Introduction to Philosophy with Logic

Lesson Title Lesson Target

References Title Author

Lesson No. Date

11 11 Sept 2013

Fallacies of Relevance Illustrate the fallacies of relevance using everyday situations.

Logical Fallacies, Fallacies, Fallacies of Relevance
http://www.logicalfallacies.info/ Bowden, Bradley. Fallacies. Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Accessed September 9, 2013 http://www.iep.utm.edu/fallacy/ Kemerling, Garth. Fallacies of Relevance. Philosophy Pages. Accessed September 9, 2013. http://www.philosophypages.com/lg/e06a.htm Page Number(s) 3

Reasoning The capacity of the humans to establish and verify facts, to change and justify beliefs, and in general, to make sense of things is called reasoning. While virtually all healthy humans are capable of reasoning, an alarmingly small percentage of us are actually any good at it. Arguments An attempt to persuade someone of something by giving reasons to accept a given conclusion. An argument is made up of premises and a conclusion. The premises can also be referred to as reasons, supporting evidence, or claims. Beliefs A belief is defined as the psychological state in which an individual holds a proposition or premise to be true. Many beliefs are not formed by reason and critical thinking. We use beliefs to form new beliefs and to evaluate our existing beliefs. Beliefs can often be stated explicitly as beliefs, stated as opinions, implied, or arrogantly stated as fact. Examples: I believe that unicorns exist. In my opinion, everyone should remain celibate for life. If you are not baptized as an adult, you are going to Hell! Fallacies A logical fallacy is an argument that contains a mistake in reasoning. Fallere (Latin) means to deceive.

Two Types of Fallacy 1. Formal Fallacy Applicable only to deductive arguments For a deductive argument to be valid it must be absolutely impossible for both its premises to be true and its conclusion to be false. With a good deductive argument, that simply cannot happen; the truth of the premises entails the truth of the conclusion. E.g. All men are mortal. Socrates is a man. Therefore, Socrates is mortal. Any deductive argument that fails to meet this standard commits a logical error, and so, technically, is fallacious. 2. Informal Fallacy An informal fallacy is fallacious because of both its form and its content. Good inductive arguments lend support to their conclusions, but even if their premises are true then that doesnt establish with 100% certainty that their conclusions are true. The terms most often used to distinguish good and bad inductive arguments are strong and weak. Example of a strong inductive argument would be: Everyday to date to the law of gravity has held. The law of gravity will hold tomorrow. Fallacies of Relevance A statement is relevant to another statement if it provides at least some reason for thinking that the second statement is true or false. There are three ways in which a statement can be relevant or irrelevant to another: I. A statement is positively relevant to another statement if it provides at least some reason for thinking that the second statement is true. II. A statement is negatively relevant to another statement if it provides at least some reason for thinking that the second statement is false. III. A statement is logically irrelevant to another statement if it provides no reason for thinking that the second statement is either true or false. Five Fallacies of Relevance 1. Appeal to Ignorance Claiming that something is true because no one has proven it false or vice versa. The fallacy of appeal to ignorance comes in two forms: (1) Not knowing that a certain statement is true is taken to be a proof that it is false. (2) Not knowing that a statement is false is taken to be a proof that it is true.

Examples: 1. Unicorns must exist. No one has proved that unicorns dont exist. 2. Nobody has ever proved to me theres a God, so I know there is no God.

If such reasoning were allowed, we could prove almost any conclusion.

2. Appeal to Authority (Ad Verecundiam) Citing a witness or authority that is unworthy. Spotting a fallacious appeal to authority requires background knowledge about the subject or the authority, in brief it can be said that it is fallacious to accept the words of a supposed authority when we should be suspicious of the authoritys words. Examples: 1. The moon is covered with dust because the president of our neighborhood association said so. 2. My dentist told me that aliens built the lost city of Atlantis. So, its reasonable to believe that aliens did build the lost city of Atlantis. 3. Appeal to the people (Ad Populum) and Bandwagon Argument The difference between the two is that the bandwagon fallacy places an emphasis on current fads and trends, on the growing support for an idea, whereas the appeal to popularity does not. Appeal to the people If you suggest too strongly that someones claim or argument is correct simply because its what most everyone believes, then your reasoning contains the fallacy of appeal to the people. Popular opinion can be, and quite often is, mistaken. Examples: 1. Most people believe in a god or higher power, therefore, God, or at least a higher power, must exist. 2. In blind taste tests, three out of four people surveyed preferred Pepsi over Coke. Bandwagon Argument When an arguer appeals to a persons desire to be popular, accepted, or valued, rather than to logically relevant reasons or evidence. Peer pressure, tangible benefits, or even mass stupidity could lead to a false idea being adopted by lots of people. A rise in the popularity of an idea, then, is no guarantee of its truth. Examples: 1. All pretty girls wear makeup. Therefore, you should too. 2. More and more people are buying sports utility vehicles. Isnt it time you bought one, too? 4. Appeal to Emotions (Pity) Your reasoning contains the fallacy of appeal to emotions when someones appeal to you to accept their claim is accepted merely because the appeal arouses your feelings of anger, fear, grief, love, outrage, pity, pride, sexuality, sympathy, relief, and so forth.

Under this is Appeal to Pity. It evokes feelings of pity or compassion, where such feelings, however understandable, are not relevant to the truth of the arguers conclusion. Examples: 1. Student to Lecturer: I know I missed half your classes and failed all my quizzes and assignments. First my cat died. Then my girlfriend told me she has found someone else. With all I went through this semester, I dont think I really deserve an F. Any chance you might cut me some slack and change my grade to a C or a D? 2. "I'm positive that my work will meet your requirements. I really need the job since my grandmother is sick"

5. Gamblers Fallacy The gamblers fallacy is the fallacy of assuming that short-term deviations from probability will be corrected in the short-term. Faced with a series of events that are statistically unlikely, say, a serious of 9 coin tosses that have landed heads-up, it is very tempting to expect the next coin toss to land tails-up. The past series of results, though, has no effect on the probability of the various possible outcomes of the next coin toss. Examples: 1. This coin has landed heads-up nine times in a row. Therefore, it will probably land tails-up next time it is tossed. 2. I have failed this subject for two consecutive terms. Maybe next term I will pass already.