Fun with Fallacies
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27 terms
Terms | Definitions |
|---|---|
 descriptive issues | raise questions about the accuracy of descriptions of the past, present or future |
| arguments | primary method of discover; set of reasons offered in support of a conclusion to convince the audiene |
| issue | general subject matter under consideration, a normative question needing an answer |
| conclusion | what the author is trying to convince you to believe; the proposed answer to the question/issue |
| prescriptive issues | raise questions about what we should do or what is right or wrong, good or bad |
| reasons | explanations or rationales for why we should believe a particular conclusion |
| reasons + conclusion = | argument |
| evidence | specific information that some one uses to furnish "proof" for something she is trying to claim |
| ambiguity | refers to the existence of multiple possible meanings for a word or phrase |
| assumption | an unstated belief that supports the explicit reasoning |
| value assumption | an implicit preference/priority for one value over another in a particular context |
| descriptive assumption | is an unstated belief about how the world was, is, or will become |
| fallacy | reasoning trick that an author might use while trying to persuade you to accept a conclusion |
| ad hominem | an attack or insult on the person rather than directly addressing the person's reasons |
| slippery slope | making the assumption that a proposed step will set of an uncontrollable chain of undesirable events, when procedures exist to prevent such a chain of events |
| searching for the perfect solution | falsely assuming that because part of a problem would remain after a solution is tried the solution should not be adopted |
| equivocation | a key word or phrase is used with two or more meanings in an argument such that the argument fails to make sense once the shifts in meaning are recognized |
| ad populum | appeal to popularity; an attempt to justify a claim by appealing to sentiments that large groups of people have in common; falsely assumes that anything favored by a large group is desirable |
| appeal to questionable authority | supporting a conclusion by citing an authority who lacks special expertise on the issue at hand |
| appeals to emotion | the use of emotionally charged language to distract readers and listeners from relevant reasons and evidence; fear, hope, patriotism, pity and sympathy commonly used |
| straw person | distorting our opponent's point of view so that it is easy to attack; thus we attack a p.o.v. that does not truly exist |
| either-or/false dilemma | assuming only two alternatives when there are more |
| wishful thinking | making the faulty assumption that because we wish X were true or false, then X is indeed true or false |
| explaining by naming | falsely assuming that because you have provided a name for some event or behavior, you have also adequately explained the event |
| glittering generality | the use of vague emotionally appealing virtue words that dispose us to approve something without closely examining the reasons |
| red herring | irrelevant topic is presented to divert attention from the original issue |
| begging the question | an argument in which the conclusion is assumed in the reasoning |
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