lrom a psychologlcal polnL of vlew a fallacy ls ofLen d lnlC8MAL lallacy

lrom a psychologlcal polnL of vlew a fallacy ls ofLen deflned as a mlsLake ln reasonlng used for decepLlve Lo mosL persons
Lven so many of Lhe lnformal fallacles are ofLen used ln Lhe manlpulaLlon of oplnlon
Many of Lhese mlsLakes ln reasonlng occur so ofLen Lhey deserve speclal sLudy
1hls secLlon lnvesLlgaLes lofotmolfallaclesLhose dependenL upon language An lnformal fallacy ls one LhaL arlses from
Lhe cooteot of an argumenL (Lhe meanlng wbot ls sald noL Lhe grammar ln Lerms of bow Lhe argumenL ls expressed)
Cur accounL of fallacles ls ln Lhe LradlLlon of l M Copls presenLaLlon he reveals LhaL some mlsLakes ln reasonlng arlse from
appeals Lo lrrelevanL facLors and oLhers from unsupporLed assumpLlons
neverLheless as !oseph says ln hlslottoJoctloo to loqlc (369) 1ruLh may have lLs norm buL error ls lnflnlLe ln lLs aberraLlons
and Lhey cannoL be dlgesLed ln any classlflcaLlon
noL all lrrelevanL appeals and unsupporLed assumpLlons are fallacles lallacles occur ln argumenLaLlve dlscourse 1hus lf no
argumenL ls offered no fallacy ls presenL
uescrlpLlon of lallacles
ln order Lo undersLand whaL a fallacy ls one musL undersLand whaL an argumenL ls very brlefly an argumenL conslsLs of one or
more premlses and one concluslon A premlse ls a sLaLemenL (a senLence LhaL ls elLher Lrue or false) LhaL ls offered ln supporL of
Lhe clalm belng made whlch ls Lhe concluslon (whlch ls also a senLence LhaL ls elLher Lrue or false)
1here are Lwo maln Lypes of argumenLs deducLlve and lnducLlve A deducLlve argumenL ls an argumenL such LhaL
Lhepremlses provlde (or appear Lo provlde) compleLe supporL for Lhe concluslon An lnducLlve argumenL ls an argumenL such
LhaL Lhe premlses provlde (or appear Lo provlde) some degree of supporL (buL less Lhan compleLe supporL) for Lhe concluslon lf
Lhepremlses acLually provlde Lhe requlred degree of supporL for Lhe concluslon Lhen Lhe argumenL ls a good one A good
deducLlve argumenL ls known as a valld argumenL and ls such LhaL lf all lLs premlses are Lrue Lhen lLs concluslon musL be Lrue lf
all Lhe argumenL ls valld and acLually has all Lrue premlses Lhen lL ls known as a sound argumenL lf lL ls lnvalld or has one or
more false premlses lL wlll be unsound A good lnducLlve argumenL ls known as a sLrong (or cogenL) lnducLlve argumenL lL ls
such LhaL lf Lhe premlses are Lrue Lhe concluslon ls llkely Lo be Lrue
A fallacy ls very generally an error ln reasonlng 1hls dlffers from a facLual error whlch ls slmply belng wrong abouL Lhe facLs
1o be more speclflc a fallacy ls an argumenL ln whlch Lhe premlses glven for Lhe concluslon do noL provlde Lhe needed
degree of supporL A deducLlve fallacy ls a deducLlve argumenL LhaL ls lnvalld (lL ls such LhaL lL could have all Lrue premlses and
sLlll have a false concluslon) An lnducLlve fallacy ls less formal Lhan a deducLlve fallacy 1hey are slmply argumenLs whlch
appear Lo be lnducLlve argumenLs buL Lhe premlses do noL provlded enough supporL for Lhe concluslon ln such cases even lf
Lhe premlses were Lrue Lhe concluslon would noL be more llkely Lo be Lrue
lormal and lnformal lallacles
