`Fallacies Study Guide
Using the Logical Fallacies Media piece, fill in a definition and example for each fallacy below. The media piece is located in the “Topic 3 Study Materials” tab. Additionally , a weblink is also listed below within the reference. You are welcome to copy and paste the definitions and examples from the media piece in for this assignment. The reference for the resource has also been incl uded below. Reference for Logical Fallacies Media Piece: Grand Canyon Uni versity (2012). Logical Fallacies. Retrieved from: https://lc.gcumedia.com/phi105/fallacies-website/fallac ies-website-v1.1.html Term Definition Example
Appeal to Ignorance An appeal to ignorance uses lack of evidence (for or against) as the basis of the argument. For example, if something can’t be disproven, it must be true!You have a family member who has a terminal disease. You hear of a possible new cure being offered in another country. You contact the group promoting this cure and ask if it works. They say, "No one has ever shown that it doesn't work, so of course it works!"
Hasty Generalization A hasty generalization occurs 'when a conclusion is drawn from a sample that is too small or selective to assume with any confidence that it represents the subject accurately' (Goodpaster & Kirby, 2006, p. 205).Tom has a beard.
Tom is from Canada.
Therefore everyone from Canada has a
beard.
Post Hoc Ergo Propter HocPost Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc at times is one of the most persuasive fallacies. Assuming that because B follows A, A must have caused B. This is an easy fallacy to assume because this could happen, but we cannot always assume this happens. Some things just happen due to coincidence and the two things really having nothing to do with each other.Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc can also be the source of superstitious thinking. Think about an athlete who wears his 'lucky' socks and the team wins the game, you might conclude that wearing 'lucky' socks leads to winning. Maybe you break a mirror and then soon after you get into an accident, you might conclude that breaking the mirror led to that misfortune. These occurrences are merely coincidental and are not the reason for one's misfortune.
Either/Or An either/or fallacy does not acknowledge that opposing claims could both be true, that grey areas may exist between the two alternatives, or that An example of an either/or fallacy is saying that either hamburgers or hotdogs are the best food to have at a BBQ. Making a statement such as this limits the choices to only two, when in
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lOMoARcPSD|36440097 other possibilities exist. reality there are many more choices. At times there are only two choices, and the either/or fallacy does not apply. For example, a woman is either pregnant or not pregnant, or a field goal is either good or not good.
Composition Putting two or more “good” things together does not necessarily mean they will be good together. This fallacy looks at something from two perspectives: as a whole, and made up of parts. The argument is if something is true about the parts, then it is true about the whole.The coach recruited the best players from five different schools therefore his team should be the best in the league. In this case, the argument that
the entire team will be the best in the league rests on the fact that each individual player is the best. Just because all the players are the best individual players, does not mean they
will be the best team. Great teams require more than just individual talent, they also need teamwork and chemistry.
Extravagant Hypothesis Formulating a complex or unlikely explanation for an event when a simpler explanation would do. A “principle called “Occam’s razor” states that the simplest explanation for an event
is to be preferred over a more complex one, so long as the simpler one is adequate. The principle of Occam’s razor has shown itself to be a good thinking principle over the centuries” (Kirby and Goodpaster, 2006, pg. 208).There is a theory that the lunar landing was faked by NASA and filmed in a studio as part of an elaborate hoax. Often people will find 'evidence' that the landings could never have taken place, but it rests on the arguments that the U.S. government:
Spent billions of dollars for the
illusion that the astronauts landed on the moon
Crafted evidence of the lunar landing (e.g., lunar rock samples)
Was able to keep the fact that it was a staged landing a secret for more than forty years
Extravagant Hypothesis is the common fallacy that is used in conspiracy theories and other events where a complex hypothesis is offered when the
answer is simple.
