Showing posts with label Fallacy List. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fallacy List. Show all posts

Sunday, May 17, 2009

Fallacy Short Descriptions

This is the short description of the fallacies for quick reference. You should check the full description (in the book), read the examples we've blogged about (linked on the sidebar) and listen to the associated podcast for the complete picture.

Appeal to Authority
: Advocate makes an unwarranted appeal to an authoritative person or organization in support of a proposition.

Argument by Artifice: Advocate puts forward convoluted and weak assertions which any disinterested observer would perceive as artificially constructed in order to make a case.

Argument by Slogan: Advocate uses a simplistic statement or slogan rather than logical argument in a debate or discussion.

Argument to Consequences: Advocate claims that a proposition cannot be true because it ought not to be true (or vice versa).

Begging the Question: Advocate makes a circular argument where the conclusion is in essence a restatement or paraphrase of the premise.

Browbeating: Advocate is threatening and overbearing in argument and doesn't allow the opponent the opportunity to state his or her case.

Burden of Proof: Advocate fails to take responsibility for arguing a case by claiming that the opponent must first prove that the opposite case is true.

Burden of Solution: Advocate denigrates a suggested solution to a problem but fails to propose a viable alternative.

Cultural Origins: Advocate makes an unwarranted claim that a particular way of doing things is best because of its cultural origins.

Exaggerated Conflict: Advocate claims that because there is some degree of uncertainty in a domain of knowledge, nothing at all is certain.

Factoid Propagation: Advocate asserts the truth of a proposition that is commonly assumed to be true, when it is not in fact established as true.

False Analogy: Advocate puts forward an analogy in support of a case, but the analogy only has superficial similarities to the case in question.

False Attribution: Advocate appeals to an irrelevant, unqualified, unidentified, biased or fabricated source in support of an argument.

False Cause; Correlation Error: Advocate asserts that there is a causal link between phenomena, when the link is only apparent rather than real.

False Compromise: Advocate seeks to reconcile two differing views by "splitting the difference" and falsely claiming that the result reflects reality.

False Dichotomy: Advocate represents an issue as "black or white" when in fact the reality is "shades of grey".

False Dilemma: Advocate portrays one option as necessarily excluding another option, when in fact there is no necessary connection.

False Positioning: Advocate attacks a weakened, exaggerated, or over-simplified form of the opponent's position rather than the real position.

Gibberish: Advocate presents an argument or assertion that is so garbled in its presentation that it is essentially meaningless.

Impugning Motives: Advocate makes an unwarranted claim that the opponent has devious motives.

Misuse of Information: Advocate misunderstands or deliberately misuses a statistic, fact or theory to support an argument.

Moral Equivalence: Advocate seeks to draw false moral comparisons between two phenomena which are not morally equivalent.

Moving the Goalposts: Advocate changes the discussion focus by seeking to force the opponent to tackle a more difficult or different version of the topic.

Observational Selection: Advocate pays close attention to confirming evidence, but ignores evidence which is contrary to his or her position.

Personal Abuse: Advocate mounts a personal attack on the opponent rather than the argument put forward by the opponent.

Poisoning the Well: Advocate seeks to undermine an opponent's position by linking the position to an original source which is unjustly denigrated.

Popular Opinion: Advocate makes an unwarranted appeal to popular opinion (e.g. "most people agree that...") in support of a proposition.

Sanctimony: Advocate makes an unwarranted claim that his or her position is morally superior to the opponent's position.

Simple-Minded Certitude: Advocate has an unshakeable belief which remains unchanged even in the face of overwhelming contrary evidence.

Single Cause: Advocate asserts that there is only one cause of a phenomenon or problem, when the evidence suggests multiple factors.

Slippery Slope: Advocate asserts without evidence that if we take "one step in the wrong direction", it will inexorably lead to catastrophe.

Special Pleading: Advocate claims special insights into an issue, and that the opponent is incapable of achieving the same level of understanding.

Stacking the Deck: Advocate is aware of counter-arguments to his or her position, but conceals them in order to defeat the opponent.

Unfounded Generalization: Advocate draws a general conclusion about a phenomenon based on unrepresentative examples of the phenomenon.

