Logical Fallacies

Logical fallacies are invalid or deceptive forms of reasoning.  They are errors that can make your argument unreliable and discredit it's credibility.  Active audience members will reject you as a speaker as well as your argument when they hear a fallacy make its way into your speech (O'Hair and Wiemann 486).  Learning how to avoid using fallacies is important, but it is also useful to teach yourself to notice them in order to point them out in an opponents argument.  Not only does it make you seem intelligible and attentive, but it discredits your opponent in the process.

The list of possible fallacies that could occur in your speech could contain hundreds, but here are some of the more common fallacies and how to spot them in an argument.

Ad Hominem Fallacy
Those who commit this fallacy attack their opponent personally, and not their ideas.  They use their opponent's behavior, character, or position to discredit the claim, rather than addressing the issue.
EX) Bob Jones is a better candidate for judge because he has a family and is happily married, while his competitor Ryan Smith was just kicked of his house by his wife.
Why is the example a fallacy? Ryan's family life may have nothing to do with his ability as a judge, and the person making this argument has attacked him and his behavior rather than his ability to be a judge.

Appeal to Belief Fallacy
The arguer states that because their claim is believed by many people to be true, it is true.  This fallacy does not use logic to support it's claim, but rather just states that since so many have the belief that is is right, then it must be right.
EX) A poll conducted found that 85% of people believe in God.  Therefore, God is real.
Why is the example a fallacy? Just because 85% of people believe that God exists does not prove that it is true.  There is no evidence in this argument to support the claim that God is real.

Appeal to Common Practice Fallacy
This fallacy is committed by those who say that since most people do this certain action, it must be morally good.  Basically, everyone is doing it so it must be OK.
EX) James drive 80 mph in a 65 mph zone.  Even though he is speeding and breaking the law, James believes it is OK.
Why is the example a fallacy? James justifies his speeding by saying that everyone else is doing it as well.  Just because it is common thing does not make it OK and is not good evidence to support the claim that what you are doing is OK.

Begging the Question Fallacy
An arguer who comes to a conclusion without providing sufficient support and evidence to support their claim has committed this fallacy.  This fallacy is also referred to as the "circular reasoning", because speakers who use this fallacy use their claim to support their conclusion without other evidence (O'Hair and Wiemann 487).
EX) Taylor states the "people only watch The Vampire Diaries because Twilight was so awesome."
Why is the example a fallacy? Taylor has given no solid evidence to lead from her claim to her conclusion.  Her only evidence is "Twilight was so awesome", which is not acceptable evidence to make a conclusion because it is subjective.

Burden of Proof Fallacy
A speaker who argues that a lack of evidence against their arguments signifies evidence for their argument has used the burden of proof fallacy.
EX) Ben tells Jenny that leprechauns exist.  Jenny asks how he knows this, and Ben responds by saying "no one has proved that they don't exist, so they must."
Why is the example a fallacy? Ben's only support of his argument that leprechauns exist is that no one has proved that they don't.  No evidence for the opposing argument is not evidence for Ben's argument.

Confusing Cause and Effect Fallacy
Speakers who assume that events that occur together must have caused one another have committed this fallacy.  Correlation does not prove causation, and therefore just because Event A and Event B occur at the same time does not mean one made the other happen.
EX) Tyler tripped and fell at the same time that Maddy dropped her books.  Maddy blames Tyler for making her drop her books.
Why is the example a fallacy? Tyler's falling had no impact on Maddy dropping her books.  They may have happened at the same time, but they were two separate events that had no impact on the other whatsoever.

Red Herring Fallacy
According to popular myth, a red herring, a particularly smelly fish, can throw dogs off track when they are pursuing a scent (O'Hair and Wiemann 487).  Similar to the fish, speakers use this fallacy to divert attention from the original topic to an irrelevant topic.
EX) Greg gets pulled over and says to the officer "why are you pulling me over for going 10 over in a 55?  I saw a guy yesterday going 25 over on this road and swerving all over!"
Why is the example a fallacy? The person Greg saw driving the day before has nothing to do with Greg being pulled over.  There may be worse drivers than Greg, but that doesn't change the fact that Greg was speeding and breaking the law.

Gambler's Fallacy
Someone who uses the gambler's fallacy assumes that since something hasn't happened in a long time, it should happen soon.  It is known as the gambler's fallacy because gambler's use statistics to win money and some believe that if they lose a few times, their chances of winning next are higher because they haven't won in a while.
EX) Helen is watching David play the slots machine.  He has played it several times and is frustrated because he hasn't won yet.  As soon as he leaves, Helen starts playing the same slot machine under the belief that since it hasn't cashed out in a long while, it is bound to soon.
Why is the example a fallacy? Helen is mistaken because the odds of winning the slot machine are the same every time you play.  Just because it has not cashed out in a while does not mean it will soon.  If the odds of it cashing out are 1/50 for your first turn, they will still be 1/50 on your 100th turn.

