Fallacies of Ambiguity & Avoidance of Ambiguity

Submitted to;
Ms. Laila Chaudhry

Submitted by;
Group No. 02
Zarlish Farooq BBFE-17-55

Pamra Ahmad BBFE-17-25

MehrunNisa BBFE-17-22

Hina Batool BBFE-17-42

Bushra Zafar BBFE-17-52

Atiya Akhtar BBFE-17-62

BBA (B&F) 5th Semester (Eve)

2017-21

BAHAUDDIN ZAKRIYA UNIVERSITY MULTAN

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 Fallacies
Fallacy
Fallacy is defined as a mistaken belief, especially one based on unsound arguments.

Fallacy in logic;

A failure in reasoning which renders an argument invalid.

Types of Fallacies
1. Fallacy of Relevance
2. Fallacy of Ambiguity
Fallacy of relevance
Fallacy of relevance is one where the argument in which it occurs has premises that are logically
irrelevant to the conclusion. These fallacies appeal to evidence or examples that are not relevant to the
argument

It is also called Irrelevant conclusion, it is the informal fallacy of presenting an argument that may or
may not be logically valid and sound.

Fallacy of Ambiguity
A fallacy of ambiguity occurs when a conclusion is drawn from premises that are unclear. When an
unclear premise is used, it may not support the conclusion. This is what we call fallacies of

ambiguity.

For example; It Is said that we have good understanding of our universe. Therefore, we know exactly
how it began and exactly when.

Basic concept
A fallacy of ambiguity occurs when conclusion is drawn from premises that are unclear. When the
unclear premise is used, it may not support the conclusion. Occurs when a sentence, because of its
grammar, structure, or punctuation, can be interpreted in multiple ways .A term has one sense in a
premise, but quite different sense in conclusion.

Example 1 : When the judge asked the defendant why he don’t pay his fine for wrong parking, he
replied the sign said that fine for parking here and so I naturally presumed that it is fine for parking
here.

Example 2: It is said that we have a good understanding of our universe.

Therefore, we know exactly how it began and exactly when.

Example 3: Bad people should be put in the jail

I am bad salesman therefore I should also be put in jail.

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Division of fallacies

 Formal fallacies

 Informal fallacies

Formal fallacies
The pattern of mistakes that appear in deductive argument of a certain specifiable form.
Formal fallacies have a defect in the structure of an argument
For instance
 All A are B
 Therefore all B are A

Informal fallacies
Fallacies that can be detected by examining the content of an argument.
An informal fallacy is an argument whose stated premises fail to support their proposed
conclusion. Informal fallacies often come about because of an error in reasoning.

Informal fallacies have a defect in the content of an argument.

For instance

1. Hydrogen is dry
Water is made up of hydrogen and oxygen

So, water is dry.

2. Penguins are black and while

Some old TV shows are black and white

So, penguins are old TV shows.

Three concepts of fallacy of relevance

 Red herring.
 Ad hominem.
 Faulty Analogy

What is a Logical Fallacy, Exactly?

It has specific meaning in logic (a logical fallacy) that dates back to the 1550s means "false syllogism,
invalid argumentation.

An Error in Reasoning

"the modes in which, by neglecting the rules of logic, we often fall into erroneous reasoning."

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(MacMillian and Co. in 1872 )

Presumptions of Fallacy
Fallacies of Presumption are a subclass of Fallacies of Sufficiency which occur in Inductive arguments
when an unwarranted assumption is used to draw a conclusion. Begging the Question, Complex
Question, and False cause would be examples of presumptive fallacies.

1- Accident Fallacy
It is one of the thirteen fallacies originally identified by Aristotle in Sophistical Refutations. The fallacy
occurs when one attempts to apply a general rule to an irrelevant situation. Attempting to use a rule to
cover a specific case that is an exception to the rule.

Examples

 Cutting people with knives is a crime.

 Surgeons cut people with knives.
 Surgeons are criminals.
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 Fighting is morally wrong

 Professional fighters fight.
 Professional fighters are immoral.
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 The first amendment allows for you to say anything

 Therefore you can tell “fire” in the crowded theatre.
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 In English “i” always comes before “e”.

 Therefore, receive should be spelled
r-e-c-i-e-v-e.

2- Converse Accident Fallacy

When one considers only unusual and hastily generalize to a rule that fits them alone , the fallacy
committed is that of Converse Accident

Examples;

 I will never consult a homeopath because homeopathic medicine failed to cure my brother.
 When the driver was harassed by policeman in Pakistan and was fleeced of his cash , he
believed that the policeman in Pakistan are corrupt.
3- False Cause
It is also called as post hock. In this fallacy it is presumed that if one event happens after another the
second one is necessarily caused by the first.
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Examples;

 A black cat had crossed the way before he had a fracture. So, the fracture was caused by the
black cat ‘s crossing the way.
 Every time I go to sleep, the sun goes down. Therefore, my going to sleep causes the sun to set.

