleadsnormallyto selfishness,aggressiveness,andfightingbetweengroups,aswellas animalisticattitudesandbehaviourbyindividuals.

Evenifbeliefincreationismmakespeoplepoliteandwellbehaved,it maybefalse;evenifbeliefinevolutiontendstomakepeopleselfish andaggressive,itmaybetrue.BeliefinSantaClausmaymake peoplelessselfishandaggressive,stillhedoesnotexist. Source:HenryM.Morris,TheRemarkableBirthofPlanetEarth (CreationLifePublishers,1972),pp.viviii.

Appealtoconsequences

Example:Iwanttolistseventeensummarystatementswhich,if true,provideabundantreasonwhythereadershouldrejectevolution andacceptspecialcreationashisbasicworldview.

13.Beliefinspecialcreationhasasalutaryinfluenceonmankind,sinceit encouragesresponsibleobediencetotheCreatorandconsiderate recognitionofthosewhowerecreatedbyHim. 16.Beliefinevolutionandanimalkinshipleadsnormallyto selfishness,aggressiveness,andfightingbetweengroups,aswellas animalisticattitudesandbehaviourbyindividuals.

Evenifbeliefincreationismmakespeoplepoliteandwellbehaved,it maybefalse;evenifbeliefinevolutiontendstomakepeopleselfish andaggressive,itmaybetrue.BeliefinSantaClausmaymake peoplelessselfishandaggressive,stillhedoesnotexist. Source:HenryM.Morris,TheRemarkableBirthofPlanetEarth (CreationLifePublishers,1972),pp.viviii.

BandwagonFallacy

Comesfromthephrase"jumponthebandwagon" or"climbonthebandwagon".Politicalcandidates wouldrideabandwagonthroughtown,andpeople wouldshowsupportbyclimbingaboardthewagon. Alsoknownas:AppealtoPopularity,ArgumentbyConsensus, ArgumentumadPopulum,AuthorityoftheMany

Everyoneisselfish;everyoneisdoingwhathebelieveswillmake himselfhappier.Therecognitionofthatcantakemostofthestingout ofaccusationsthatyou'rebeing"selfish."Whyshouldyoufeelguilty forseekingyourownhappinesswhenthat'swhateveryoneelseis doing,too?[HarryBrowne,"TheUnselfishnessTrap",fromHowI FoundFreedominanUnfreeWorld(1973)] AdvertisingisarichsourceofBandwagonarguments,withmany productsclaimingtobe"number1"or"mostpopular",eventhough thisisirrelevanttotheproduct'smerits.

AppealtoEmotion

Emotionisnotalwaysoutofplaceinlogicalthinking. Appealstoemotionarefallaciouswhenintended toinfluenceourbeliefs,buttheyaresometimesreasonablewhen theyaimtomotivateus.

Thefactthatwedesire/fearsomethingtobetruegivesnottheslightest reasontobelieve/discardit Butthedesire/fearforsomethingisoftenagoodreasontopursue/flee

Subfallacies:AppealtoEnvy(ArgumentumadInvidiam),AppealtoFear (ArgumentumadMetum),AppealtoHatred(ArgumentumadOdium), AppealtoPity(ArgumentumadMisericordiam),AppealtoPride (ArgumentumadSuperbiam) T.EdwardDamer,AttackingFaultyReasoning:APracticalGuidetoFallacy FreeArguments(ThirdEdition)(Wadsworth,1995),pp.4456.

DavidHackettFischer,Historians'Fallacies:TowardaLogicofHistorical

Thought(HarperTorchbooks,1970),p.304.

GeneticFallacy

Difficultasitmaybe,itisvitallyimportanttoseparate argumentsourcesandstylesfromargumentcontent.Inargumentthe mediumisnotthemessage.[BruceN.Waller,CriticalThinking:Considerthe

Verdict(ThirdEdition)(PrenticeHall:1998),p.5.]

Forexample,thechemistKekulclaimedtohavediscoveredthering structureofthebenzenemoleculeduringadreamofasnakebitingits owntail. theGeneticFallacyiscommittedwheneveranideaisevaluated baseduponirrelevanthistory. Subfallacies:

AdHominem AppealtoMisleadingAuthority EtymologicalFallacy

ArgumentumadHominem(personalattack)

AdebatercommitstheAdHominemFallacywhenheintroduces irrelevantpersonalpremissesabouthisopponent.Suchredherrings maysuccessfullydistracttheopponentortheaudiencefromthetopic ofthedebate.