Weasel Words: Advocate uses emotionally loaded labels to boost his or her position or to denigrate the opponent's position.

Saturday, October 18, 2008

Examples of Red Flag Faux Pas

The advocate is overly quick to claim an opponent has made a fallacy when in fact the opponent has not.
"Red flags" are the particular things one looks out for that could mean a fallacy is in play, such as gratuitous insults and slurs on an opponent's character. "Faux pas" comes from French, meaning “false step”. In English (and French) faux pas are embarrassing violations of social norms. So in this sense a Red Flag Faux Pas is the embarrassing mistake of accusing someone of making a fallacy, when in fact they have not.

Just because a red flag has caught your attention, don't be overly hasty in claiming a fallacy is being committed. You may be taking a "false step". Is the red flag you've identified the basis of an argument? If so, then it is likely a fallacy is being made. If the red flag is an addendum to an argument or point, or simply not part of an argument, then it may not be fallacious (it might simply be impolite and/or irrelevant).
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Update: I asked a few people who blog about fallacies for their opinion on this type of error. J. Casey @ the The NonSequitur has identified this type of error as "specious allegations of fallacy". Gary Curtis @ Fallacy Files has just posted this response: Fallacy Abuse. As Gary says, this is not a logical mistake, but mistake about logic. I think they all add to the "discourse" (to use a word that makes me cringe).

Monday, September 22, 2008

The Eager Beaver Fallacy?

In light of the last post I thought I'd try to coin a new fallacy - The Eager Beaver Fallacy?:

The advocate is overly quick to claim a proponent has made a fallacy when in fact they have not.

The question mark is because I think the name needs some work, although it could sound quite condescending, which is a plus. An example is a comment I made at Evolving Thoughts <http://scienceblogs.com/evolvingthoughts/2008/09/fallacies_on_fallacies.php#comment-1118789>:
...something is not a fallacy just because it seems like one. This, I think, is one of the hardest things for people to differentiate. Calling someone an idiot [for example] is only fallacious if that's the basis of your argument. E.g., "The type of home insurance recommended by Andy is wrong because he's an idiot." Andy may indeed be an idiot; however, he might (even if by chance) be recommending a home insurance policy that meets your needs exactly.

Whereas the following is not fallacious even though you are still calling Andy an idiot: "Andy is an idiot because he has recommended you get home insurance that doesn't cover you for a fire, and fire cover is essential in any home insurance policy."

I.e., you are saying Andy is an idiot because his claim is wrong, not his claim is wrong because he is an idiot.
This is similar to, though not the same as, the Fallacy Fallacy.
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Update Oct 11: How's the Red Flag Faux Pas as the name for this mistake? See comments for elaboration.

Saturday, September 13, 2008

Principles of Skepticism

I was flicking through one of the most useful books I own, How to Think About Weird Things - Critical Thinking for a New Age (2nd Ed), by Theodore Schick, Jr. and Lewis Vaughn, and I thought I'd post these "Principles of Skepticism" from their book. They say they are:
Explanations of thirty-four principles of knowledge, reasoning and evidence that you can use to enhance your problems-solving skills and sharpen your judgement.
I highly recommend their book to you to get the full story behind these principles. Schick and Vaughn expand upon them with many great examples. However, most of them are fairly self explanatory. Note that these principles are rational rules of thought to help one form an informed position on a topic. The topics are essentially any claim about the physical world we live in - anything that can cause an effect in the physical world. This is applicable to all the claims of science and psuedoscience. Scientific claims They don't guarantee that you'll be correct. However, they dramatically decrease the likelihood of you being incorrect. Most importantly, being good at analysing propositions is fun! I've broken them up under the titles of the chapters of the book they appear in, so they'll make sense:

Chapter 2 - The Possibility of the Impossible
1) Just because something is logically possible doesn't mean that it's real.

2) Just because a claim hasn't been conclusively refuted doesn't mean that it's true.

3) Just because a claim hasn't been conclusively proven doesn't mean that it's false.
4) Just because you can't explain something doesn't mean that it's supernatural.

