Logical and Emotional Fallacies

Have students study and discuss the common rhetorical fallacies described below. The writing assignment is an occasion for taking on a specific role (that of a political speech-writer), expressly to construct fallacious claims in order to understand both how they work and how to avoid using them.

Consider the following exchange and briefly describe and explain your reaction to the points made by these two students:

Jill: I don’t see why you are so against permitting beer to be sold at the new University Student Union. After all, a survey of our students shows that 80 percent are in favor of the proposal.

Jack: Of course, you would be in favor of serving any alcoholic beverage at any time anywhere. You are one of the biggest alcoholics on our campus.

Fallacy Terminology:

Fallacies: Flawed or deliberate deceitful rhetorical strategies. The word “fallacy” derives from two Latin words: “fallax” means “deceptive” and “fallere” means “to deceive.”

Logical Fallacies: False beliefs caused by errors in reasoning.

Emotional Fallacies: Arguments designed to appeal to (often irrational) feelings in order to override or circumvent logical judgment.

Logical and Emotional Fallacies:

Typically, first- and even second-year composition students have not been prepared to consider the logic behind statements they hear from politicians, teachers, parents, and media demagogues. Therefore, it is important to analyze logical and emotional fallacies so one can begin to examine the premises on which these rhetoricians base their assumptions, as well as the logic that brings them to certain conclusions.

Why should you look for fallacies in rhetoric?

1. To spot distortions and specious arguments.
2. To avoid them in your own argumentative writing.

How do you protect yourself from fallacies when considering arguments?

1. Be skeptical. Question first impressions and gut reactions.
2. Check source documentation carefully.
3. Research claims to verify their validity.
4. Understand the terminology of fallacies.

There are three steps for identifying and understanding fallacious arguments:

1. Understanding logical/emotional fallacies in rhetoric.
2. Identifying and creating logical/emotional fallacies for practice.
3. Avoiding logical/emotional fallacies in your rhetoric.

Avoiding Fallacies:
Consider what Nietzsche suggests in the following quotation and explain in a few sentences what it means to you:
“The most perfidious manner of injuring a cause is to vindicate it intentionally with fallacious arguments.” -- Friedrich Nietzsche
Do you agree or disagree with what he is saying? Why or why not?

Logical Fallacies:

1. How do logical fallacies work?

a. They provide seemingly sound reasoning that is actually based on false assumptions.
b. They distract us by making information seem relevant to the conclusion when it is not.
c. They require support for the conclusion that depends on the conclusion’s already being true.

2. What do you do about logical fallacies?

a. Make sure logical appeals do not override proper logical thinking by:

i. Identifying the argument’s conclusions and reasons.

ii. Determining the validity of the reasons by considering your own valid reasons and then comparing them to the arguer’s reasons to see if they are consistent.

iii. Considering any necessary assumptions by asking: “If the reason were true, what does a reasonable person have to believe for it to support the conclusion logically, and what does one have to believe for the reason to be true?”

iv. Assessing whether or not the assumptions are reasonable and sensible.

b. Make sure logical appeals do not interfere with fairness and objectivity.
c. Make sure logical appeals are controlled and ethical.
d. Make sure you are aware of different types of logical appeals and be vigilant.

3. Nine common logical fallacies:

Card Stacking: Stacking evidence in a slanted, distorted, or fabricated way in order to strengthen one side of an issue at the expense of another viewpoint.

Either/Or Fallacy: The oversimplification of an argument by presenting an issue as black-or white when other alternatives exist.

False Analogy: An invalid, extended comparison in which two things are thought to be similar when, in fact, they are not.

Red Herring: Irrelevant and misleading support that pulls the audience away from the real argument.

Straw Man: Misrepresenting someone’s views to gain a rhetorical advantage, or focusing on the weakest or least plausible opposition argument.

Hasty Generalization: A sweeping general statement without supporting evidence, including inferences presented as fact, stereotyping, and insufficient sampling.

Slippery Slope: An implication that if someone does one thing, it will inevitably cause a “domino effect” of negative results leading to the worst possible outcome.

Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc: When a cause and effect relationship is argued, but in reality the events only exist together in time.

Non Sequitur: Literally translates from the Latin as “it does not follow.” When a conclusion does not logically follow from its premises.