Abusive:attackonirrelevantpersonalqualitiesofthe oppositionlikecharacterorappearance.Theopponent feelsitnecessarytodefendherself,thusbeing distracted. Circumstantial:someirrelevantpersonalcircumstances oftheopponentareofferedasevidenceasin "Ofcourse,that'swhatyou'dexpecthimtosay." PoisoningtheWell TuQuoque

AlanBrinton,"TheAdHominem"inFallacies:ClassicalandContemporaryReadings FransH.VanEemeren&RobGrootendoorst,ArgumentumAdHominem:APragmaDialecticalCaseinPoint,ibid DouglasN.Walton,Arguer'sPosition:APragmaticStudyofAdHominemAttack,Criticism,Refutation,andFallacy

PoisoningtheWell

Thephrase"poisoningthewell"ultimatelyalludestothemedievalEuropeanmyth thattheblackplaguewascausedbyJewspoisoningtownwellsamythwhichwas usedasanexcusetopersecuteJews. ThephrasewasfirstusedinitsrelevantsensebyCardinalJohnHenryNewman duringacontroversywithCharlesKingsley: [W]hatIinsistuponhereisthisunmanlyattemptofhis,in hisconcludingpages,tocutthegroundfromundermyfeet; topoisonbyanticipationthepublicmindagainstme,John HenryNewman,andtoinfuseintotheimaginationsofmy readers,suspicionandmistrustofeverythingthatImaysayin replytohim.ThisIcallpoisoningthewells. "Iamhenceforthindoubtandfear,"hesays,"asmuchasany honestmancanbe,concerningeverywordDr.Newmanmay write.HowcanItellthatIshallnotbethedupeofsome cunningequivocation?"

(JohnHenryNewman,ApologiaProVitaSua,1864)

PoisoningtheWell

Iwishitwerepossibleformentogetreallyemotionallyinvolvedinthisquestion [abortion].Itisreallyimpossiblefortheman,forwhomitisimpossibletobeinthis situation,toreallyseeitfromthewoman'spointofview.ThatiswhyIam concernedthattherearenotmorewomeninthisHouseavailabletospeakabout thisfromthewoman'spointofview.(HouseofCommonsDebatesofCanada, Volume2,November30,1979,p.1920) Aswithregularadhominems,thewellmaybepoisonedineitheranabusiveor circumstantialway:

"Onlyanignoramuswoulddisagreewithfluoridatingwater."(Abusive) "Myopponentisadentist,soofcoursehewillopposethefluoridatingofwater, sincehewilllosebusiness."(Circumstantial)

PoisoningtheWellisnot,strictlyspeaking,alogicalfallacysinceitisnotatypeof argument.Rather,itisalogicalboobytrapsetbythepoisonertotempttheunwary audienceintocommittinganadhominemfallacy.Aswithallformsofthead hominem,oneshouldkeepinmindthatanargumentcanandmuststandorfallon itsown,regardlessofwhomakesit.

TuQuoque(2wrongsmakearight)

Q:Now,theUnitedStatesgovernmentsaysthatyouarestillfundingmilitary trainingcampshereinAfghanistanformilitant,Islamicfightersandthatyou'rea sponsorofinternationalterrorism.Aretheseaccusationstrue?

OsamaBinLaden:AtthetimethattheycondemnanyMuslimwhocallsforhis
right,theyreceivethehighesttopofficialoftheIrishRepublicanArmyattheWhite Houseasapoliticalleader,whilewoe,allwoeistheMuslimsiftheycryoutfortheir rights.Whereverwelook,wefindtheUSastheleaderofterrorismandcrimeinthe world.TheUSdoesnotconsideritaterroristacttothrowatomicbombsatnations thousandsofmilesaway,whenitwouldnotbepossibleforthosebombstohit militarytroopsonly.Thesebombswereratherthrownatentirenations,including women,childrenandelderlypeopleanduptothisdaythetracesofthosebombs remaininJapan.TheUSdoesnotconsideritterrorismwhenhundredsof thousandsofoursonsandbrothersinIraqdiedforlackoffoodormedicine.So, thereisnobaseforwhattheUSsaysandthissayingdoesnotaffectus.