5) Just because something is physically possible doesn't mean that it's real.
Chapter 3 - Looking for Truth in Personal Experience:
6) Just because something seems (feels, appears) real doesn't mean that it is.

7) It's reasonable to accept personal experience as reliable evidence only if there's no reason to doubt its reliability.
Chapter 4 - Relativism, Truth and Reality:
8) Just because you believe that something is true doesn't mean that it is.

9) Just because a group of people believe that something is true doesn't mean that it is.

10) There are objective truths.
Chapter 5 - Knowledge, Belief and Evidence:
11) We are justified in believing a proposition when we have no good reason to doubt it.

12) There is good reason to doubt a proposition if it conflicts with other propositions we have good reason to believe.

13) The more background information a proposition conflicts with, the more reason there is to doubt it.

14) When there is good reason to doubt a proposition, we should proportion our belief to the evidence.

15) There is good reason to doubt a proposition if it conflicts with expert opinion.

16) Just because someone is an expert in one field doesn't mean that he or she is an expert in another.

17) If we have no reason to doubt what's disclosed to us through perception, introspection, memory, or reason, then we're justified in believing it.
Chapter 6 - Evidence and Inference:
18) When evaluating a claim, look for disconfirming as well as confirming evidence.

19) When evaluating a claim, look at all the relevant evidence, not just the psychologically available evidence.
Chapter 7 - Science and Its Pretenders:
20) A hypothesis is scientific only if it is testable, that is, only if it predicts something other than what it was introduced to explain.

21) Other things being equal, the best hypothesis is the one that is the most fruitful, that is, makes the most novel predictions.

22) Other things being equal, the best hypothesis is the one that has the greatest scope, that is, that explains and predicts the most diverse phenomena.

23) Other things being equal, the best hypothesis is the simplest one, that is, the one that makes the fewest assumptions.

24) Other things being equal, the best hypothesis is the one that is the most conservative, that is, the one that fits best with established beliefs.

25) We should accept an extraordinary hypothesis only if no ordinary one will do.
Chapter 8 - How to Assess a "Miracle Cure":
26) Personal experience alone generally cannot establish the effectiveness of a treatment beyond a reasonable doubt.

27) Case studies alone generally cannot establish the effectiveness of a treatment beyond a reasonable doubt.

28) When claims of a treatment's effectiveness are based solely on case studies or personal experience, you generally cannot know that the treatment is effective.

29) Scientific evidence gained through controlled experiments - unlike personal experience and case studies - generally can establish the effectiveness of a treatment beyond a reasonable doubt.

30) Single medical studies generally cannot establish the effectiveness of a treatment beyond a reasonable doubt.

31) When the results of relevant studies conflict, you cannot know that the treatment in question is effective.

32) New study results that conflict with well-established findings cannot establish the effectiveness of a treatment beyond a reasonable doubt.

33) Test-tube studies alone generally cannot establish the effectiveness of a treatment beyond a reasonable doubt.

34) Animal studies alone generally cannot establish the effectiveness of a treatment beyond a reasonable doubt.

35) Observational studies alone generally cannot establish the effectiveness of a treatment beyond a reasonable doubt.

36) Clinical trials with any of these limitations - lack of a control group, a faulty comparison between experimental and control group, and a small number of subjects (a pilot study) - generally cannot establish the effectiveness of a treatment beyond a reasonable doubt.

Sunday, April 01, 2007

Examples of Perfect Solution

The advocate claims that because a proposed solution, idea, or system is not perfect, it should be abandoned completely.
Example: We may as well not bother with police enforcement of speeding laws. There will always be people who break the law and speed, and get away with it.

The deliberately simplistic example above argues that as the enforcement of speeding laws will not be able to catch every person who speeds (the system is not perfect), we should abandon any enforcement completely. This fails to take into account many things, most notably that it is not intended to be perfect and that enforcement is, presumably, more of a deterrent than anything else.

Note that this is closely related to, and often made up of, the fallacies False Dichotomy and Burden of Solution. In the first case, speeding and enforcement of speeding laws is not a black and white issue: different degrees of speeding, repeat offenders, permanent speed cameras, mobile cameras, highway patrols etc. In the second case, if we agree that speeding is bad, how else can we try to stop motorists from speeding other that fines and court appearances? One cannot denigrate the current system, fairly, without proposing some other solution.