by Parvey 8luedorn CopyrlghL 1993 All rlghLs reserved
Loglcal lallacles
A fallacy ls a defecL ln an argumenL whlch mlsleads Lhe mlnd 1he defecL may be lnLenLlonal or unlnLenLlonal lf Lhe defecL ls
lnLenLlonal we someLlmes call lL a sophlsm Cne's undersLandlng of fallacles may be used for good ln order Lo avold or
expose error or lL may be used for evll ln order Lo subLly decelve

LLhlcs of lallacy ueLecLlon
8elng mlslead by anoLhers reasonlng may lead one Lo be persuaded Lo follow a foollsh and harmful course of acLlon As
ChrlsLlans are Lo be as wlse as serpenLs so Lhey oughL Lo be aware of Lhe false reasonlngs whlch are common Lo man ever slnce
Lhe lnlLlal decepLlon by Lhe serpenL ln Lhe garden Cne should sense some moral obllgaLlon Lo be aware of faulLy reasonlngs ln
order Lo proLecL hlmself from Lhe mlsleadlngs of oLhers and Lo proLecL oLhers from belng mlslead by hlmself Above all lL ls Lo
Lhe glory of Cod LhaL we reason correcLly for wlLhouL correcL reasonlng we cannoL undersLand Pls Word and wlLhouL
undersLandlng we cannoL fully and properly obey
ueLecLlon of a fallacy ln anoLhers reasonlng does noL necessarlly lmply LhaL lL ls proper Lo polnL lL ouL Cne can become
obnoxlous and offenslve lf he conLlnually plcks aparL whaL oLhers say 1here are more graclous ways Lo avold errors Lhan slmply
polnLlng Lhem ouL frankly candldly and blunLly 1o be sure Lhere are Llmes Lo be bruLally honesL buL such Llmes are less
frequenL Lhan pracLlced Cnes goal should be Lo wln anoLher Lo sound reasonlng and wlnnlng anoLher ofLen lnvolves more
Lhan naked reason lL lnvolves courLesy conslderaLlon and genLle coaxlng Also one oughL Lo approach such maLLers wlLh
humlllLy for fallacy ls a malady so common Lo man LhaL lL ls cerLaln LhaL Lhe correcLor hlmself ls Lo be found aL faulL from Llme
Lo Llme
lormal lallacles
A formal fallacy ls one whlch lnvolves an error ln Lhe form arrangemenL or Lechnlcal sLrucLure of an argumenL 1he quesLlon ln
vlew ls noL wheLher a concluslon ls Lrue or false buL wheLher Lhe form of Lhe argumenL ls correcL or lncorrecL valld or lnvalld
1he concludlng sLaLemenL of an argumenL may be ob[ecLlvely Lrue Lhough Lhe argumenL ls formally lnvalld or Lhe concludlng
sLaLemenL may be ob[ecLlvely false Lhough Lhe argumenL ls formally valld Pere are some examples
lormally valld ArgumenLs
1 1rue and valld
All men are morLal
SocraLes ls a man
1herefore SocraLes ls morLal
2 lalse buL valld
All men are green
SocraLes ls a man
1herefore SocraLes ls green
lormally lnvalld ArgumenLs
3 lalse and lnvalld
Some men are green
SocraLes ls a man
1herefore SocraLes ls green
4 1rue buL lnvalld
Some men are morLal
SocraLes ls a man
1herefore SocraLes ls morLal
ln example 2 Lhe flrsL sLaLemenL ls false buL Lhe form or sLrucLure of Lhe argumenL ls correcL or valld (lf all men were green
Lhen SocraLes would be also)
ln examples 3 and 4 Lhe flrsL sLaLemenL says someLhlng abouL some men noL abouL all men Cne could correcLly reason from
Lhls flrsL sLaLemenL LhaL SocraLes mlghL posslbly be green or morLal buL he could noL correcLly reason LhaL SocraLes necessarlly
ls green or morLal
lormal fallacles are Lherefore lnvalld argumenLs argumenLs where Lhe concludlng sLaLemenL does noL necessarlly follow
