Show:
Don't Fallacy Me
What You Didn't Say
The Best Intesions
(or Extensions)
Holmes is Where the Heart Is
It's All So Logical
100
You can't tell me about politics; your only 19 years old.
What is attacking the person?
100
You need to change because you cannot leave the house looking like that.
What is "but we need to leave the house"? This is the missing premiss. Standard form: You cannot leave the house looking like that. (We need to leave the house.) Therefore, you must change.
100
You might need one of these if there are consequences on the line, if your misunderstanding of a term could lead to a breakup or a fine.
What is a precising definition?
100
Example: All men are mortal. Socrates is a man. Therefore, Socrates is mortal.
What is an example of a deductive argument?
100
Here is an example of this problem. The headline reads: Republicans Grill IRS Chief Over Lost Emails.
What is ambiguity. This is also an amphiboly.
200
Your either with us or against us.
What is the fallacy of false alternatives? Explanation: There are certainly more possibilities to this statement. Perhaps, I am neutral, or I am with you on some issues and not others.
200
Religious people are misguided because they believe in God.
What is "it is misguided to believe in God." Standard Form: Religious people believe in God. (To believe in God is misguided) Therefore, religious people are misguided. Clearly, you can further challenge this argument. Why are people who believe in God misguided?
200
These are examples: 0 degrees Celsius is the point at which pure water freezes. 0 degrees Fahrenheit is the point at which salt water freezes.
What is an operational definition? This definition gives us a measurable way to understand temperature. And, as you know, there are two competing operational definitions of temperature.
200
Example: I saw your mom at the comic book store today, so I know that you were lurking around there somewhere. You go wherever your mom goes.
What is a deductive argument.
200
An example is this: His shoes are muddy and there are muddy prints leading to the cookie jar where one cookie seems to be missing. I think he may have taken a cookie. This will help me build a case against his general sneaky behavior.
What is an inference? An inference can be something you assume based on evidence, but may or may not argue for. I may infer that he took the cookie. Then, I could argue for it, at which point it would become an inductive argument, or I could use this inference to watch out for other sneaky behavior.
300
I'm a single mom with a full-time job and rent to pay. I should be allowed to shoplift once in a while.
What is appeal to pity.
300
Don't bother me with your requests for money. In our economic system, you are free to make yourself what you are.
What is "you are responsible for your situation" and "I am not responsible to help you"? Standard Form: You are free to make yourself what you are economically. Freedom to do so includes the responsibility to do so. This responsibility is not shared by anyone else. Therefore, you should not request money from me. There are a few ways you could lay out this argument, but essentially, I have highlighted what is most likely assumed by the person who made the statement.
300
Example for "justice": To expunge the Earth of all traitorous and Godless heathens.
What is a persuasive definition?
300
Every time I wear this black sweater, my teacher ignores my raised hand. Someone probably cast an invisibility spell on it.
What is a (weak) inductive argument. [Daily Double: what is the missing premiss?] Standard Form: Every time I wear this black sweater, my teacher ignores my raised hand. (It is possible that this is because I am invisible when I wear it.) Therefore, someone probably cast an invisibility spell on it.
300
I may be able to infer something because I am first able to do this. For example, consider a scowl on the face. Because of what the scowl does, I can infer that she did not like the curry.
What is to imply. Certain facial contortions imply feelings. Based on the implication of a scowl, I might infer that she didn't like the food. But I have not argued anything yet. Though, I may finally decide to say something like: "You always hate my cooking." At which point I could use implications and inferences to build my case.
400
Murder is morally wrong. All abortions are murders. Therefore, abortion is morally wrong
What is begging the question? Explanation: The definition of "begging the question" is when some point is assumed true in the absence of any justification. Typically, the conclusion is included in one of the premises. This is certainly a valid argument. Moreover, it doesn't appear to be circular, since the conclusion is not one of the premisses. Why, then, does it beg the question? It begs the question because the word "murder" is not a morally-neutral word, such as "killing". All murders are killings, but not all killings are murders. A person who kills someone in self-defense, a soldier who kills in battle, or a policeman who kills in the line of duty, is not a murderer. So, the first, unsuppressed premiss is really unnecessary, as the argument is valid without it: All abortions are murders. Therefore, abortion is morally wrong. Or, to spell out what "murder" means: All abortions are wrongful killings. Therefore, abortion is morally wrong. Which is clearly circular and, therefore, valid. In the original argument, the moral wrongness of abortion has been smuggled into the premiss via the morally loaded word "murder". This is how real-life questions are often begged, that is, by using loaded language to conceal the fact that an argument is circular. Remember, "begging the question" does not mean "raising a question." This is a form of circular reasoning
400
Don't associate with her. Don't you want to be considered important?
What is "people who associate with her are not considered important"? Standard Form: You want to be considered important. People who associate with her are not considered important. Therefore, you should not associate with her.
400
Example for "embarrassing": 1. The first time I tried to kiss someone. 2. When my mom showed up to the party to bring me clean underwear. 3. When I tripped into class on the first day of school.
What is an extensional definition.
400
Example: The ratio of the squares of the periods of any two planets is equal to the ratio of the cubes of their average distances from the sun. And we all know that Earth is closer to the Sun than Mars, so the Earth orbits the Sun faster than Mars does.
What is a deductive argument.
400
An argument whether deductive or inductive in which all of the premises are true.
What is a sound argument?
500
All living beings come from other living beings. Therefore, the first forms of life must have come from a living being. That living being is God.
What is the fallacy of ambiguity? Explanation: This argument is guilty of two cases of ambiguity. First, the first use of the phrase, “come from”, refers to reproduction, whereas the second use refers to origin. The fact that we know quite a bit about reproduction is irrelevant when considering origin. Second, the first use of, “living being”, refers to an empirically verifiable, biological, living organism. The second use of, “living being”, refers to a belief in an immaterial god. As you can see, when a term such as, “living being”, describes a Dodo bird as well as the all-powerful master of the universe, it has very little meaning and certainly is not specific enough to draw logical or reasonable conclusions.
500
The constitution guarantees us the right to bear arms. Therefore, gun control is wrong.
What is "gun control infringes our right to bear arms" and "What ever the constitution guarantees must be upheld". Standard form: The constitution guarantees us the right to bear arms. (What ever the constitution guarantees must be upheld) Therefore, gun control is wrong.
500
Example: The color blue is of a particular wavelength for the light spectrum.
What is theoretical definition. If you don't know, "color" is a highly theoretical concept and there are several competing theories about it.
500
Example: When the elaborate methods of preparation of some of the plants used to break down the monotony of life are studied, it becomes quite evident that primitive man must have possessed something other than chance to reveal to him the properties of food and drug plants. He must have been a keen observer of accidents to discover fermentation, the effects and localization of alkaloids and toxin resins, and the arts of roasting and burning a product to gain from it the desired narcotization or pleasing aromas (coffee).
What is an inductive argument. Standard Form: The studies suggest that man was a keen observer of accidents regarding fermentation, toxins, and desired properties of food and drug plants. Therefore, primitive man possessed something other than chance to reveal to him the properties of food and drug plants.
500
Another name for inductive argument because the conclusion adds knowledge to what is stated implicitly or explicitly in the premises.
What is an ampliative argument?