4- Complex Question Fallacy

Fallacy of complex question occurs in a dialogue when the speaker poses a complex question and the
second speaker unconsciously responds with yes/no and the first speaker draws a fallacious interference
that mat seem appropriate.

Examples;

 Is Mary wearing a blue or a red dress?

 Have you stopped smoking?
 Do you still beat your wife?

5- Begging The Question

In classical rhetoric and logic, begging the question is an informal fallacy that occurs when an
argument's premises assume the truth of the conclusion, instead of supporting it. It is a type of circular
reasoning: an argument that requires that the desired conclusion be true. It is also called as petito
principii. In begging the question, conclusion of the argument restate the original premise. Conclusion
is based on a chain of inferences with the conclusion as the first premise.

Example

 I should not do this act because it is wrong

 But how do you know the act is wrong?
 Why, because I know that I should not do it.
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 Nike makes the best shoes in the world.

 The company that makes the best shoes in the world can pay it’s employees more.
 Companies that pay their employees well can hire the best people.
 The best people will make the best shoes.
 Therefore, Nike makes the best shoes in the world
6- Undistributed middle
An argument in 3 sentences and middle term is not distributed but conclusion is driven.
For example All dogs are mammals.
All cats are mammals.
All dogs are cats.
The middle term is not distributed so wrong conclusion

7- Excluded middle
The False Dilemma fallacy occurs when an argument offers a false range of choices and requires
that you pick one of them. The range is false because there may be other, unstated choices
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 which would only serve to undermine the original argument.
For example
America — Love It Or Leave It" is a popular false dilemma.
The dilemma suggests that a "true patriot" must embrace everything ever done by America, or
become un-Amerfals
8- Argumentum-ad- Hominum
Appeal to person’s self interest
For example : Ali preaches to be truthful but his own brother was caught for lying
9- Argumentum-ad-ignorantium
Fallacy of ignorance, means an argument is right because it is not proved wrong

For example : I Believe in ghosts as no one has proved that they are not present

10- Argumentum-ad-populum Appeal to emotions.

Also known as 'appealing to the people', this fallacy presumes that a proposition must be true
because most/many believe it to be true
For example
 Everyone drives over the speed limit, so it should not be against the law.
 This little girl should win the reality show of singing because she looks so cute and
tiny
11- Argumentum-ad-misericordiam Appeal to pity
An appeal to pity is a fallacy in which someone tries to win support for an argument or idea by
exploiting his or her opponent's feelings of pity or guilt.
For example
If he is jailed, his old parents will die of hunger, as he is the only son.
12- Argumentum-ad-baculum
Argumentum ad baculum is the fallacy committed when one appeals to force or the threat of
force to bring about the acceptance of a conclusion
For example ; If a police man issues a challan to a person who has not committed any crime,
still he has to pay.

Fallacy of Ambiguity
When an unclear phrase with multiple definitions is used within the argument, or word having two
meanings therefore does not support the conclusion.

Using double meanings or ambiguities of language to mislead or misrepresent the truth.

Forms of fallacy of ambiguity

 Premises are presented that are unclear enough to allow for more than one conclusion.
 A single conclusion is drawn from these premises.

Elements of ambiguity
1. Lexical ambiguity
2. Syntactic ambiguity

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Lexical ambiguity
Lexical ambiguity presents two or more possible meanings within a single word. It is also known as
semantic ambiguity.

Example: Do you believe in clubs for young people?

Syntactic ambiguity
Syntactic ambiguity presents two or more possible meanings within a phrase or sentence. This is also
known as structural ambiguity.

Example: I shot an elephant in my pajamas.

Examples:
1. Foreigners are hunting dogs.
2. Each of us saw her duck.
3. John took off his trousers by bank.
4. I trade a black horse in red pajama.
5. I saw someone on the hill with a telescope.
6. Call me a taxi, please.

Types of Fallacies of Ambiguity

These fallacies typically occur in an argument using ambiguous words or phrases, whose meaning shifts
and changes during the course of the argument. There are five types of such fallacies.

1. Fallacy of Equivocation
2. Fallacy of Amphiboly
3. Fallacy of Composition
4. Fallacy of Division
5. Fallacy of Accent

1- Equivocation.

Definition : Equivocation is the use of expressions of double meaning in order to mislead.

An ambiguous term is used with one meaning at the beginning of the argument, but then used with a
different meaning later in another argument. Because many words have more than one literal meaning,
there are many opportunities of this fallacy to occur.

Examples.