Saturday, January 27, 2007

Examples of Red Herrings

The advocate deliberately introduces an irrelevant topic into a discussion or debate in order to divert attention away from the topic under consideration.
See these examples:
Listen to the podcast - Hunting Humbug 101: Tutorial 05 - Moving the Goalposts and Red Herrings
http://www.archive.org/download/HuntingHumbug101Episode1-WhatIsHumbug/05Tutorial05_MovingTheGoalposts2.mp3

An extreme example of the Red Herring Fallacy is called the "Chewbacca Defense". From wikipedia:
Chewbacca Defense originated in the animated series South Park. The show satirized attorney Johnnie Cochran's closing argument defending O.J. Simpson in his murder trial. "Chewbacca Defense", meaning a defense consisting solely of nonsensical arguments meant to confuse a jury, has since been applied outside of references to South Park and has been integrated into popular culture slang. 
In the episode, Chef discovers that Alanis Morissette's (fictional) hit song "Stinky Britches" is the same as a song he wrote years ago, before he abandoned his musical aspirations. Chef contacts a "major record company" executive, seeking only to have his name credited as the composer of "Stinky Britches." Chef's claim is substantiated by a twenty-year-old recording of Chef performing the song. 
The record company refuses, and furthermore hires Johnnie Cochran, who files a lawsuit against Chef for harassment. In court, Cochran resorts to his "famous" Chewbacca Defense, which he "used during the Simpson trial", according to Gerald Broflovski. 
Cochran: Ladies and gentlemen of this supposed jury, Chef's attorney would certainly want you to believe that his client wrote "Stinky Britches" ten years ago. And they make a good case. Hell, I almost felt pity myself! But, ladies and gentlemen of this supposed jury, I have one final thing I want you to consider. Ladies and gentlemen, this is Chewbacca. Chewbacca is a Wookiee from the planet Kashyyyk. But Chewbacca lives on the planet Endor. Now think about it; that does not make sense! 
Gerald Broflovski: Dammit! 
Chef: What? 
Gerald: He's using the Chewbacca Defense! 
Cochran: Why would a Wookiee, an eight-foot tall Wookiee, want to live on Endor, with a bunch of two-foot tall Ewoks? That does not make sense! But more important, you have to ask yourself: What does this have to do with this case? Nothing. Ladies and gentlemen, it has nothing to do with this case! It does not make sense! Look at me. I'm a lawyer defending a major record company, and I'm talkin' about Chewbacca! Does that make sense? Ladies and gentlemen, I am not making any sense! None of this makes sense! And so you have to remember, when you're in that jury room deliberatin' and conjugatin' the Emancipation Proclamation, [approaches and softens] does it make sense? No! Ladies and gentlemen of this supposed jury, it does not make sense! If Chewbacca lives on Endor, you must acquit! The defense rests.

Wednesday, October 11, 2006

Examples of Postdiction

The advocate claims that they accurately predicted an event after the fact, when in fact they did not, or have no evidence that they did.
Also known as hindsight bias, or 20/20 hindsight.

It's also worth mentioning that a good response to a claim of "I always knew", or "I told you so", is: "So what? What's your point? Do you want some kind of medal or certificate or something?"

If they are persistent, a slap in the face* is a good one too. Followed by: "Didn't see that one coming, did you?" (Then followed by running away...)

Other examples:
Parents who claim, after their child was born, that they “just knew it was a boy (or girl)” are most likely guilty of Postdiction. (I also suspect that people are right about the sex of their child about 50% of the time.)
And complete tool Uri Geller claimed to have been the cause of the Sydney Olympic cauldron flame stalling on its journey during the 2000 Olympic Games opening ceremony:
Geller said he had concentrated his mind to make the Olympic flame to get stuck as it was winched to the top of Stadium Australia during the opening ceremony.

He said he was at his home in Sonning-on-Thames near Reading in Britain, when he focused on the flame for 11 minutes as part of his vision of global nuclear disarmament.
Well that worked!
The crown of the Olympic cauldron stalled soon after being lit by Olympic athlete Cathy Freeman and rising out of a pool of water.

