Thread: Logical Arguments: A guide

Structure of a Logical Argument - Step 1 If A B, and BC, then through the principal of equivalence AC. In order for an argument to be valid, the logical structure of said argument must be valid. A valid argument is, if the premises are true, then the conclusion must also be true. However, if one or more premise is false then a valid logical argument may still lead to a false conclusion. A sound argument is one in which the logic is valid and the premises are true, in which case the conclusion must be true. Also it is important to note that an argument may use wrong information, or faulty logic to reach a conclusion that happens to be true. Demonstrating that an argument is not valid or not sound, however, removes it as support for the truth of the conclusion it means that the conclusion is not necessarily true. Step 2 Evaluate your Premises- There are 3 types of problems with premises. a The premise is wrong. ie, unintelligent people cause accidents, not the substance they are under. This is wrong because of countless studies revolving around both workplace accidents as well as regular accidents proving behavior for both sober and under the influence of x substance. As well as the chemical interactions between the brain and x substance. b When one or more premise is an unwarranted assumption. ie, if x substance makes said person behave this way, then y substance will do the same. Often people will choose the assumptions that best fit the conclusion they prefer. In fact, psychological experiments show that most people start with conclusions they desire, then reverse engineer arguments to support them a process called rationalization. c The last is known as the 'hidden premise'. A premise that is not made known, either out of ignorance or unwillingness to accept the truth. Part 3 An introduction to logical fallacies. a The Strawman Fallacy- By exaggerating, misrepresenting, or just completely fabricating someone's argument, it's much easier to present your own position as being reasonable, but this kind of dishonesty serves to undermine honest rational debate. b False Cause fallacy- Many people confuse correlation things happening together or in sequence for causation that one thing actually causes the other to happen. Sometimes correlation is coincidental, or it may be attributable to a common cause. c Appeal to Emotion Fallacy- Appeals to emotion include appeals to fear, envy, hatred, pity, pride, and more. It's important to note that sometimes a logically coherent argument may inspire emotion or have an emotional aspect, but the problem and fallacy occurs when emotion is used instead of a logical argument, or to obscure the fact that no compelling rational reason exists for one's position. Everyone, bar sociopaths, is affected by emotion, and so appeals to emotion are a very common and effective argument tactic, but they're ultimately flawed, dishonest, and tend to make one's opponents justifiably emotional. d The Fallacy Fallacy- It is entirely possible to make a claim that is false yet argue with logical coherency for that claim, just as is possible to make a claim that is true and justify it with various fallacies and poor arguments. e Slippery Slope Fallacy- The problem with this reasoning is that it avoids engaging with the issue at hand, and instead shifts attention to extreme hypotheticals. Because no proof is presented to show that such extreme hypotheticals will in fact occur, this fallacy has the form of an appeal to emotion fallacy by leveraging fear. In effect the argument at hand is unfairly tainted by unsubstantiated conjecture. f Ad Hominem Fallacy- Ad hominem attacks can take the form of overtly attacking somebody, or more subtly casting doubt on their character or personal attributes as a way to discredit their argument. The result of an ad hom attack can be to undermine someone's case without actually having to engage with it. g Tu Quoque Fallacy- Pronounced too-kwo-kwee. Literally translating as 'you too' this fallacy is also known as the appeal to hypocrisy. It is commonly employed as an effective red herring because it takes the heat off someone having to defend their argument, and instead shifts the focus back on to the person making the criticism. h Personal Incredulity Fallacy- Complex subjects like biological evolution through natural selection require some amount of understanding before one is able to make an informed judgement about the subject at hand this fallacy is usually used in place of that understanding. i Special Pleading Fallacy- Humans are funny creatures and have a foolish aversion to being wrong. Rather than appreciate the benefits of being able to change one's mind through better understanding, many will invent ways to cling to old beliefs. One of the most common ways that people do this is to post-rationalize a reason why what they thought to be true must remain to be true. It's usually very easy to find a reason to believe something that suits us, and it requires integrity and genuine honesty with oneself to examine one's own beliefs and motivations without falling into the trap of justifying our existing ways of seeing ourselves and the world around us. j Loaded Question Fallacy- Loaded question fallacies are particularly effective at derailing rational debates because of their inflammatory nature - the recipient of the loaded question is compelled to defend themselves and may appear flustered or on the back foot. k Burden of Proof Fallacy- The burden of proof lies with someone who is making a claim, and is not upon anyone else to disprove. The inability, or