Identifying Logical Fallacies:

Consider the following statements and label the appropriate fallacy present in the statement based on the definitions with which you have been provided. Each fallacy will be used only once.
1. "Traditional historians appeal to the public's feeling of nationalism just as the Nazis did." ________________ Fallacy.
2. “Affirmative action proponents accuse me of opposing equal opportunity in the work force. I think my positions on military expenditures, education, and public health speak for themselves." ____________________ Fallacy.
3. “TV is very much a positive medium that simply gets a bad rap. Think about the healthy programming that’s available. For instance, Sesame Street is educational, The Cosby Show promotes family values, and news programs keep audiences informed.” ____________________ Fallacy
4. "Pit bulls need to be banned from the city. They’re dangerous animals that do nothing but maim and kill!" ____________________ Fallacy
5. "I caught little Johnny smoking pot in his clubhouse. We need to act fast because he’ll be robbing and killing people to support a heroin habit in no time" ____________________ Fallacy
6. "We may support this petition for a Gender Studies major, or we may turn our backs on progress, reject the petition, and suffer the consequences." ____________________ Fallacy
7. “But professor, I should get an A on this essay because I spent thirty hours working on it and turned it in early, and I always get A’s in school.” ____________________ Fallacy
8. “I should never have sold that undercover detective a semi-truck trailer full of heroin since I’d walked under a ladder and crossed paths with a black cat earlier in the day.” ____________________ Fallacy
9. “My opponent isn’t interested in helping wrongly convicted, innocent people. What he wants to do is free all criminals and leave us more threatened by evildoers.” ________________ Fallacy

Now that you have correctly identified each logical fallacy, take a few minutes to generate your own unique example for each type:

Card Stacking:
Either/Or:
False Analogy:
Red Herring:
Straw Man:
Hasty Generalization:
Slippery Slope:
Post Hoc Fallacy:
Non Sequitur:

Emotional Fallacies:

1. How do emotional fallacies work?

a. They are employed to arouse strong feelings in an audience.

b. They are based on the concept of “transfer.”

i. Transfer is a device of association in which the connotations (deeper,
embedded meanings) of words (or images) manipulate our
responses.

ii. Positive transfer presents ideas in the most pleasing, most positive fashion.

iii. Negative transfer presents ideas in ways that play on our negative
emotions such as fear, anger, envy etc.

2. What do you do about emotional fallacies?

a. Make sure emotional appeals do not override logical thinking.

b. Make sure emotional appeals do not interfere with fairness and objectivity.

c. Make sure emotional appeals are controlled and ethical.

d. Make sure you’re aware of different types of emotional appeals and be vigilant.

3. Seven common emotional fallacies:

Argumentum ad Hominem: An argument attacking a person’s character. These personal assaults come in the form of name-calling, mudslinging and smear tactics.

Bandwagon: The argument of common practice; an audience is urged to do something because everyone else is doing it.

Ad Populum/The Common Man: The argument stresses a bond between the arguer and the average citizen. This claim relies on the notion of sincerity.

Status Appeal: The argument emphasizes the cause/effect relationship between adopting a position and bettering oneself as a result.

Scare Tactics: The argument that a position must be taken in order to avoid problems; this fallacy often relies on exaggeration and combines nicely with the either/or or slippery slope logical fallacy.

Testimonial/Appeal to Authority: The argument that a claim is superior because a well-known person, usually without expertise, says so.

Glittering Generality: The argument relies on vague generalizations that sound nice but lack real substance.

Identifying Emotional Fallacies:
Consider the following statements and label the appropriate fallacy present in the statement based on the definitions with which you have been provided. Each fallacy will be used only once.

“By supporting my candidacy for Congress, you will be helping move our great nation toward a better, brighter future.” _______________ Fallacy.
“Much like we were able to defeat communism in Southeast Asia in order to avoid having to oppose it in the U.S., if we don’t fight the terrorists in Afghanistan, we will have to face them on our own soil.” _______________ Fallacy.
"Since Harvard, Stanford, and Berkeley have all added a multicultural component to their graduation requirements, Notre Dame should get with the future." _______________ Fallacy.
"The pro-life movement's Bible-thumpers want to take away our rights." _______________ Fallacy.
“I'm not a doctor but I play one on T.V. Use this aspirin." _______________ Fallacy.
“As I’ve been campaigning in this great state, I can’t help be notice the difficulties you face with high unemployment rates, high food costs, and a lack of proper health care. Let’s get the Washington elites out of office, so we can restore sanity and dignity to our political system.” _______________ Fallacy.
“Success in America is guaranteed to everyone who is willing to work hard, revere God, and support our President.” _______________ Fallacy.

Now that you have correctly identified each emotional fallacy, take a few minutes to generate your own unique example for each type:

Glittering Generality:
Bandwagon:
Ad Populum/The Common Man:
Testimonial/Appeal to Authority:
Scare Tactics:
Status Appeal:
Argumentum Ad Hominem/Straw Man:

Creating Logical and Emotional Fallacies

Imagine you have been hired as a speechwriter by an aspiring politician. Your job is to prepare a short speech (1-2 minutes) addressing an issue of your choice. In order to “pull out all the stops” in getting people to support this candidate, this politician’s handler has encouraged you to use logical and emotional fallacies to accomplish your task. With this in mind, determine an issue you want to address and write a short, convincing speech that utilizes at least three logical fallacies and three emotional fallacies from the lists above. You should consider an important issue that is currently in the news and base your mock speech on that topic. Be prepared to share your results with the class.