Fallacy Summary and Application
... hand is attacked or criticized. A broad example of a missing the point fallacy is: Why would anyone listen to a word he says? It is well known that he treats his wife? These types of fallacies encourage the listener to focus on the wrong statement rather than discussing the merits or demerits of the argument. Begging the Question Begging the question is related to the fallacy known as circular argument or circular reasoning. The truth of the conclusion is assumed by the premises. Often, the conclusion is simply restated in the premises in a slightly different form. In more difficult cases, the premise is a consequence of the conclusion. A claim is assumed to be true and becomes the conclusion. Examples of an argument using this type of fallacy include: “Since I am not lying, it follows that I am telling the truth” or “we know that God exists, since the Bible says God exists” (Downes, 1995). Irrelevant Conclusion An argument which purports to prove one thing instead proves a different conclusion has been termed an irrelevant conclusion. This type of logical fallacy presents an argument that may be valid but “proves or supports a different proposition than the one it is purporting to prove or support” (Ignoratio elenchi, 2005). Aristotle believed that an “ignoratio elenchi [irrelevant conclusion] is a mistake made by a questioner while attempting to refute a respondent's argument. He called it an ignorance of what makes for a refutation” (Ignoratio elenchi, 2005). One example of an irrelevant conclusion is: You should support the new housing bill. We can not continue to see people living in the streets; we must have cheaper housing. In this example one may agree that housing s important even though one may disagree with the housing bill. Straw Man When the author attacks an argument which is different from, and usually weaker than, the opposition's best argument this is known as the straw man fallacy. This occurs very often in politics when one seeks to derive maximum approval for oneself or for a cause. An example of this is: "Opposition to the North American Free Trade Agreement amounts to nothing but opposition to free trade" (Logical Fallacies). The proof to this fallacy is that one can believe in free and open trade and yet still oppose NAFTA. A straw man argument can be presented in many ways. One could “present only a portion of the opponent's arguments (often a weak one), refute it, and pretend that all of their arguments have been refuted” (wikepedia). Another presentation method is to describe someone who defends a position poorly as the defender, refute that person's arguments, and pretend that every upholder of that position, and thus the position itself, has been defeated. Conclusion Critical thinkers and good decision makers can avoid falling for logical fallacies by learning how to recognize them in arguments. It is important to prevent fallacies from impacting our decisions under condit...