disinclination, to disprove a claim does not render that claim valid, nor give it any credence whatsoever. However it is important to note that we can never be certain of anything, and so we must assign value to any claim based on the available evidence, and to dismiss something on the basis that it hasn't been proven beyond all doubt is also fallacious reasoning. L Ambiguity Fallacy- Politicians are often guilty of using ambiguity to mislead and will later point to how they were technically not outright lying if they come under scrutiny. The reason that it qualifies as a fallacy is that it is intrinsically misleading. M The Gambler's Fallacy- This commonly believed fallacy can be said to have helped create an entire city in the desert of Nevada USA. Though the overall odds of a 'big run' happening may be low, each spin of the wheel is itself entirely independent from the last. So whilst there may be a very small chance that heads will come up 20 times in a row if you flip a coin, the chances of heads coming up on each individual flip remain 5050, and aren't influenced by what happened before. N Bandwagon Fallacy- The flaw in this argument is that the popularity of an idea has absolutely no bearing on its validity. If it did, then the Earth would have made itself flat for most of history to accommodate this popular belief. O Appeal to Authority Fallacy- It's important to note that this fallacy should not be used to dismiss the claims of experts, or scientific consensus. Appeals to authority are not valid arguments, but nor is it reasonable to disregard the claims of experts who have a demonstrated depth of knowledge unless one has a similar level of understanding andor access to empirical evidence. However it is, entirely possible that the opinion of a person or institution of authority is wrong therefore the authority that such a person or institution holds does not have any intrinsic bearing upon whether their claims are true or not. P CompositionDivision Fallacy- Often when something is true for the part it does also apply to the whole, or vice versa, but the crucial difference is whether there exists good evidence to show that this is the case. Because we observe consistencies in things, our thinking can become biased so that we presume consistency to exist where it does not. Q No True Scotsman Fallacy- In this form of faulty reasoning one's belief is rendered unfalsifiable because no matter how compelling the evidence is, one simply shifts the goalposts so that it wouldn't apply to a supposedly 'true' example. This kind of post-rationalization is a way of avoiding valid criticisms of one's argument. R Genetic Fallacy- This fallacy avoids the argument by shifting focus onto something's or someone's origins. It's similar to an ad hominem fallacy in that it leverages existing negative perceptions to make someone's argument look bad, without actually presenting a case for why the argument itself lacks merit. S Black or White Fallacy- Also known as the false dilemma, this insidious tactic has the appearance of forming a logical argument, but under closer scrutiny it becomes evident that there are more possibilities than the eitheror choice that is presented. Binary, black-or-white thinking doesn't allow for the many different variables, conditions, and contexts in which there would exist more than just the two possibilities put forth. It frames the argument misleadingly and obscures rational, honest debate. T Begging the Question Fallacy- This logically incoherent argument often arises in situations where people have an assumption that is very ingrained, and therefore taken in their minds as a given. Circular reasoning is bad mostly because it's not very good. U Appeal to nature Fallacy- Many 'natural' things are also considered 'good', and this can bias our thinking but naturalness itself doesn't make something good or bad. For instance murder could be seen as very natural, but that doesn't mean it's good or justifiable. V Anecdotal Fallacy- It's often much easier for people to believe someone's testimony as opposed to understanding complex data and variation across a continuum. Quantitative scientific measures are almost always more accurate than personal perceptions and experiences, but our inclination is to believe that which is tangible to us, andor the word of someone we trust over a more 'abstract' statistical reality. W The Texas Sharpshooter Fallacy- This 'false cause' fallacy is coined after a marksman shooting randomly at barns and then painting bullseye targets around the spot where the most bullet holes appear, making it appear as if he's a really good shot. Clusters naturally appear by chance, but don't necessarily indicate that there is a causal relationship. X The Middleground Fallacy- Much of the time the truth does indeed lie between two extreme points, but this can bias our thinking sometimes a thing is simply untrue and a compromise of it is also untrue. Half way between truth and a lie, is still a lie. What one must realize before entering any argument is that if you are not 100 certain of your facts. Excuse me, of PROVEN facts, they you are wrong under the assumption of premise. Last night I lost my temper because certain individuals who will remain unnamed refused to acknowledge the proof of the dangers of alcohol and why laws are in place for a reason. Their argument was 'If 18 is old enough to buy a gun and die for your country, then it's old enough to drink.' This was an illogical argument because of the Middleground Fallacy as well as Begging the Question Fallacy, in addition to logical flaws with the premise.