Source:"CNNMarch1997InterviewwithOsamabinLaden"(PDF)

TuQuoque(2wrongsmakearight)

BinLaden'sresponseisnotagoodexampleofthetuquoquefallacybecauseheis speakingdirectlytotheissuebyfirstpointingoutthepetitioprincipiiproblemwith thequestionthatwasposedtohim.Heisexposingtheerrorofimplicitlyequating certainformsof"militarytrainingcamps"and"fighters"with"terrorism",andnot others.Oneconvenientandnotfallaciouswayforhimtodosoisbypointingoutthe similaritiesbetweentheactivityofthecriticizer(U.S.)andtheactivityaboutwhich heisbeingquestioned.Tolabelone"terrorism"andnottheotheris,heisarguing, itselfafallacy.[LindsayBrownonhttp://www.fallacyfiles.org/tuquoque.html] Seealso:JulianBaggini,"TuQuoque",BadMoves,10/1/2004

AppealtoMisleadingAuthority

CheatingbytheSoviets: BarrySchweidoftheAssociatedPress,inhiseffortstocriticizePresidentReagan's spacebaseddefenseagainstSovietmissiles,cameupwithareportfromsome StanfordUniversitygroupthatclaimedtofindlittleevidenceofcheatingbythe SovietUniononarmscontroltreaties. WhereweretheywhenSecretaryofDefenseCasparWeinbergerandGeorge Shultz,secretaryofstate,andseveralmembersofourmilitaryforceswentonTV anddescribedandenumeratedthedifferenttimesandwaysthattheSovietUnion hascheatedonthe1972AntiBallisticMissileTreaty? DoesSchweidreallybelievethatthegroupatStanfordismoreknowledgeable aboutU.S.armscontrolpolicythanallourmilitaryexperts,withCongressthrownin forgoodmeasure?IfIthoughtthatwastrue,Iwouldn'tsleepmuchtonight.AndI doubtifhewouldeither. (MiddletonB.Freeman,Louisville,"LettersFromReaders",TheCourierJournal, April1,1987.)

AppealtoMisleadingAuthority

beforerelyinguponexpertopinion,gothroughthefollowingchecklist:

IsthisamatterwhichIcandecidewithoutappealtoexpertopinion?Ifthe answeris"yes",thendoso.If"no",gotothenextquestion: Isthisamatteruponwhichexpertopinionisavailable?Ifnot,thenyouropinion willbeasgoodasanyoneelse's.Ifso,proceedtothenextquestion: Istheauthorityanexpertonthematter?Ifnot,thenwhylisten?Ifso,goon: Istheauthoritybiasedtowardsoneside?Ifso,theauthoritymaybe untrustworthy.Attheveryleast,beforeacceptingtheauthority'swordseeka second,unbiasedopinion.Thatis,gotothelastquestion: Istheauthority'sopinionrepresentativeofexpertopinion?Ifnot,thenfindout whattheexpertconsensusisandrelyonthat.Ifso,thenyoumayrationallyrely upontheauthority'sopinion.

Ifanargumenttoauthoritycannotpassthesefivetests,thenitcommitsthe fallacyofappealtomisleadingauthority.

AppealtoMisleadingAuthority

NotedpsychologistDr.FrasierCrane recommendsthatyoubuytheEZRest HotTub.

EconomistJohnKennethGalbraitharguesthata tightmoneypolicyisthebestcureforarecession. (AlthoughGalbraithisanexpert,notalleconomists agreeonthispoint.)

Guiltbyassociation(BadCompanyFallacy)

Themosttellingmomentinlastnight's[StateoftheUnion]speechcame afterthepresidentnotedthat"keyprovisionsofthePatriotActaresetto expirenextyear."Inresponse,notestheNewYorkTimes,"somecriticsin Congressapplaudedenthusiastically."IfOsamabinLadenwatchedthe speech,oneimagineshimapplaudingtoo.[JamesTaranto,"ThealQaeda CheeringSection",BestoftheWebToday,1/21/2004] Group/PersonXacceptsideaY,thereforeitmustbewrong. Hitlerwasinfavorofeuthanasia/vegetarianism,therefore euthanasia/vegetarianismiswrong. Allcommunistsarecivilrightssupporters,MartinLutherKing,Jr.isacivil rightssupporter,thereforeMartinLutherKing,Jr.isacommunist(i.e.bad, McCarthyism)

StrawMan

"Strawman"isoneofthebestnamedfallacies. Imagineafightinwhichoneofthecombatants setsupamanofstraw,attacksit,thenproclaims victory.Allthewhile,therealopponentstandsby untouched. Acommonstrawmanisanextrememan.Extremepositionsaremore difficulttodefendbecausetheymakefewerallowancesforexceptions,or counterexamples. extremistsarethosewhotakepositionsstartingwith"all"or"no".For instance,theextremistsintheabortiondebatearethosewhoarguethatno abortionsarepermissible,orthatallabortionsare. StrawManargumentsoftenattackapoliticalpartyormovementatits extremes,whereitisweakest.Suchstrawmenareoftenpartofthe processof"demonization",e.g.McCarthyism.

Moretodiscoverathttp://www.fallacyfiles.org/