The Fallacies

1. “Index animi sermo est.” -Senecca
10/11/2020Salirick S. Andres | College of Arts | TIP Quezon City
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2.  Explain the various fallacies as obstacles to clear thinking.
 Identify various fallacies in a given argument.
 Discuss ways on how to avoid committing fallacious arguments.
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4.  The term fallacy came from the Latin word “fallo” which means “I deceive”
and “fallere” which means “to deceive.”
 Richard Whately defined it as “any unsound mode of arguing, which appears
to demand our conviction, and to be decisive of the question in hand, which
in fairness, it is not.”
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5. 1. Fallacies are meant to mislead the flow of argumentation and debate.
2. Fallacies are easy to detect in isolation but not when mixed in a
statement.
3. Fallacies may be used accidentally or deliberately.
4. Fallacies may be classified in various contexts.
5. Fallacies are solid weapons of those who wield them to vulnerable
opponents.
6. Fallacies are great liabilities for those whose opponents are aware of
them.
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6. 1. Fallacies of Evidence. Any deliberate misleading argument by manipulating
the presence or absence of evidence.
2. Fallacies of Reasoning. These involve errors in the reasoning process.
3. Fallacies of Language. These refer to errors committed when one
misuses/violates the rules on the use of language to forward an argument.
4. Fallacies of Pseudo-arguments. These fallacies refer to the use of
erroneous reasoning to deviate from the argument itself but to focus on
something outside of the argumentation at hand.
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7.  Any deliberate misleading argument by manipulating the presence or
absence of evidence.
 Examples are:
1. Unsupported assertion.
2. Violation of the tests of evidences.
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8. 1. Hasty generalization – is an inductive process calling upon us to
reason that based on one or more specific cases we should conclude
a broader generalization.
 Example: “The graduates of Tabang National High School got high in
the NCAE, hence, they are the best school.”
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9. 2. False Analogy – offers a comparison of parallel cases but not
essentially similar.
 Example: “Socrates and Jesus Christ both have disciples, both have
not written a book, both were considered deviant, and both were
victims of public opinion. So, they are equal.”
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10. 3. Multiple Cause – involves a situation with multiple causes but only
focuses on one convenient cause.
 Example: “The increase in LPG prices are due to traffic, but there is
no improvement to traffic situation, hence, there should be no
increase in price.”
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11. 1. Amphiboly - It is a fallacy expressed in using a statement whose
meaning is ambiguous exposing it to various interpretations.
EXAMPLE:
A. “My wife Jenny said to her sister Eva that she has to go to the
mall.”
 Due to this formulation of the argument, we are at the lost of who is
actually being referred to as “she”. Is it Jenny or Eva?
B. “While standing one leg, the boy played with his dog”
 Who is standing on one leg: the boy or the dog?
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12. 2. Verbalism – refers to the abundant use of words without conveying
meaning. It is aka “doublespeak” which uses a language that is
grossly deceptive, evasive, euphemistic, confusing or self centered.
EXAMPLE:
A. “It’s a basic, inherent right to determine our aspirational goal.”
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13. 3. Loaded language – involves the use of words which in addition to
their denotative meanings, or objective, descriptive meanings, also
have secondary meaning, which is emotionally charged and
therefore seeks to establish a conclusion without proof.
EXAMPLE:
A. “The time has come to throw this do-nothing, corruption-riddled
administration out of office.”
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14. 4. Incomplete comparison – involves the use of comparison with
omitted words to mean the obvious.
EXAMPLE:
A. “The present foreign aid program is unquestionably more
effective.” ~ British ambassador
 More effective than what?
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15. 5. Equivocation - is a fallacy consisting of using a word that has the
same spelling or sound but the meaning is different, in different
parts of the inference.
EXAMPLES
A. Every water is in liquid form.
We should water the plant everyday.
Ergo, we should plant everyday in liquid form.
B. Every pen is a writing instrument.
The cage of a pig is a pen.
Ergo, the cage of a pig is a writing instrument.
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16. 6. Composition – is a fallacy of considering words or statements as a
whole when they should be considered separately. In other words, it
is an error of stating that what is true of the parts is also true of the
whole.
EXAMPLE:
Those who topped the 1999 Bar Exam are from Cebu.
Jose of UST is the 1999 Bar Topnotcher.
Ergo, Jose of UST is from Cebu.
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17. 7. Division – is a fallacy of considering words or statements separately
when they should have been considered as a whole.
EXAMPLE:
X University is vital to Catholic Education
Mr. Y is a professor of X University
Ergo, Mr. Y is vital to Catholic Education
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18. 8. Accent – is kind of fallacy which arises due to difference in
interpretation brought about by misplaced emphasis on a phrase,
word or syllable in a proposition.
EXAMPLE:
I didn’t say he stole the money.
I didn’t say he stole the money.
I didn’t say he stole the money.
I didn’t say he stole the money.
I didn’t say he stole the money.
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19. 9. Figure of Speech – is kind of fallacy is a special type of false
analogy that consist in wrongly inferring similarity of meaning from
similarity of word structure.
