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Composition 2 GE 127 Week 2 minor assignment December 28, 2011 Locate examples for 8 of the 15 logical fallacies discussed in this lesson in your “Dialogues: An Argument Rhetoric and Reader,” 4th Ed. , by Goshgarian, Krueger, and Minc 1. Ad hominem; An Ad hominem argument is a Latin phrase that attacks the man instead of the argument. Example: You are so stupid your argument couldn’t possibly be true. Logical Fallacies or Fallacies in Argumentation retrieved on Jan. 1, 2011 from http://carm. org/logical-fallacies-or-fallacies-argumentation 2.
Begging the question is assuming some to be true that you cannot prove – similar to circular reasoning. Example: I think he is unattractive because he is ugly. Beg the question retrieved on Dec. 28, 2011 from http://begthequestion. info/ 3. slippery slope: Presumes a change in procedure, law, or action, will result in adverse consequences. Example: If we allow doctor assisted suicide, then eventually the government will control how we die. List of common fallacies 1997 retrieved on December 28, 2011 from http://nobeliefs. om/fallacies. htm 4. Circular Reasoning Also known as the fallacy of redundancy, begging the question, or tautology, this is when the conclusion or claim is merely a restatement of one of the premises. Christian apologetics is filled with tautologies: Example: Is there a God? Yes. How do you know? Because the Bible says so. How do you know the Bible is correct? Because it was inspired by God. In other words, God is because God is.. How Thinking Goes Wrong retrieved on Dec. 28, 2011 from http://www. ositiveatheism. org/writ/sherm3. htm 5. Post hoc, ergo propter hoc. Post hoc, ergo propter hoc, or after this, therefore because of this. This fallacy assumes that because one event occurs just prior to another, the first event caused the second. Example: In one recent case, an operations group asked for help solving a problem with the disruption of the flow of one ingredient in a process. The group felt the problem was caused by a rise in the viscosity of another ingredient. Although logic indicated the iscosity of one material had no impact on the flow of the other, the sequence of events led the group to the fallacious conclusion that it did. The key to avoiding this fallacy is the old adage, “Don’t jump to conclusions. ” LexisNexis Academics retrieved on Dec. 28, 2011 from http://www. lexisnexis. com. proxy. itt-tech. edu/hottopics/lnacademic/? verb=sr;csi=8406;sr=lni%283VB5-28H0-00H1-023M%29 6. Red Herring Red Herring is when you attempt to confuse the audience by introducing a topic that has nothing to do with the situation at hand.
Example, I know your car isn’t working right. But, if you had gone to the store one day earlier, you’d not be having this problem. Logical Fallacies or Fallacies in Argumentation retrieved on Jan. 1, 2011 from http://carm. org/logical-fallacies-or-fallacies-argumentation 7. Ad Populum Argument: An argument aimed at appealing to the majority. Example: “Man could alleviate his misery by marriage. This close companionship enhances the joys of one and mitigated the sorrow of the other, and anyone knew God always provided for married people. Lee Emily Pearson, Elizabethans at Home, (Stanford Univ. Pr. ), 289. Philosophy. Lander. edu retrieved on Jan. 1, 2012 from http://philosophy. lander. edu/logic/popular. html 8. The Bandwagon Appeal. This is committed when someone user irrelevant arguments based on popularity to make a point and is widely used in advertisements, Example: Everyone is selfish; everyone is doing what he believes will make himself happier Harry Browne, “The Unselfishness Trap” retrieved on Jan. 1, 2012 from How I Found Freedom in an Unfree World (1973).