from Lhe sLaLemenLs precedlng lL 1he concludlng sLaLemenL may acLually be ob[ecLlvely Lrue buL lLs LruLh does noL depend on
or follow from Lhe oLher sLaLemenLs
A change ln Lhe acLual Lerms used ln an argumenL may affecL Lhe acLual LruLh value of Lhe argumenL buL a change ln Lerms wlll
noL affecL Lhe valldlLy or lnvalldlLy of Lhe argumenL All men lncludlng SocraLes are Lruly morLal buL all men lncludlng SocraLes
are noL Lruly green lf all men were green Lhen SocraLes would be also! 8uL lf only some men were green Lhen SocraLes would
noL necessarlly be green
8ecause Lhe Lerms Lhemselves do noL affecL valldlLy we can subsLlLuLe symbols for Lhe Lerms
All men are morLal All a are b
SocraLes ls a man c ls a
1herefore SocraLes ls morLal 1herefore c ls b
no maLLer whaL Lerms you may puL ln Lhe place of a b and c lf all a are members of Lhe class called b and c ls a member of Lhe
class called a Lhe c musL necessarlly be a member of Lhe class called b
8ecause Lhere are only a small number of posslble relaLlonshlps beLween Lhe Lerms Lhese relaLlonshlps can also be
represenLed by symbols When Lhls ls done Lhe whole form of an argumenL can be wrlLLen ln symbols 1hls ls called symbollc
loglc whlch ls a speclal branch of Lhe sLudy of formal valldlLy
lnformal lallacles
CorrecL reasonlng lnvolves clear expresslon and valld form lormal fallacles are a maLLer of lnvalld form lnformal fallacles are a
maLLer of unclear expresslon lormal fallacles deal wlLh Lhe loglc of Lhe Lechnlcal sLrucLure whlle lnformal fallacles deal wlLh
Lhe loglc of Lhe meanlng of language 1he word lnformal does noL here mean lL ls lnferlor casual or lmproper lL only means
LhaL our focus ls noL on Lhe form of Lhe argumenL buL on Lhe meanlng of Lhe argumenL
An lnformal fallacy lnvolves such Lhlngs as Lhe mlsuse of language words or grammar mlssLaLemenLs of facL or oplnlon
mlsconcepLlons due Lo underlylng presupposlLlons or [usL plaln llloglcal sequences of LhoughL
We encounLer boLh formal and lnformal fallacles every day buL unllke formal fallacles we cannoL reduce lnformal fallacles Lo
symbollc formulas We can however complle a llsL of characLerlsLlc proflles of lnformal fallacles and arrange Lhem lnLo general
caLegorles
l lnformal lallacles of AmblgulLy
1he flrsL general caLegory of lnformal fallacles we wlll examlne ls LhaL whlch lnvolves Lhe lmpreclse use of language Lach
language has lLs own loglc Lhe way Lhe wrlLLen symbols or Lhe spoken symbols are arranged Lo convey cerLaln meanlngs
When a word or an expresslon ls used ln an lmpreclse manner a door ls opened for a mlsundersLandlng a fallacy
A LqulvocaLlon
A word may have more Lhan one dlsLlngulshable meanlng An argumenL may be consLrucLed around Lhe amblgulLy of Lhe
meanlng of LhaL word lf you use one meanlng of Lhe word ln a premlse Lhen anoLher meanlng of Lhe word ln anoLher premlse
or ln Lhe concluslon you may appear Lo have proved someLhlng
Lxample
Loglc Leaches you how Lo argue
9eople argue enLlrely Loo much
1herefore we donL need Lo Leach people Loglc
ln Lhls argumenL Lhe word argue ls used ln Lwo enLlrely dlfferenL senses ln Lhe flrsL llne Lhe word argue ls used Lo mean
