PHI 105 GRADE A+ GUARANTEED
SOLUTIONS
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!
Example
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
Definition
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).
POST HOC ERGO PROPTER HOC
Definition
Post 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.
APPEAL TO AUTHORITY
An Appeal to Authority is a fallacy with the following form:
Person A is (claimed to be) an authority on subject S.
, Person A makes claim C about subject S.
Therefore, C is true (Nizkor, 2013).
In the video above, we see a young man proceed with a lawsuit based
on the advice of his doctor even though the doctor has no legal
background whatsoever. This erroneous acceptance is based on the
belief that the person is the expert or authoritative so therefore
everything they say must be true. In this case, the doctor was not
qualified to make a claim about the legality of the car cash, so his
reasoning was fallacious.
SLIPPERY SLOPE
Definition
Slippery Slope can be described as an analogy to take the argument in
one direction with a series of steps leading to a much more extreme
outcome. Once someone asks for one thing and receives it, they will
not stop until they have taken it all (Kirby & Goodpaster, 2011,
p.209).
FALLACY OF DIVISION
Definition
What is true for the whole has to be true for any of the pieces of
the whole as well (Kirby & Goodpaster, 2011, p.192).
Example
Housing prices are down in the United States. This means that housing
prices are down in my neighborhood. Since every neighborhood is
different you cannot assume that just because prices are down
nationally that they must be down in your neighborhood.
CIRCULAR REASONING
Definition
This fallacy is also known as "talking in circles". The premise is
restated instead of proven. The conclusion of the argument is
actually one of the stated premises, so no evidence is offered to
support the argument.
Example
Thunder Lope is a good mascot because Thunder Lope is good. We stated
that Thunder Lope is a good mascot and our reason for believing this
is because he is good. This type of reasoning does not advance
understanding or add to knowledge. When we use the circular reasoning
fallacy in our writing, our argument goes nowhere and literally moves
in a circle providing no real evidence.
EITHER/OR
SOLUTIONS
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!
Example
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
Definition
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).
POST HOC ERGO PROPTER HOC
Definition
Post 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.
APPEAL TO AUTHORITY
An Appeal to Authority is a fallacy with the following form:
Person A is (claimed to be) an authority on subject S.
, Person A makes claim C about subject S.
Therefore, C is true (Nizkor, 2013).
In the video above, we see a young man proceed with a lawsuit based
on the advice of his doctor even though the doctor has no legal
background whatsoever. This erroneous acceptance is based on the
belief that the person is the expert or authoritative so therefore
everything they say must be true. In this case, the doctor was not
qualified to make a claim about the legality of the car cash, so his
reasoning was fallacious.
SLIPPERY SLOPE
Definition
Slippery Slope can be described as an analogy to take the argument in
one direction with a series of steps leading to a much more extreme
outcome. Once someone asks for one thing and receives it, they will
not stop until they have taken it all (Kirby & Goodpaster, 2011,
p.209).
FALLACY OF DIVISION
Definition
What is true for the whole has to be true for any of the pieces of
the whole as well (Kirby & Goodpaster, 2011, p.192).
Example
Housing prices are down in the United States. This means that housing
prices are down in my neighborhood. Since every neighborhood is
different you cannot assume that just because prices are down
nationally that they must be down in your neighborhood.
CIRCULAR REASONING
Definition
This fallacy is also known as "talking in circles". The premise is
restated instead of proven. The conclusion of the argument is
actually one of the stated premises, so no evidence is offered to
support the argument.
Example
Thunder Lope is a good mascot because Thunder Lope is good. We stated
that Thunder Lope is a good mascot and our reason for believing this
is because he is good. This type of reasoning does not advance
understanding or add to knowledge. When we use the circular reasoning
fallacy in our writing, our argument goes nowhere and literally moves
in a circle providing no real evidence.
EITHER/OR
