Fallacies in Reasoning
Wednesday, 22 September 2021
7:36 am
Fallacy- common errors that undermine logic
e.g. paglilihi
Reasoning- Thinking logically
Fallacies in Reasoning
- Also called as logical fallacy
- False statement that weakens an argument by distorting an issue
- Drawing false conclusions
- Misusing evidence or language
1. Ad Hominen
a. Latin term for "to the person"
b. Form of character assasination
c. Attacks the person rather than the argument
- Common Ad Hominem
○ Branding
 "Ralph can't cook good food because he is an engineer."
 Labeling a person
○ Racial Discrimination
 "The man can't be trusted because he is black. "
○ Gender Defamation
 "Anna shouldn't be allowed to join the army because she is a
woman."
○ Religious Attacks
 "He is a terrorist because he is a Muslim."
2. Hasty Generalization
a. Drawing conclusions based on too little data.
b. 2 forms- stereotyping and superstition.
○ Superstitions
 Claims that lacks scientific evidences.
3. Faulty Analogy
a. Comparing two words that doesn't share common characteristics or any
fundamental similarity.
Examples:
- People are like dogs, they respond best to clear instructions
- If we can put men in the moon, why can't we find a cure for cancer?
4. Bandwagon Fallacy
a. The belief that the opinion of the majority is always valid.
b. "Argumentum ad populum" - appeal to the people
Examples:
- During the obstacle course. Tanner did not follow what he think is
correct, rather he followed the majority of the group.
5. Post Hoc
a. "post hoo ergo propter hoo" meaning, "after this therefore, because of
this"
Examples:
- I sneezed and at the same time, the power went off. My sneeze did
something to make the power off.
6. Red Herring
a. A red herring is an argument that distracts an opponent away from the
real issue and leads them to an irrelevant issue.
Examples:
- Mother: it's bedtime Jane.
- Jane: Mom, how do ants feed their babies?
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- Jane: Mom, how do ants feed their babies?
- Mother: Don't know dear. Close your eyes now.
- Jane: But mama, do ant babies cry when they're hungry?
7. Attack on Person
a. This reasoning attacks the person instead of the issue
b. A very small number of particularly dramatic events are taken to
outweigh a significant amount of statistical evidence.
Example:
- He is always late for his meetings. How do you expect him to advance the
progress of this?
8. Either or Reasoning
a. This presents only two alternatives and acts as if there in no other
choices.
Example:
- Eat an apple a day or you'll get sick.
Activity
1. Post Hoc
2. Either or reasoning
3. Attack on person
4. Superstitions
5. Stereotype
6. Hasty generalization- Ad hominem
7. Ad hominem
8. Faulty Analogy
9. Bandwagon Fallacy
10. Red Herring
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Tertiary-c
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Primary-c
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1. Most accessible- Dictionary, rappler, encyclopedia
2. Reliable- journals, university websites, dictionary
3. Most used- journals, university websites, rappler, interviews, library books
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WRITING ETHICS
Ethics- moral principles that govern a person's behavior or the conducting
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Copyright Law
Plagiarism
Creative commons
Conciseness
professionalism
Ethics
Ethical writing
Plagiarism checkers
Citations- ethical writing
Plagiarism
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Okay
Plagiarized- not paraphrased and with no ("")
okay
Plagiarized- no citations
Okay
Okay
Plagiarized- no citations
Okay
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Okay
okay
Plagiarized- wrong citations, no quotations
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