Logical Fallacies

By: Hanna Mangold

At this point in your college career, you may have heard professors talking about, and discouraging, the use of logical fallacies in argumentative papers. The term “logical fallacies” actually refers to a wide range of errors in reasoning, and it can get a little confusing. I’m going to point out several definitions and examples in order to help you make sense of the logical fallacies problem.

Although the various types of logical breakdowns have specific names (you may have heard of the “Slippery Slope” or “Straw Man” fallacies), it’s much more important to recognize that a logical fallacy has been made, than to be able to identify the specific type of fallacy.

Once you become familiar with the logical fallacy concept, I’m sure you’ll start seeing them everywhere! Politicians and advertisers are infamous abusers of logic—usually as an attempt to discredit their competition. The problem, of course, is that an invalid argument ends up making them sound desperate and deliberatively deceitful. Sometimes logical fallacies are used for humorous purposes—these examples poke fun at people who use false logic.

Have you seen Monty Python and the Holy Grail? In one famous scene, a mob of medieval peasants seeks to convict a woman of witch craft (watch here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrzMhU_4m-g&authuser=0). The mob’s logic (inductive and deductive reasoning) makes sense, but it is rendered completely fallacious by the false premises they set as indicators of witchcraft.

A more recent example can be found here (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTvFuA6wNhY&authuser=0), in a compilation of DirectTV commercials. In this advertising campaign, DirectTV makes fun of advertisers who use faulty logic to promote their products, by using faulty logic in a humorous way.

So, onto the nitty gritty:

What is a logical fallacy?

1.     According to yourdictionary.com:

The term "logical fallacy" refers to the concept of making an error in terms of reasoning. It is crucial to understand logical fallacies so that they can be identified and avoided when attempting to persuade.

2.     According to sources compiled on grammar.about.com:

An error in reasoning that renders an argument invalid.

“Logical fallacies are unsubstantiated assertions that are often delivered with a conviction that makes them sound as though they are proven facts" (McMullin, The New Handbook of Cognitive Therapy Techniques, 2000).

“A logical fallacy is a false statement that weakens an argument by distorting an issue, drawing false conclusions, misusing evidence, or misusing language" (Dave Kemper et al., Fusion: Integrated Reading and Writing. Cengage, 2015).

3.     According to the PurdueOWL:

 Fallacies are common errors in reasoning that will undermine the logic of your argument. Fallacies can be either illegitimate arguments or irrelevant points, and are often identified because they lack evidence that supports their claim. Avoid these common fallacies in your own arguments and watch for them in the arguments of others. (PurdueOWL)

Why is it important to recognize these lapses in reasoning?

·       In order to identify weak arguments in source material/news articles.

·       In order to think critically about what we hear and how people are attempting to persuade us.

·       In order to avoid making weak arguments in our own writing.

"There are three good reasons to avoid logical fallacies in your writing. First, logical fallacies are wrong and, simply put, dishonest if you use them knowingly. Second, they take away from the strength of your argument. Finally, the use of logical fallacies can make your readers feel that you do not consider them to be very intelligent" (William R. Smalzer, Write to Be Read: Reading, Reflection, and Writing, 2nd ed. Cambridge Univ. Press, 2005) (from grammar.about.com).

Think about it, why would you want to avoid making a logical fallacy? What does it do to your argument? To your authority on the subject?

The following links are a few great sources for exploring logical fallacies more closely:

http://grammar.about.com/od/il/g/logicfalterm.htm (some good definitions and examples)

https://yourlogicalfallacyis.com/ (a fun interactive website and printable poster that break down types of fallacies)

https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/659/03/ (good definition and breakdown of examples by type)

For fun and practice, try figuring out what’s wrong with the following statements pulled from http://factchecked.org/Downloads/teacher.handout.sample.fallacies%281%29.pdf:

Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, look at the bloody clothes, the murder weapon. Imagine the helpless screams of the victim. Such a crime deserves no verdict except guilty, guilty!

I’m not a doctor, but I play a doctor on TV, and I wouldn’t dream of using anything but Tylenol for my toughest headaches.

We should pass a constitutional amendment making it illegal to burn the American flag. Anyone who thinks otherwise just hates America.

Do most Americans believe in God? To find out, we asked over 10,000 scientists at colleges and universities throughout America. Less than 40 percent said they believed in God. The conclusion is obvious: Most Americans no longer believe in God.

The Soviet Union collapsed after taking up atheism. Therefore, we must avoid atheism for the same reasons.

You’re a vegetarian? You do realize that Hitler was a vegetarian, too?

The war in Iraq has been a complete success. After all, Saddam Hussein is dead, and the Iraqis had their first free election in years.

Most heroin users started out smoking pot. If you start smoking pot, you’ll end up a heroin user, too.

Words Words Words Aren’t Better

by Iz Altman

It’s a common misconception that good writing involves long, complex sentences and big, flowery words. What each of us really need to ask ourselves when we sit down to write is this: Why do I write?

When I was younger, I used to do a lot of creative writing just for fun, and I would show it to my father. He would hand it back and say things like, “Awfully wordy” or “You need to be clearer.”

As a young, angsty teenage writer, I took offense to these comments of my father’s. “You just don’t understand. What I was trying to say was…”

But that was my father’s point. He didn’t understand. When my audience didn’t understand the point I was trying to make, I wasn’t writing well.

We write because we want people to tell our readers something. Writing isn’t simply an artistic form of self-expression. It’s a form of communication which involves interaction between the writer and the reader.

When your reader is having trouble understanding your writing because of misplaced modifiers, wordy sentences, overly complex words, passive verbs, or any other reason, the writer and writing aren’t communicating effectively. Generally readers respond better to simpler words and simpler sentences.

Passive voice is a great example of making a sentence longer and more complicated that it needs to be. It is much easier for a reader to understand:

The boy threw the ball and the puppy caught it.

Than

The ball was thrown by the boy and caught in the mouth of the puppy.

Not only is the second sentence longer, but it is harder to understand. It is much easier for a reader to follow a subject doing something, like a boy throwing a ball, than having something happen to the subject, like a ball being caught.

The same premise goes for words. George Orwell said, “Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent.” It is much better to say, “The boy chewed his food” than “The boy masticated on his food.”

The simpler and clearer the writing, the easier it will be for the reader to understand the writing. When readers can easily understand writing, there is effective communication between writer and reader, and the writer has done his or her job.