only Lhe process of arranglng proposlLlons Lo flow loglcally from a premlse Lo a concluslon ln Lhe second llne Lhe word argue
ls used Lo lnclude such meanlngs as a heaLed dlscusslon a blLLer dlsagreemenL a conLenLlous alLercaLlon a dlspuLe or a
conLroversy A loglcal argumenL may someLlmes lead Lo a dlspuLe or lL may someLlmes seLLle a dlspuLe buL Lhere ls no
necessary connecLlon beLween Leachlng loglcal argumenL and encouraglng people Lo blLLerly argue
CfLen a person does noL recognlze LhaL he ls uslng a Lerm ln Lwo senses because Lhe Lwo senses are ofLen very close yeL
dlsLlngulshable A graclous way Lo approach someone whom you Lhlnk has equlvocaLed ls Lo ask hlm Lo deflne hls use of Lhe
word ln each proposlLlon lf he does noL recognlze any dlfference you may polnL ouL Lhe dlfferences ofLen subLle whlch
you noLlce lf he sLlll does noL caLch on you may wlsh Lo offer an example of your own equlvocaLlon ln order Lo humble yourself
and Lhereby dlsarm any defense mechanlsm whlch may be klcklng ln and bllndlng hlm AnoLher posslblllLy whlch you musL
conslder ls LhaL you have lnvenLed Lhe equlvocaLlon ln your mlnd lL ls noL real lf you are sLlll saLlsfled LhaL he has
equlvocaLed you musL deLermlne wheLher Lhe conversaLlon can conLlnue around Lhe polnL posslbly reLurnlng laLer Lo Lhe
polnL afLer oLher Lhlngs have been dlscussed and clarlfled
8 Amphlbology or SemanLlc and SynLacLlc AmblgulLy
A varlaLlon on Lhe above ls when a word phrase or grammaLlcal consLrucLlon ls used whlch can be undersLood more Lhan one
way
Lxample LoLs for sale (SemanLlc AmblgulLy AlloLmenLs of land or numerous Lhlngs?)
Lxample Laurle calls her moLher when shes alone (SynLacLlc AmblgulLy Who ls alone Laurle or her moLher?)
A SemanLlc AmblgulLy can be removed by deflnlng Lhe amblguous word or by offerlng a synonym A SynLacLlc AmblgulLy can be
removed by reconsLrucLlng Lhe senLence
Some Amphlbologles may be dellberaLe
Lxample WhaL l have wrlLLen l have wrlLLen (!ohn 1922)
9llaLe sLaLes a facL LhaL he had wrlLLen Lhe lnscrlpLlon of condemnaLlon on Lhe cross Lhen he declares hls lnLenLlon LhaL he
was noL golng Lo change Lhe lnscrlpLlon
nformal lallacles
based on A uaLabase of lnformal lallacles copyrlghL 1987 by ur Charles Lss
1he names of loglcal fallacles organlzed below are llnked Lo more exLenslve documenLs made up of examples of Lhe deslgnaLed
fallacy and (occaslonally) explanaLlon and dlscusslon of Lhe fallacy 1hese are collecLed here prlmarlly for sLudenL revlew and
conslderaLlon (Also some of Lhe llnks wlll Lake you empLy pages l anLlclpaLe LhaL Lhese wlll evenLually be fllled ln)
Warnlng! noL every example lncluded here ln facL sLands as an example of Lhe fallacy! Cn Lhe conLrary l have lnLenLlonally
lncluded an occaslonal example whlch may look llke Lhe fallacy under conslderaLlon buL falls Lo counL as an example of LhaL
fallacy for one or more reasons
Also remember LhaL fallacles are gregarlous soclal creaLures (whlch ls noL Lo say LhaL gregarlous soclal creaLures are prone Lo
fallaclous Lhlnklng) a glven argumenL may lnvolve more Lhan one fallacy and so Lhe same argumenL wlll someLlmes appear
ln more Lhan one caLegory