P1 : The end justifies the means.

P2 :Death is the end of life.

C : Therefore, one’s death justifies the means of life.

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Here the word “end” is used in two ways: (1) as a goal and (2) as the last event.

P1 : A feather is light.
P2 : What is light cannot be dark.
C : Therefore, a feather cannot be dark.

In this two distinct meanings of the word “light” are used in the same argument. In the first premise,
the word “light” is used to mean “not heavy” and in the middle term “light” is used in its optical sense.
Because the two definitions are unrelated, the premise does not bear on the conclusion, even though the
same word is used throughout.
P1 : Any law can be repealed by the legislative authority.
P2 : But the law of gravity is a law.
C : Therefore , the law of gravity can be repealed by the legislative authority.
In the first premise it means statutory law , and in the second it means law of nature.

2- Amphiboly
Definition: An unclear statement because of the loose or awkward way its words are combine. When a
sentence, because of its grammar, structure, or punctuation, can be interpreted in multiple ways. This
fallacy is similar to equivocation but exploits an ambiguous grammatical construct rather than an
ambiguous word.
It is an informal fallacy and fallacy of ambiguity , in that it removes context that is necessary to
understand the statement.
Example: She opposed to taxes which slow economic growth.

What exactly is this political candidate trying to say? Is she opposed to all taxes because they will slow
economic growth? Or is she instead only to those taxes that have the effect of slowing economic
growth? Some people will see one, and some will see the other, depending on their prejudices and
agendas. Thus, we have a case of amphiboly here.

3- Composition.

Definition: The fallacy of composition arises when a conclusion is drawn about a whole based on the
features of its constituent elements when, in fact, no justification is provided for the inference.
Examples.

 Every atom in this tea cup has mass. Therefore, this tea cup has mass.
 Every component in this picket fence is white. Therefore , the hole fence is white.
 A bus uses more gas than a car. Therefore, buses as a whole use more gas than cars.
 Both sodium and chlorine are to harmful humans, therefore any combination of sodium and
chlorine, for example table salt, will be dangerous to humans.
In each case an attribute ( having mass, being white , use gas ) is transferred from the parts onto the
whole.
4- Division
Definition: A fallacy of division occurs when one reasons logically that something true for the whole
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must also be true of some of its parts. This fallacy is reverse of composition.
Examples.

P1 : Northern Illinois University is a very important institution.

P2 : Prof. Blacksmith is on the faculty of NIU.
C : Therefore, Prof. Blacksmith is very important.

P1 : Dogs are carnivores.

P2 : Japanese spaniels are dogs.
C : Therefore, Japanese spaniels are carnivores.

P1: The 2nd grade class in Jeff elementary eats a lot of ice cream
P2 : Jen is a 2nd grader in Jeff elementary
C : Therefore, Jen eats a lot of ice cream.
In each case an attribute is transferred from the whole onto the parts.

5- Accent
The fallacy of accent is a type of ambiguity that arises when the meaning of a sentence is changed by
placing an unusual verbal emphasis or when, in a written passage, it is left unclear on which word the
emphasis was supposed to fall.
Consider the various meanings a change in emphasis causes in this simple example:
I didn't take the test yesterday. (Somebody else did.)
I didn't take the test yesterday. (I did not take it.)
I didn't take the test yesterday. (I did something else with it.)
I didn't take the test yesterday. (I took a different one.)
I didn't take the test yesterday. (I took something else.)
I didn't take the test yesterday. (I took it some other day.)
When a premise relies for its apparent meaning on one possible emphasis, but a conclusion is drawn
that relies on the meaning of the same words accented differently, the fallacy of accent is committed.

Avoidance of Ambiguity
Ambiguity:

Ambiguity is anything which is vague, unclear or having some sort of misconception or

misrepresentation in it. It can be a word, phrase or a sentence and can either be created by speaker or
arguer.

Ambiguity occurs when a word, phrase or a sentence permits more than one syntactic interpretation.
(Victor Ferreira and Gray Dell)

The sentence or premise is biased towards one interpretation until the point of ambiguity is found.

Ambiguity Avoidance:

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Ambiguity avoidance is the idea that we as a speakers avoid these ambiguities so as to make ourselves
clear as possible. Simply it is the avoidance of vagueness, misleading or misconception in our message
for better understanding.

Why ambiguity avoidance:

Ambiguity is present in many situations when one has to make decisions on the basis of premises or
conclusions and it becomes difficult because of ambiguous premises. In real life we rarely know what
the probabilities of occurrence of an outcome are.

