1、Logical Fallacies 因果分析中的逻辑谬误These are famous types of bad logic and reasoning. If you know about these, you will be more clever at creating arguments and attacking your enemys arguments. 1.Dicto Simpliciter, Unqualified Generalization 绝对判断Making general statements about complicated situations when y
2、ou dont have evidence is a fallacy. Words like “always, all, never, every, most” can show an unqualified generalization. Example: All people from New York are rude. 2.Hasty Generalization 轻率判断It is wrong to make a generalization when you only have a few samples. Example: Prince William has blue eyes
3、, Bill Clinton has blue eyes, my dad has blue eyes. White people have blue eyes. 3.Ad Hominem, Poisoning the Well 人身攻击/井下放毒Attacking and insulting your enemy instead of focusing on the issue is a fallacy. Example: The President cheated on his wife and lied about it. Hes a dirty guy.We shouldnt use h
4、is economic plan. 4.Ad Populem, Appeal to the People 投其所好Telling people what they want to hear, or what they fear. Example: I know I can count on you for money, because you are generous. 5.Ad Misercordiam, Appeal to Pity 诉诸同情Making people feel pity and sadness to get what you want is a fallacy. Exam
5、ple: Look at these poor starving children. Send me money now! 6.Testimonial, Association， 证言证据/ 权威联想Someone great or famous is associated with your argument. Example: Beethoven was forced by his dad to play music. You should be too! 7.Post Hoc, After That so Because Of That 牵强附会/假性因果Just because eve
6、nt B happened after event A doesnt mean A caused B. Example: President Obama was elected in 2008, and in 2011 Americas economy began to recover. Obama fixed the economy! 8.Either-Or, Two Alternatives 两难推理Offering people a choice between two things with no middle ground or other possibilities is ofte
7、n a fallacy. Example: Do you want a class leader who is ugly and smart, or one who is pretty and stupid? 9.Begging the Question, Circular Arguments 循环论证Instead of proving the truth of your conclusion, you just assume that the conclusion is true. Basically, it just means you avoid giving real evidenc
8、e. Example: Serious punishment prevents crime because it prevents criminals from doing bad things. 10.Slippery Slope 滑坡理论Claiming that one event will lead to other bad events is a slippery slope argument. Example: America must defeat the communists in Vietnam, or communist parties will take control
9、of Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, and then the world! 11. Straw Man 稻草人谬误To make a Straw Man argument, pretend your enemy said something that he didnt really say, then attack that argument. You will seem smart and he will seem stupid. Example: The school leaders think were too stupid and carele
10、ss to keep water heaters in our rooms. Dont they know this is a school with high requirements, and we all have high Gao Kao scores? We are not stupid at all! 12.False AnalogyTo make an argument based on misleading, superficial, or implausible comparisons. Also known as faulty analogy, weak analogy,
11、wrongful comparison, metaphor as argument, and analogical fallacy.Example: Harvard University doesnt teach freshmen writing, so our high school shouldnt teach students writing, too.13.Appeal to the Wrong AuthorityThis fallacy is committed when the person in question is not a legitimate authority on
12、the subject. More formally, if person A is not qualified to make reliable claims in subject S, then the argument will be fallaciousExample: Dr. Johan Skarn, won the Nobel Prize in physics, says that abortion is always morally wrong, regardless of the situation. He has to be right, after all, he is a
13、 respected expert in his field.14.Non Sequitur 不依据前提的推理A fallacy in which a conclusion does not follow logically from what preceded it.Example: “We realize that it would be in the best interest of the community and our children to address the issue expeditiously. In order to make this happen, I resp
14、ectfully request an eight-month payment delay calling for payment of the $10 million obligation on August 31, 2015.“15.Red Herring 转移话题A Red Herring is a fallacy in which an irrelevant topic is presented in order to divert attention from the original issue. The basic idea is to “win“ an argument by
15、leading attention away from the argument and to another topic. Example: “We admit that this measure is popular. But we also urge you to note that there are so many bond issues on this ballot that the whole thing is getting ridiculous.“16. Contradictory Premises 二立背反 大前提有矛盾An argument (generally cons
16、idered a logical fallacy) that draws a conclusionfrom inconsistent or incompatible premises.Essentially, a proposition is contradictory when it asserts and denies the same thing.Example: If God can do anything, He can make a stone so heavy that He wont be able to lift it.Which fallacies are in these
17、 statements? Tell me why the logic is bad. 1.We shouldnt spend money to improve the canteen. The cooks are all wife-beating drunks. 2.The school shouldnt improve the dormitories because most Chinese dorms are horrible. Its normal here. 3.Students should have more politics classes. Grades have gone u
18、p since we increased the number of politics classes. 4.Mao Zedong had a simple dormitory. You should have a simple dormitory too! 5.If we spend more money on your dormitory, we wont have money to hire good teachers. Youll get a bad education. 6.We shouldnt force the restaurant owners at the West Gat
19、e to clean up the street and their restaurants. Theyre so poor! Lots of the cooks have no education, and their profit is so low. Theyre struggling to survive! 7.The class leader is laughing behind your back, forcing you out of bed and making you go to long, boring meetings, because she gets a thrill
20、 by hurting you. Class leaders cant punish us for their pleasure! Its cruel and abusive and unfair. Screw that class leader! 8.We need class meetings! If we dont have them, soon we wont see each other, and then our class will have no organization! 9.We need long class meetings. Long class meetings a
21、re good for you. Class work: create a 1-paragraph argument for or against one of these statements. Use a fallacy that we learned about in your reasoning. Your partner will find the fallacy and argue against it. Topic choices: 1.It is better to fight monsters than aliens. 2.At weddings, everyone should kiss the bride. 3.People who smoke in public should be killed.