Relativist Fallacy 
A speaker rejects a claim by stating that it might be true for other people but it is not true for him.  The speaker is under the impression that the opposing claim does not effect him because it is not relative to him.
EX) Michael has smoked for twenty years without contemplating any of the risks.  His wife, Susan, reads an article that smoking can cause many medical issues and tells Michael this.  Michael tells Susan that he has never had any medical issues since he started smoking.
Why is the example a fallacy? Michael has not had any outward issues because of smoking, so he does not believe that smoking is bad for him.  In reality, he may be becoming very sick and probably has caused damage to his organs without noticing yet.

Slippery Slope Fallacy
Those who use this fallacy state that point A will inevitably lead to point B, but don't give evidence to support this claim and point B is usually drastically different than point A.  A speaker attests that some event must clearly occur as a result of another event without showing any proof that the second event was caused by the first (O'Hair and Wiemann 489).
EX) Jacob claims that if United States passes a law to allow gay marriage, the next thing the U.S. will be doing is passing laws to let people marry animals and inanimate objects.
Why is the example a fallacy? Jacob does not give solid evidence to support his claim that passing a law to allow gay marriage (Point A) will lead to passing laws that allow people to marry animals and objects (Point B).

Two Wrongs Make a Right Fallacy
The arguer rationalizes his actions against someone by telling himself that the person would have done the same thing to them.  Usually, the people have never been in a situation like this with the other person and are basing this claim off assumptions.
EX) Sally borrows Felicia's sweatshirt at the football game and forgets to give it back that night.  She finds it the next morning and decides that it's really cute and she wants to keep it.  Felicia justifies her decision to keep it by believing that Sally would've done the same thing.
Why is the example a fallacy? Felicia has no evidence or reason to believe that Sally would've done the same thing in her shoes.

Biased Sample Fallacy
The speakers draws statistics and evidence from a sample that is prejudice in some way and bases their conclusion off of these statistics.
EX) Eric is trying to prove that a majority of people in Oregon make more than $60,000 a year.  He decides to conduct a survey and asks two hundred people their salary.  The majority of the two hundred people he chose to survey lived in the gated community of Oregon.
Why is the example a fallacy? The sample Eric chose to survey was biased because they lived in the wealthier part of town.  Instead of conducting a random sample and basing his argument off of that, he chose a sample that he knew would support his claim.


Referring to my last blog on Ethos, Pathos, and Logos, avoiding using fallacies in your argument goes a long way towards building your ethos.  If you can gain the trust of your audience by not trying to deceive them by using fallacies, you will be more credible and respected.  You want to rely on facts, research, and your presentation to persuade your audience.  If you find yourself using fallacies to support your argument, their is a good chance you are lacking solid evidence and research for your topic (O'Hair and Wiemann 489).

For more information on logical fallacies and to research other types of fallacies, visit this website.

Works Cited

O'Hair, Dan, and Mary O. Wiemann. "Chapter 16: Persuasive Speaking." Real Communication: An Introduction with Mass Communication. Second ed. Boston/New York: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2012. N. pag. Print.

Ethos, Pathos, and Logos

The goal of argumentative writing is to persuade your audience or listener's and convince them that your ideas are valid, or at least more valid than another idea.  According to Durham Tech, the Greek philosopher, Artistotle, divided the means of persuasion into three main categories: Ethos, Pathos, and Logos.  Ethos refers to the establishment of credibility of the author so the listeners know the source is trustworthy.  Pathos generates emotions in order to help persuade the audience.  Logos uses evidence, logic, and statistics to prove a point.

ETHOS (Greek for "Character")

Ethos may be the toughest argumentative strategy to understand and accomplish (Ruszkiewicz and Dolmage 231).  According to Aristotle, our perception of a speaker or writer's character influences how believable or convincing we find what that person has to say.  People believe speakers who are credible and who we respect.  According to Durham Tech, the main issue some people have while making an argument is that they do not establish to the reader that your thoughts are worth hearing and that you are worth their time to listen to.  You need to make it a priority in your argument that you know what you are talking about.

According to "The Appeals: Ethos, Pathos, and Logos", an essay written by Professor Jeanne Fahnestock of the University of Maryland, College Park, 

"We are naturally more likely to be persuaded by a person who, we think, has personal warmth, consideration of others, a good mind and solid learning...People whose education, experience, and previous performances qualify them to speak on a certain issue earn the special extrinsic ethos of the authority...This impression created by the text itself is the intrinsic ethos."

In order to establish your credibility, you can speak about how you are informed on the subject (taken classes about the topic, etc) or you can use institutions, public figures, and publications to establish ethos or credibility.

This advertisement by Camel uses ethos by citing doctors from a survey.  Doctors are considered to be the expert and by saying that doctors choose Camel over other cigarettes they are establishing credibility.