In order to make right decisions one has to be clear about the ideas he/she encounters; there should be
no misrepresentation or misconception. Good communication is the foundation of every good
relationship. If parties are not on the same page and do not understand each other, they will be
unsatisfied and the ties hardly ever will last. To communicate avoiding ambiguity is essential when you
deal with an organization and want to explain the requirements for your project. Poor or unclear
communication is highly frustrating for both the client and the organization. On the other hand, the
client may end up with a product that doesn’t fit his requirements and will not serve his business as it
should. All that may quickly lead to business disruption.

The reality is that to translate what is in our mind is not easy. Things that we take for granted may be
entirely foreign for our counterpart. Alternatively, the way we explain them may paint an entirely
different picture in the other person’s mind.

Tips to Avoid Ambiguity

Here is a list of best practices to create well-written requirements that avoid ambiguity, confusion, and
misunderstandings.

1. Write Explicit Requirements

To be explicit means more than mention the argument you want to implement. You must be specific,
detailed, and avoid assuming that the reader knows what you mean.

Even if you think that the reader must know what you are talking about, avoid assumption. Write down
even what should be assumed and don’t be afraid of being repetitive if this is needed.

To make your point explicit and super clear, it is a good idea to add examples of what you are looking
for.

2. Would and Should Must Be Avoided

Would and should are two words tend to generate vagueness and do not define a specific task. They
convey the idea of being optional, and you do not want to give options you want a specific requirement.

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For instance, if you say “the field in the form should fill automatically”, the developer may decide to
implement this functionality or not depending, for example, on how complicated the implementation is.

However, if you say that the form will or must fill automatically, it is readily understood that the feature
must be implemented no matter what.

3. Be Careful With Adverbs

Adverbs are great at causing ambiguity. Adverbs like generally, reasonably, usually, normally, and so
on are not specific and are open to interpretation.

For instance, if you say ‘generally, this is not done in this way’ you may be not that much clear as
compared to saying ‘this is not the way to do this’ you will be satisfied with the result.

4. Absolute Modifiers Add Clarity

Absolute modifiers are words like only, always, unique and so on. They describe a quality that is either
present in full or not present at all and that avoid ambiguity.

Here is an example. There is a difference in saying “the class is willing to have some break” and “the
class of afternoon is willing to have some break .” The second phrase is more specific than the first one,
and it excludes the possibility to have an automatic function to add pictures.

5. Use Pronouns Carefully

If not used correctly, pronouns can create ambiguity in your requirements. You must always make sure
to which noun, or antecedent, the pronoun is referring to.

For instance, think about this phrase in the context of a web developer: “When the user clicks on the
main menu a drop-down list will appear. This will allow the user to…” It is not clear if “this” refers to
the main menu or the drop-down list. To add clarity, you can rephrase the same sentence as follow:
“When the user clicks on the main menu, a drop-down list will appear which will allow the user to…

6. Write Using Consistent Terms

Writing a requirements list is different from writing a novel or an article to entertain an audience.
Therefore, there is no need to be creative in your writing.

Consistently use terms, even if that may sound as repetition, to not confuse the reader. If in your
requirements there are terms with similar meaning but not exactly the same, you may opt for adding a
glossary to clearly explain to what each term refers.

7. Avoid Abbreviation Altogether

Abbreviations are a useful shortcut to make your writing shorter and more comfortable for you.
However, sometimes abbreviations may not be adequately understood by your reader.
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To avoid any misunderstanding, always use full English words and do not include any abbreviation in
your requirements.

8. Short Sentences and a Clear Layout

Using short sentences is a good practice for most kind of writing. Short phrases that go straight to the
point make texts very easy to read and, most importantly, easier to understand. If you see that one of
your sentences is longer than two lines, break it down into multiple phrases.

Additionally, use some visual elements to facilitate the reading and memorizing of your text. For
instance, proper use of list and bullet points helps a great deal in adding clarity to your writing.

9. Ask For Review

Before you submit your requirements, ask somebody to review what you have written and ask for his
comments. As we mentioned previously, it is incredibly challenging to evaluate our writing. Therefore,
a second opinion can be entirely enlightening to expose possible faults and ambiguities.

Alternatively, you can refrain from submitting your requirements as soon as you have completed them.
Let your document sit and come back to it after a few days. You may be amazed at how many
ambiguities you can spot when you read it after a while.

Here are a couple of examples of ambiguity and how to fix it:

Ambiguous language: Use instead:

“A claim for damages, which shall not exceed

$1000, must be filed with the court.” (What is it “Claims for damages may not exceed
that may not exceed $1000, the claim or the $1000 and must be filed with the
damages?) court.”

“ABC Corp. is the wholly owned subsidiary of “ABC Corp. is the wholly owned
XYZ Co., which shall execute the guaranty.” subsidiary of XYZ Co. ABC Corp.
(Who signs the guaranty, ABC or XYZ?) shall execute the guaranty.”

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