CHAPTER 5
LOGICAL FALLACIES I
DR. PHAM THANH TUNG
[email protected]
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CONTENT
1. Concept of relevance
2. Fallacies of relevance
CONCEPT OF
RELEVANCE
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FALLACIES
• Logical fallacy: An argument containing a mistake in
reasoning.
• Two groups of logical fallacies:
1. Fallacies of relevance: Mistake in reasoning occurs
ngụy biện
because premises are logically irrelevant to
conclusion
2. Fallacies of insufficient evidence: Mistake in
reasoning occurs because premises do not provide
sufficient evidence to support conclusion.
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CONCEPT OF RELEVANCE
• Relevance: In argument, premises are relevant to
conclusion if it provides some reasons for thinking that
the conclusion is true or false.
• Types of relevance: Premises can be positively relevant /
negatively relevant / logically irrelevant to conclusion.
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CONCEPT OF RELEVANCE
• Positive relevance: Premises are positively relevant to
conclusion if they provide some reasons for thinking that
the conclusion is TRUE.
• Example:
Dogs are cats. Cats are fish.
Therefore, dogs are fish.
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CONCEPT OF RELEVANCE
• Negative relevance: Premises are negatively relevant to
conclusion if they provide some reasons for thinking that
the conclusion is FALSE.
• Example:
John is two years old.
Therefore, John probably goes to college.
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CONCEPT OF RELEVANCE
• Logically irrelevance: Premises are logically irrelevant to
conclusion if they provide no reason for thinking that
the conclusion is either true or false.
• Example:
The earth revolves around the sun.
Therefore, we should learn Critical Thinking everyday.
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CONCEPT OF RELEVANCE
Relevance
Positive Negative Logically
relevance relevance irrelevance
Fallacies of relevance
FALLACIES OF
RELEVANCE
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FALLACIES OF RELEVANCE
• Fallacies of relevance: A fallacy of relevance occurs when
premises (reasons) are logically irrelevant to conclusion.
• Types of fallacies of relevance:
1. Personal attack 7. Bandwagon argument
2. Attacking the motive 8. Straw man
3. Look who’s talking 9. Red herring
4. Two wrongs make a right 10. Equivocation
5. Scare tactics 11. Begging the question
6. Appeal to pity
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(1) PERSONAL ATTACK
• Personal attack (ad hominem): Arguer rejects
argument of opponent by attacking the person rather
than the opponent’s argument.
• Common pattern:
X is a bad person.
So, X’s argument is bad.
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(1) PERSONAL ATTACK
• Person A: I think the slides
are too long. It will make the
presentation boring.
• Person B: You are dumb. The
slides are perfect.
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(2) ATTACKING THE MOTIVE
• Attacking the motive: Arguer criticize opponent’s
motivation for offering a particular argument, rather
than examining the worth of the argument.
• Common pattern:
X is biased.
So, X’s argument should be rejected.
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(2) ATTACKING THE MOTIVE
• Person A: I think the government should reduce the
tax on electric cars because they are environmentally
friendly.
• Person B: You say that because you have bought Tesla
stocks.
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(3) LOOK WHO’S TALKING
• Look who’s talking: Arguer rejects argument of
opponent because the opponent fails to practice what
they preach.
• Common pattern:
X fails to follow his advice.
So, X’s argument should be rejected.
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(3) LOOK WHO’S TALKING
• Person A: I think we should not eat too much sugar.
It’s not good for our health.
• Person B: I saw you drank 5 bottles of Coke
yesterday. What you are saying is worthless.
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(4) TWO WRONGS MAKE A RIGHT
• Two wrongs make a right: Arguer attempts to justify
a wrongful act by claiming that some others’ act is just
as bad or worse.
• Common pattern:
Others have done this wrongful act.
So, my wrongful act is justified.
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(4) TWO WRONGS MAKE A RIGHT
• John: Why didn’t you come to the meeting on time?
• Jack: I don’t feel anything wrong here. Half of the
members came late too.
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(5) SCARE TACTICS
• Scare tactics: Arguer threatens harm to listener if
the listener does not accept the arguer’s conclusion
and the threat is irrelevant to the truth of the
arguer’s conclusion.
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(5) SCARE TACTICS
• Political Campaign Ad:
“If you vote for my
opponent, violent crime
will flood into our
neighborhoods and no
one will be safe in their
own home.”
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(6) APPEAL TO PITY
• Appeal to pity: Arguer inappropriately attempts
to evoke feelings of pity or compassion from his
listener.