PATHOS (Greek for "Suffering" or "Experience")


Pathos is the strategy of persuading through emotions.  According to Durham Tech, it is an appeal to the audiences sympathies and sense of identity.  Many philosophers consider pathos to be the strongest of these three appeals.  Using a pathos appeal makes the audience respond emotionally and feel what the writer or speaker feels (or is trying to make them feel).  Durham Tech also states that "we naturally bend in the direction of what is advantageous to us, what serves our interests or the interests of any group we believe ourselves a part of", explaining why pathos is so effective in getting our audience to do or feel what the speaker wants them to.

You can attempt to create various emotions in your listeners through pathos.  In some instances, you may want to make them feel pity for someone, while in others you may want to make your listeners envious of something.  According to Durham Tech, pictures and videos are most effective in doing creating an emotion because they give the listener a visual to put with the words, making everything seem more "real".

In the image above, Twister is using pathos by showing pictures of people playing their game, laughing, and having a good time.  They are trying to convince the customer that if they buy and play this game, they will be laughing and having just as much fun.

Another common example of pathos are Humane Society commercials.  In these commercials, they show images of sad and desperate animals while playing a slow and sad song.  After showing you these images and making you feel sad and the urge to help, they then show how happy the animals are once they come to the Humane Society and ask you to donate, by saying something along the lines of "we can save these animals from abusive and neglecting homes, but we need your help".  I know this appeal works on me in these commercials every time...

LOGOS (Greek for "Word")

Logos, similar to the word "logic", is the means of persuading through reason.  Speakers who use this appeal use statistics, inductive reasoning, and deductive reasoning to help make their point.  Aristotle found this as the most important appeal because without logic and reasons to back up your claim, you really have no case.  There must be evidence that there is a problem, and statistics/reasoning to support how bad that problem is, followed by a solution, with statistics/reasoning to show how your solution will fix this problem.  According to Durham Tech, the two main types of reasoning are inductive and deductive.

Inductive reasoning:  giving your listeners many examples similar to your problem and then drawing from them a general proposition.

EX) My math teacher is skinny.  My math teacher last year was skinny too.  Therefore, all math teachers are skinny.

Deductive reasoning: giving your listeners a few general propositions and then drawing from them a specific truth.

EX) Rectangles have four sides.  A square has four sides.  Therefore, a square is a rectangle.

Conclusion

All three appeals are effective in their own way depending on the audience.  Though they can be useful alone in an argument, they are better when combined with another or even best when you use all three to make one main point.  If you can appeal to all angles of your audience (their character, their emotions, their logical side), you will have a solid argument and, if you use all appeals well, you will have made your point and persuaded the people you were trying to.

Works Cited

"Ethos, Pathos, and Logos." Ethos, Pathos, and Logos.  N.p., n.d. Web. 04 Nov. 2014.

"The Appeals: Ethos, Pathos, and Logos." The Appeals: Ethos, Pathos, and Logos.  N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Nov. 2014

Ruszkiewicz, John J., and Jay Dolmage. How to Write Anything: A Guide and Reference, with Readings.  Boston, MA: Bedford/St. Martins, 2010. Print.

Diction

Like we talked about in High, Middle, and Low Style, you probably use different types of language depending on who you are talking to.  Diction is similar to this.  According to Grammar-Monster.com, diction is the choice of words you use (phraseology) and how you say them (pronunciation).

Here are some phraseology examples to help explain more.

• To your friends, you might say "Let's get this sorted out".
• To your colleagues, you would probably say "Let's solve this problem".
• To your bosses, your word choice might be "Let's overcome this challenge".

To help clarify pronunciation, here is an example.

• When you see the word "read", you may speak it as "reed" or "red".
• Continuing with the word "read", you may say "wed" or "weed", in which case a person may say your diction is poor because you are not pronouncing the words correctly.

According to penandpage.com, a diction error is a word choice error and this can happen in two ways.

• First, you can choose a word that doesn't mean what you think it means.  Homonym errors are a type of word choice error that occur when you improperly use their/there/they're, allusion/illusion, its/it's, or other similar mistakes.  Ignorance errors are when you use a word that doesn't exactly say what you are trying to portray.  "Anxious" and "eager" are commonly misused as synonyms but they actually have two very different meanings; anxious means to be nervous or fearful, while eager means to be desirous.  Similar form errors occur when you use the wrong word that sounds the same as the actual word.  "Already" and "all ready" are misused often and writers mistakenly use one rather than the other, as well as "awhile" and "a while".
• Second, you can choose a word that doesn't fit the context appropriately.  This occurs when you are speaking in a situation or writing to a certain audience that calls for a specific type of language.  For instance, you may be speaking at a lecture to your bosses and other important members of your company, in which case you will use more formal language than when you are talking with friends in a comfortable setting.  Making sure to use the right language and word choice for the situation is important in maintaining reputations and making your point to those you are speaking to.

To learn more about diction errors and test your knowledge on diction errors by taking a quiz, click here.





"What is Diction?" Grammar-Monster.  n.d.

"Diction." Pen and Page.  n.d.