Appeal to Authority
An Appeal to Authority is a A young man proceed with a lawsuit based on the advice of his doctor even
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lOMoARcPSD|36440097
Using the Logical Fallacies Media piece, fill in a definition and example for each fallacy below. The media piece is located in the “Topic 3 Study Materials” tab. Additionally , a weblink is also listed below within the reference. You are welcome to copy and paste the definitions and examples from the media piece in for this assignment. The reference for the resource has also been incl uded below. Reference for Logical Fallacies Media Piece: Grand Canyon Uni versity (2012). Logical Fallacies. Retrieved from: https://lc.gcumedia.com/phi105/fallacies-website/fallac ies-website-v1.1.html Term Definition Example
Appeal to Ignorance An appeal to ignorance uses lack of evidence (for or against) as the basis of the argument. For example, if something can’t be disproven, it must be true!You have a family member who has a terminal disease. You hear of a possible new cure being offered in another country. You contact the group promoting this cure and ask if it works. They say, "No one has ever shown that it doesn't work, so of course it works!"
Hasty Generalization A hasty generalization occurs 'when a conclusion is drawn from a sample that is too small or selective to assume with any confidence that it represents the subject accurately' (Goodpaster & Kirby, 2006, p. 205).Tom has a beard.
Tom is from Canada.
Therefore everyone from Canada has a
beard.
Post Hoc Ergo Propter HocPost Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc at times is one of the most persuasive fallacies. Assuming that because B follows A, A must have caused B. This is an easy fallacy to assume because this could happen, but we cannot always assume this happens. Some things just happen due to coincidence and the two things really having nothing to do with each other.Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc can also be the source of superstitious thinking. Think about an athlete who wears his 'lucky' socks and the team wins the game, you might conclude that wearing 'lucky' socks leads to winning. Maybe you break a mirror and then soon after you get into an accident, you might conclude that breaking the mirror led to that misfortune. These occurrences are merely coincidental and are not the reason for one's misfortune.
Either/Or An either/or fallacy does not acknowledge that opposing claims could both be true, that grey areas may exist between the two alternatives, or that An example of an either/or fallacy is saying that either hamburgers or hotdogs are the best food to have at a BBQ. Making a statement such as this limits the choices to only two, when in
Downloaded by Study Clock ()
lOMoARcPSD|36440097 other possibilities exist. reality there are many more choices. At times there are only two choices, and the either/or fallacy does not apply. For example, a woman is either pregnant or not pregnant, or a field goal is either good or not good.
Composition Putting two or more “good” things together does not necessarily mean they will be good together. This fallacy looks at something from two perspectives: as a whole, and made up of parts. The argument is if something is true about the parts, then it is true about the whole.The coach recruited the best players from five different schools therefore his team should be the best in the league. In this case, the argument that
the entire team will be the best in the league rests on the fact that each individual player is the best. Just because all the players are the best individual players, does not mean they
will be the best team. Great teams require more than just individual talent, they also need teamwork and chemistry.
Extravagant Hypothesis Formulating a complex or unlikely explanation for an event when a simpler explanation would do. A “principle called “Occam’s razor” states that the simplest explanation for an event
is to be preferred over a more complex one, so long as the simpler one is adequate. The principle of Occam’s razor has shown itself to be a good thinking principle over the centuries” (Kirby and Goodpaster, 2006, pg. 208).There is a theory that the lunar landing was faked by NASA and filmed in a studio as part of an elaborate hoax. Often people will find 'evidence' that the landings could never have taken place, but it rests on the arguments that the U.S. government:
Spent billions of dollars for the
illusion that the astronauts landed on the moon
Crafted evidence of the lunar landing (e.g., lunar rock samples)
Was able to keep the fact that it was a staged landing a secret for more than forty years
Extravagant Hypothesis is the common fallacy that is used in conspiracy theories and other events where a complex hypothesis is offered when the
answer is simple.
Appeal to Authority
An Appeal to Authority is a A young man proceed with a lawsuit based on the advice of his doctor even
Downloaded by Study Clock ()
lOMoARcPSD|36440097