EXAMPLE:
“What is immaterial is not material
and what is insoluble is not soluble;
ergo, what is inflammable is not flammable.”
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20. 1. Accident – is involved in affirming or denying of a thing what has
been affirmed or denied only of some accidental modification or
condition of the thing or vice versa.
EXAMPLE:
“You say that you ate what you bought;
but you bought a raw meat;
ergo, you must have eaten a raw meat.”
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21. 2. Irrelevancy – is committed when an argument is attacked not for its
real purpose or reasonable limits.
EXAMPLE:
“The vaccine for polio is not effective since it cannot even cure a
simple pneumonia.”
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22. 3. Arguing in circle – occurs when a conclusion is derived from
premises that presuppose the conclusion.
EXAMPLE:
“Tupac Shakur is better than Vanilla Ice because people with good
taste in rap prefer Shakespeare.”
“How do you know who has good taste in rap?”
“Well, that’s simple; people with good taste in literature prefer Tupac
than Vanilla Ice.”
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23. 4. False cause – is involved from a conclusion of causal with a non-
causal relationship under the form of “post hoc, ergo propter hoc”
(after this, therefore because of this). It is aka “non causa pro
causa.”
EXAMPLE:
“Night comes before the day
ergo, night causes the day.”
“A man cannot think without his brain
Ergo, a man’s brain is the cause of his thought.”
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24. 5. Consequent – is involved when we infer that an antecedent is true
because the consequent is true.
EXAMPLE:
 A dog is an animal,
but Moby Dick is an animal,
ergo, Moby Dick is a dog.
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25. 6. Many question – is involved when we are asking either a multiple
question as though it were a single question demanding a yes or no
answer. It is aka Complex question.
EXAMPLE:
 “Have you not given up the habit of cheating in my class?”
 “Have you stopped beating your wife?”
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26. 7. Non sequitur – is involved to true but unrelated propositions
without any connections at all.
EXAMPLE:
 “As a student TIP, I will become an engineer later.”
 “Since Duterte became president, Philippines will be like Singapore.”
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27. 8. Ignoratio elenchi – from the Latin words ignoratio = irrelevant and
elenchus = conclusion. This fallacy is involved when we prove other
conclusions and not the issue to be concluded.
 It has various forms:
a. Argumentum ad hominem
b. Argumentum ad misericordiam
c. Argumentum ad baculum
d. Argumentum ad populum
e. Argumentum ad ignorantiam
f. Argumentum ad verecundiam
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28. 8a. Argumentum ad hominem – is the Latin for “attack or appeal to
the man”. It is involved in court hearings when the defense or
prosecution is attacking the dignity of the person or witness instead of
weighing the evidences presented.
EXAMPLE:
 “Your honor, it would be very difficult for us not to believe that the
accused of this murder case is not guilty, because his father and
grandfather has been convicted of murder several years ago. And
besides, the accused is of bad moral reputation.”
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29. 8b. Argumentum ad misericordiam – is “appeal to pity” which a kind
of fallacious argument that arises when an argument is replaced by an
appeal to pity, mercy or sympathy
EXAMPLE:
 “The accused in robbery case must not be put to jail, because he is a
father of 12 children and his wife is in the hospital suffering from
stage 3 cancer.”
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30. 8c. Argumentum ad baculum – is “appeal to force or appeal to
might.” This arises when one resorts to intimidation, or use of force in
order to gain acceptance of his propositions.
EXAMPLE:
 Father to his son: “If you will not be serious with your studies, your
future will be bleak. And you can never expect me to lift finger to
help when you need me.”
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31. 8d. Argumentum ad populum – is known as “appeal to people” where
popular prejudice is preferred rather than truth and reason. It
happens when an argument may be believed by most, if not by all
people, although that argument may not be true.
EXAMPLE:
 “Clinically proven safe and effective…”
 “The only earth structure visible in space is the Great Wall of China.”
 “Save the user, jail the pusher…”
 “If you will vote for me…”
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32. 8e. Argumentum ad ignorantiam – is “appeal to ignorance” which is
committed when we infer a false statement because it cannot be
proved, true because it cannot be refuted.
EXAMPLE:
 “This evidence must be accepted
because it cannot be refuted.”
 “You cannot declare me guilty
since you cannot prove it.”
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33. 8f. Argumentum ad verecundiam – is “appeal to awe, modesty,
shame, respect or authority” which committed by overawing people by
the dignity of those who hold the opinion without special reference to
the truth they hold.
EXAMPLE:
 The Roman Catholic Church… “The earth is the center of the
Universe.”
 Mocha Uson Blog… “There is no EJK, sabi ni Tatay Digong.”
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34.  Observe, look and listen around you. Watch newscasts, listen to
conversation, read posters, announcements and advertisements, read
social media posts, etc., noting the fallacies committed.
 Snap a photo or screenshot these to document an image and note the
location. If it is spoken, the place, date and time they are uttered.
 List down the fallacies committed. Explain why this is a fallacy and
put the image/photo taken.
 Get a minimum of 10 fallacies for each of you.
 Submit it in your Canvas online.
 Enjoy! 
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