After an anxious wait of around three minutes, the cauldron was raised by hydraulic lift to its final position
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* Disclaimer: as per usual, whenever I seemingly advocate the use of violence, it should be taken figuratively; a sad attempt at humour.

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Monday, July 24, 2006

Examples of the WTF? Fallacy

The advocate puts forward a claim that is comprehensively and self-evidently flawed - a claim that is beyond flawed - it borders on the insane.

The advocate's claim is so error ridden that one would not actually know where to begin in trying to analyse it. (Moreover, one would have to take a leave of absence for a year or so in order to do so.) The WTF?* Fallacy is only to be invoked when the claim under consideration is so lacking in any rational basis that one is left speechless with perverse admiration - how could anyone, in their right mind make such an astonishingly stupid assertion? The only possible response is those three little words, muttered in hushed and awed tones: "What the F....?

Though similar in nature to Simple-Minded Certitude, the WTF? Fallacy is more extreme. WTF?ers ought to have seen the absurdity of their claim for themselves. There is simply no point in engaging with a WTF?er, as meaningful interaction will be nigh on impossible. Our advice is to completely avoid any interaction. If you must engage in social intercourse, a supercilious attitude is best, and moreover, such an attitude is completely justified. Heap nothing but scorn and derision upon the advocate.

A clue for spotting WTF?ers is that initially one would naturally assume that the deluded one was putting forth an absurdist joke. To which your natural response might be: "Good one mate... Hahahaha... That's a hilarious suggestion."

But there will be no reciprocal jovial response from the WTF?er, merely a blank stare. A blank stare which should be met with raised eyebrows, and a comment such as: "Please tell me you're not serious?"

The WTF?er of course will continue to stare blankly... no data can ever enter that tinfoil-covered case-hardened skull.

You should avoid drooling when your mouth reflexively drops open at this point (A shorthand way of describing your state at this moment of realisation is "gobsmacked". Take a step backward (for reasons of personal safety - at this point you realise you are not dealing with a rational human being after all), turn on your heel, shake your head, beat a safe retreat, and mutter: "What the Fuh...?"


  • WTF? Rainbows and crazy lady
  • A rapturous WTF?
  • Spooked911 moon landings not faked after all! But there is a secret moon base!
  • So good
  • If I'm ever out of ideas for posts...
  • Pinhead Educationista moonlights as clueless LAME commentator
  • UFO caused by global warming! WTF?
  • Have you ever paid money for one of these?
  • Mad Madonna the comedian
  • Pig becomes even more "wonderful, magical animal"
  • WTF? Fallacy of the year
  • WTF? Fallacy and Scientology
  • Just what we need on the East Coast, more sharks…
  • Is There a Case for Creating a WTF? Fallacy?

  • ___________________-
    * We are aware that there may be other interpretations of WTF?, however as far as we're concerned it stands for "What the Fuh…?"

    Thursday, December 01, 2005

    Appeal to Celebrity

    The first common fallacy canvassed in our book Humbug! is Appeal to Authority. Our short definition of appeal to authority is as follows: "The advocate makes an unwarranted appeal to an authoritative person or organization in support of a proposition". Unwarranted in this context means that the appeal is without foundation, and that the supposed "authority" does not really lend any weight to the advocate's proposition (because the authority of the authority on this particular matter is not convincing, or because the advocate is falsely claiming that the authority would agree with the advocate's position).

    There is a subspecies of appeal to authority which is much more bizarre than a commonplace appeal to authority. This subspecies of appeal to authority is worthy of comment here because it is increasingly common, and often passes unnoticed by those who should know better. It is Appeal to Celebrity.

    Consider the commonplace case. The celebrity is appearing on a chat show, or a news and current affairs program. The celebrity is perhaps an actor, a model, a sportsperson, a "reality television" contestant, or a Greens senator. Whatever the claim to fame, the celebrity is not known for deep thinking. And yet... the interviewer inevitably asks the celebrity about his or her profound thoughts on some deep and complex issue – multilateral defence treaties, bilateral trade agreements, reform of the United Nations, health funding, dry land salinity etc etc etc. And the celebrity is eager to pontificate at length on any of these, and presumably the more impressionable viewers will be swayed by the celebrity's half-baked opinions, just because the celebrity is a celebrity.

