Age of the Sage Advertising, Inc.
“I cannot teach anybody anything; I can
only make him think.” Socrates
“The only good is knowledge,
and the only evil is ignorance.”
Socrates
“False words are
not only evil in
themselves, but they
infect the soul.”
Socrates
The Problem
Age of the Sage Advertising, Inc., has
several new clients who would like our
company to name and market their new
products; however, the manufacturers do
NOT want to trick customers into
purchasing their goods. Can we promote
their products without misrepresenting them
with logical fallacies?
Socrates’ Method of Inquiry
• Suggest hypothesis
• Test and refute hypothesis through
questioning
• Accept hypothesis as true OR
explore counter examples
• Act accordingly!
Fallacy #1
Name: False Dilemma (Either – Or)
Definition: Thinking of a problem as having
only two possible extremes (causes, courses
of action, etc.); assuming only two solutions
Example: “America: love it or leave it.”
Proof: Identify the options given and show
(with an example) that there is an
additional option.
OR
Fallacy #2
Name: Changing the Subject (Attacking the
Man – ad hominem)
Definition: An attempt to discredit an
opponent’s view by attacking the opponent’s
character or circumstances; against the man
instead of the issue
Example: “Why vote for a man who can’t
even keep a wife?”
Proof: Identify the attack and show that it
has nothing to do with the truth of the
proposition being defended.
X
Fallacy #3
Name: Hasty Generalization
Definition: a generalization based on
insufficient, scanty, inadequate, weak, or
irrelevant evidence; key words are all,
always, never, none, everyone, only;
stereotyping
Example: “I asked six of my friends if they
thought the plan was a good one, and they
agreed. So the idea is a popular one.”
Proof: Identify the size of the sample and
the size of the population, then
show that the sample
size is too small.
Fallacy #4
Name: False Analogy
Definition: a weak or far-fetched
comparison; selecting and focusing on
similarities that are not relevant to the issue
VS.
Example: “Schools would turn out better
products if they were run like businesses.”
Proof: Identify the two objects and the
property both are said to possess. Show that
the two objects are different in a way which
will affect whether they both have that
property.
Fallacy #5
Name: Cause and Effect (post hoc, ergo
propter hoc)
Definition: literally “after this, therefore
because of this”; assuming that because one
event preceded another, the first event
caused the second event
Example: “I took the new Tylenol Cold and
Flu medicine, and my cold was gone in two
hours.”
Proof: Show that the effect would have
occurred in the absence of the cause or that
something else caused the effect.
Fallacy #6
Name: Missing the Point
(Begging the Question)
Definition: assuming that
something is true in the
course of an argument;
assuming the truth of a
proposition that actually
needs to be proved
Example: “You should support the new
housing bill. We can’t continue to see
people living in the streets; we must have
cheaper housing.”
Proof: Show that the conclusion proved by
the author is not the conclusion that the
author set out to prove.
Fallacy #7
Name: Non Sequitur
Definition: literally “it does not follow”;
when a conclusion does not logically follow
from a premise
Example: “If the mill were polluting the
river, then we would see an increase in fish
deaths. And fish deaths have increased.
Thus, the mill is polluting the river.”
Proof: Show that even though the premises
are true, the conclusion could
be false (Show that B may be
a consequence of something
other than A.)
The Project
Working in groups as divisions, students
will …
1. Select a product type
2. Analyze a real-life ad for product type
3. Create an original product name,
packaging, and advertisement (free of
logical fallacies)
The Product
Each division will present its product and
promotion campaign via PowerPoint show.
“The only good is knowledge,
and the only evil is ignorance.”
Socrates