A%20logical%20fallacy%20is%20a%20mistake%20in%20logical%20thinking;%20it%20is%20a%20MENTAL%20TRAP - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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A%20logical%20fallacy%20is%20a%20mistake%20in%20logical%20thinking;%20it%20is%20a%20MENTAL%20TRAP

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A logical fallacy is a mistake in logical thinking; it is a MENTAL TRAP – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: A%20logical%20fallacy%20is%20a%20mistake%20in%20logical%20thinking;%20it%20is%20a%20MENTAL%20TRAP


1
Propaganda Logical Fallacies
  • A logical fallacy is a mistake in logical
    thinking it is a MENTAL TRAP

2
Unfair Emotional Appeals
  • Emotionally Charged or Biased Language
  • Modern universities are infested by the whining
    of idle intellectuals who force their decadence
    and discontent onto our captive youth.
  • infested, whining, idle, force, decadence, and
    discontent imply writers disdain for scholars
    and will immediately alienate many readers

3
Unfair Emotional Appeals
  • Testimonials/false authorities assumes that an
    expert in one field is also an expert in another.
  • Athletes endorsing SUVs
  • Movie stars selling shampoo

4
Unfair Emotional Appeals
  • Appeal to Common Folk
  • an ad showing a product being used in an average
    household
  • a politician suggesting he is like everyone else
  • Join the Crowd Appeal or Bandwagon
  • Everyone else is, so why dont you?
  • Everyone else believes that , so you should also.

5
Methods
  • "Use attractive, but vague words that make
    speeches and other communications sound good, but
    in practice say nothing in particular.
  • Use linguistic patterns such as alliteration,
    metaphor and reversals that turn your words into
    poetry that flows and rhymes in hypnotic
    patterns.
  • Use words that appeal to values, which often
    themselves are related to triggering of powerful
    emotions.
  • A common element of glittering generalities are
    intangible nouns that embody ideals, such as
    dignity, freedom, fame, integrity, justice, love
    and respect."
  • Glittering Generalities
  • Words that have different positive meaning for
    individual subjects, but are linked to highly
    valued concepts. When these words are used, they
    demand approval without thinking, simply because
    such an important concept is involved. For
    example, when a person is asked to do something
    in 'defense of democracy' they are more likely to
    agree. The concept of democracy has a positive
    connotation to them because it is linked to a
    concept that they value. Words often used as
    glittering generalities are honor, glory, love of
    country, and especially in the United States,
    freedom.

6
Errors in Logical Reasoning
  • Guilt by association - a person rejects a claim
    simply because it is pointed out that people they
    dislike accept the claim.
  • You think that 112. But, Adolf Hitler, Charles
    Manson, Joseph Stalin, and Ted Bundy all believed
    that 112. So, you shouldn't believe it.
  • Bin Laden supports Iraq in opposition to the
    U.S.There is an alliance of terror between bin
    Laden and Iraq, and this is a reason to make war
    on Iraq.

7
Straw Man
  • I would also call it Missing the Point. It
    takes place when, be it on purpose or
    inadvertently, a person attacks a different
    argument than the one his/her opponent presents.
    The original argument is distorted, exaggerated
    or simplified and is replaced by a different one,
    often weaker and easier to debate.
  • People who think abortion should be banned have
    no respect for the rights of women. They treat
    them as nothing but baby-making machines. That's
    wrong. Women must have the right to choose.
  • People who want to lower taxes must be against
    the poor, since the tax cuts disproportionately
    benefit the wealthy.

8
Errors in Logical Reasoning
  • Ad Hominem - attack on the person rather than
    his/her viewpoint
  • She says we need more military spending, but
    that is false, since she is only saying it
    because she is a Republican.
  • You say I should give up alcohol, but you haven't
    been sober for more than a year yourself.

9
MISUSE OF STATISTICS
  • Two out of three doctors recommend ____
  • How many doctors did they ask? You might assume
    this is the result of a survey of large numbers
    of doctors -but the statement is legally
    defensible if they asked just 3 doctors - and
    these doctors may have been employees of the
    company!
  • "One out of 5 people in the world is Chinese
    But I know hundreds of people, and none of
    them are Chinese!
    President Dwight D. Eisenhower once expressed
    astonishment and alarm upon learning that fully
    half of all Americans have below average
    intelligence.

10
Errors in Logical Reasoning
  • Hasty Generalization - conclusion based on
    insufficient evidence or bias
  • Someone who is a sexist might conclude that all
    women are unfit to fly jet fighters because one
    woman crashed one.
  • Because one apple is sour, all of them in the
    bowl must be sour.

11
Errors in Logical Reasoning
  • Either-Or Fallacy - states that only two
    alternatives exist when in fact there are more
    than two.
  • President George W. Bush You're either with us
    or against us.
  • My country love it or leave it.

12
False Analogy
  • X has property Y. Z  is like X. Z therefore has
    property Y. Use analogical comparisons to connect
    the item in question to another item that has
    desired characteristics. You can then claim that
    the first item has the desired property.
  • Employees are like nails. Just as nails must be
    hit in the head in order to make them work, so
    must employees.
  • Government is like business, so just as business
    must be sensitive primarily to the bottom line,
    so also must government. (But the objectives of
    government and business are completely different,
    so probably they will have to meet different
    criteria.)

13
Errors in Logical Reasoning
  • A question or a statement that conceals an
    opinion or assumption.
  • Examples
  • Do you still beat your dog?
  • You dont think that, do you?
  • All intelligent people agree that

14
  • Unproven premise for argument to justify the war
    in Iraq
  • Saddam has WMD and
  • Saddam has a cooperative relationship with
    al-Quaida

15
Errors in Logical Reasoning
  • Non Sequitur - a conclusion that does not follow
    from the original statement.
  • Because my doctor is young, Im sure shell be a
    good doctor.

16
Errors in Logical Reasoning
  • Slippery Slope - assumes that if one thing is
    allowed, it will be the first step in a downward
    spiral
  • If a teenager uses birth control, she will have
    sex more often.
  • If a person uses marijuana, he/she will naturally
    start using hard drugs soon.

17
Errors in Logical Reasoning
  • False Cause - assumes that because one event
    follows another, the first is the cause of the
    second
  • Because I brought my umbrella today, it didnt
    rain.
  • Because I washed my car, it will rain.
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