    Just once I'd like to see a journalist-interviewer practice real journalism and say: "sorry to interrupt you there Sean, but you're talking about politics now, and we're not interested; after all, you're only an actor".

    Saturday, January 15, 2005

    Examples of Reductio Ad Absurdum

    The Advocate's premises are shown to be false as, if they are true, an absurd conclusion is reached.

    An example: Hesa Cicy maintains that all beliefs are equally valid. For the sake of argument, this would mean that the scientific view of the Origin of the Universe and the Diversity of Life is of equal validity as a Young Earth Creationist view. Whilst this in itself is absurd, and perhaps example enough, his friend Chip Baud shows Hesa Cicy his argument is flawed - by following the premises to their natural conclusion:

    If your argument is true - that all beliefs are equally valid, then there is no reason to give any particular belief any greater merit than any other - including your argument. Your argument is self-contradictory and as such, is absurd.

    Logical Fallacies

    Here is a list of the fallacies we cover:

    Don't forget to check out these techniques for Humbug Hunting

    Examples of Browbeating

    The advocate is threatening and overbearing in argument and doesn't allow the opponent the opportunity to state his or her case.

    Examples of Ambiguity

    The advocate could deceive his or her opponent, intentionally (or not), by using the alternative meaning of a word or phrase (that has more than one meaning).
    An example from Andrew Bolt stacks a deck of cars - Bolt: I said cars were a "public good", not that they will or intend good. To object to this term is to object to English both everyday and plain in meaning – such as that "this food is good", "that was a good kick" and more.
    The use of "good" in these cases is ambiguous. The word "good" has completely different meanings (one to do with right and wrong, the other with quality). As such his reply is meaningless as a rebuttal. He could also say, "this food is delicious", "that was a ripper kick" but then, by his reasoning, he'd have to say "public delicious" and "public ripper".
    ________
    Note that this fallacy is also known as Equivocation

    Examples of Straw man / False Positioning

    Hunting Humbug

    Techniques for arguing effectively and spotting faulty reasoning:
    Don't forget to check out the Fallacy List

    Fallacy List

    Examples of Burden of Solution

    Self Defeating Argument

    A Self-Defeating Argument is internally inconsistent (self-contradictory) and as such, by definition is false (and therefore meaningless). The proponent has inadvertently set up a paradoxical circular argument; if the conclusion is accepted as true, the premises must be false (which therefore means the conclusion must actually be false, which then could mean the premises are true... ad infinitum).

    The liar paradox is an example of a Self-Defeating Argument (or rather, assertion):

    The following sentence is false. The preceding sentence is true.

    If we accept the first sentence, then we must conclude the second sentence is false. However, in doing this, we invalidate the "truthfulness" of the first sentence, but if that’s the case... okay my head hurts.

    Examples of Self-Defeating Argument
    (Note that a Self Defeating Argument is similar, in its circularity, to Begging the Question.)

    Somewhat OT - my favourite paradox is from the Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy. In this universe of Douglas Adams' creation there is a remarkable little creature known as the Babel fish. It has the most useful property. If you stick it in your ear, you can understand anything said to you in any form of language:
    Now it is such a bizarrely improbable coincidence that anything so mindbogglingly useful could have evolved by purely by chance that some thinkers have chosen to see it as a final and clinching proof of the non-existence of God.

    The argument goes something like this: "I refuse to prove I exist," says God, "for proof denies faith, and without faith I am nothing."

    "But," says Man, "the Babel fish is a dead giveaway isn't it? It could not have evolved by chance. It proves you exist, and so therefore, by your own arguments, you don't. QED."

    ""Oh dear," says God, "I hadn't thought of that," and promptly vanishes in a puff of logic.

    Examples of Argument by Slogan

    The advocate uses a simplistic statement or slogan rather than logical argument in a debate or discussion.

    Examples of Impugning Motives