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2006-06-06 05:09:53
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Debating Fallacies



For those of you who enjoy serious debating, here are common fallacies in philosophy and debating, also termed Informal Logic Fallacies


Equivocation: Eg. Fallacy: If everybody is equal, why are some people more talented than others? Response: "Equal" may be used in more than one sense.

Ad Hominem: Attacking the person rather than the issue. Eg. Fallacy: Why should we believe Solomon when he tulls us to be satisfied with 'the wife of your youth'? He wasn't. Response: Just becuase Solomon wasn't perfect, it doesn't invalidate his adive.

Argument from Ignorance: Eg. Fallacy: Since you can't prove there is no Bigfoot, it exists. Response: Not necessarily.

Appeal to Authority: Eg. Fallacy: Same-sex marriage is right because the Supreme Court said so. Response: A legal opinion doesn't make something right or wrong.

Genetic Fallacy: Eg. Fallacy: My grade school French teacher was an ogre. Therefore, everything I learned from her is wrong. Response: Why? Just because you don't like the source of information, it doesn't mean the information is false.

Begging the Question: Eg. Fallacy: Miracles violate the laws of nature. Violating the laws of nature is impossible. Therefore, miracles are impossible. Response: Miracles cannot be defined as impossible without begging the question.

Straw Man: Eg. Fallacy: If the universe needs a cause, then God needs a cause. If God doesn't need a cause, the neither does the universe. Response: Not necessarily. Causality may apply to the universe but not to God.

Red Herring/Diverting the Issue: Eg. Fallacy: Maybe God exists, but look at all the bad things done in the name of religion. Response: This changes the subject.

Hasty Generalization: Eg. Fallacy: That used car salesman sold me a lemon. All used car salesmen are crooks! Response: Just because there may be one or more dishonest used car salesmen, it doesn't follow that they're all dishonest.

Reductive Fallacy: Eg. Fallacy: Consciousnes is nothing but neurological activity. Response: This proposition reduces consciousness to a purely physical phenomenon without proper evidence.

False Analogy: Eg. Fallacy: The world is like a watch. Since, a watch has a designer, so does the world. Response: There are many ways in which the world is unlike a watch: the world is unique, we don't observe world being built, watches are sometimes made by multiple craftsmen, not just one designer, etc.

False Dilemma: Eg. Fallacy: You're either a liberal or a conservative. Response: There are more than two options

Slippery Slope: Eg. Fallacy: If we legalize stem cell research, it's only a matter of time before we begin cloning human beings. Response: Not necessarily. And even if true, is the bottome of hte slope bad? There is a difference between therapeutic cloning and reproductive cloning. Are both objectionable and, if so, why?

Fallacy of Composition: Eg. Fallacy: Since every player on the team is a good player, it is a good team. Response: Not necessarily. The individual players may not work well together.




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