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(6) APPEAL TO PITY
• Teacher: You get an F because you did not submit
your assignment last week.
• Student: I know I didn’t submit my work but last
week was tough for me. My cat was injured and my
laptop was broken. Please consider to give me a D.
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(7) BANDWAGON ARGUMENT
• Bandwagon argument: Arguer appeals to listener’s
desire to be popular, accepted, or valued, rather than
to logically relevant reasons or evidence
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(7) BANDWAGON ARGUMENT
• Student A: You should buy the latest iPhone.
• Student B: Why? My phone is still working.
• Student A: All cool students in the class have the
latest iPhone. You should be trendy.
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(8) STRAW MAN
• Straw man: Arguer distorts an opponent’s
argument (misrepresents opponent’s viewpoint)
to make it easier to attack.
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(8) STRAW MAN
• Person 1: I don’t know why people are still
following accounts posting fake news. Reading fake
news can make them wrongly perceive the world.
• Person 2: You said that those people are stupid?
How dare you?
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(9) RED HERRING
• Red herring: Arguer tries to sidetrack his audience
by raising an irrelevant issue and then claims that
the original issue has effectively been settled by the
irrelevant diversion.
Đánh lạc hướng: Người tranh luận cố gắng đánh lạc hướng khán giả bằng cách nêu ra một vấn đề không liên quan và sau
đó tuyên bố rằng vấn đề ban đầu đã được giải quyết hiệu quả bằng sự chuyển hướng không liên quan.
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(9) RED HERRING
• Customer: I may buy laptop A because it’s affordable
and suits most of my needs.
• Salesman: That’s great. Have you consider laptop B? It
has the latest chip and fast storage. I’m sure you will
love it.
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(10) EQUIVOCATION
• Equivocation: Arguer uses a key word in an
argument in two (or more) different senses.
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(10) EQUIVOCATION
• Person A: Winter has
come. We can finally
enjoy Christmas and
New Year holiday.
• Person B: I hate snow.
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(11) BEGGING THE QUESTION
• Begging the question:
• Premises and conclusion are the similar.
• Circular reasoning (arguing in a circle).
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(11) BEGGING THE QUESTION
• Steak is the best food in the world because no
food is better than steak.
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FALLACIES OF RELEVANCE
• Personal attack: attack the opponent
• Attack the motive: attack the motivation of opponent
• Look who’s talking: fail to practice what is said
• 2 wrongs make a right: others also did the wrong thing
• Scare tactics: threaten the listener
• Appeal to pity: evoke the feeling of pity from listener
• Bandwagon argument: appeal the desire to be valued
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FALLACIES OF RELEVANCE
• Straw man: misrepresent opponent’s viewpoint
• Red herring: raising irrelevance issue
• Equivocation: use key word in different senses
• Begging the question: Premises & conclusion are similar
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EXERCISE
Which fallacy may this conversation contain?
1) Person A: You should not pursue a singing career. Painting is
more suitable for you.
Person B: Keep that advice for yourself. Your terrible voice
cannot make you a singer. personal attack
2) Person A: I think we should create a positive and respectful
work environment for everyone
Person B: I saw you insulted the cleaner yesterday. It was not a
respectful behavior at all. look who's talking
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EXERCISE
Which fallacy may be found?
3) Person 1: The summer semester has finished. Let’s enjoy the
break time. equivocation
Person 2: No, I don’t like the summer weather.
4) Person 1: I'm thinking about buying a Toyota. It’s reliable and
affordable. red herring
Person 2: That’s good. Have you considered buying a Tesla?
It’s an electric car of the future that has auto driving.
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EXERCISE
Which fallacy may be found?
5) Person 1: Go to the nearest cinema and watch Deadpool.
Person 2: Why?
Person 1: All of our friends have already watched it. We can’t
be outdated. bandwagon argument
6) Person 1: I think we should reduce fossil fuel consumption.
Person 2: You said that just because you have invested on a
solar power company, right? attack the motive
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EXERCISE
Which fallacy may be found?
7) Person 1: It’s disappointed to see people selling unhealthy
food. It's not good to eat those food.
Person 2: Why you're saying that sellers are criminals? They
just work for a living. straw man
8) I know I didn’t come to class regularly. But my girlfriend just
left me and I couldn’t sleep. Please don’t grade my attendance
score too slow. appeal to pity
9) This ice cream is the best because no other ice creams taste
better. begging the question
