5. “The man is bald.”
Not vague. He is clearly bald.
Helpaeatcontu CC0 Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported
6. “The man is not bald.”Not vague. He is clearly NOT bald.
Airwolfhound Flicker
7. “The man is bald.”
He is neither clearly bald nor clearly not bald.
This is a borderline case.
ben-the-geek Flicker
8. Fallacies of Vagueness:
Exploit borderline cases in the use of
imprecise language like “bald”
Borderline Case
Clear Clear
ben-the-geek Flicker Airwolfhound FlickerHelpaeatcontu CC0 Creative Commons
Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported
9.
10. Vague Language is common
Borderline CaseClear Clear
Fast
Big
Rich
Long
Heavy
Easy
Slow
Small
Poor
Short
Light
Hard
11. Four Fallacies of Vagueness
1. Argument from
the Heaps
Simon A. Eugster GNU Free Documentation License
12. Four Fallacies of Vagueness
2. Conceptual Slippery Slope
@CanStock Photo
13. Four Fallacies of Vagueness
3. Fairness Slippery Slope
Crimfants Flicker CC BY-SA 2.0
14. Four Fallacies of Vagueness
4. Causal Slippery Slope
GNU Free Documentation License
OpenIcons : CC0 Public Domain
15. 1. Argument from the
Heaps
Simon A. Eugster GNU Free Documentation License
16. Argument from the Heaps
eap of sand by adding one grain to an amount that i
Ivan Aleksic Flicker
17. Argument from the Heap
a heap of sand by adding one grain to an amount th
Peter Craven “Sand Stockpiles” CC BY 2.0
18. Argument from the Heap
eap of sand by adding one grain to an amount that i
19. Argument from the Heap
1) For any number, n, if someone with n dollars is
not rich, then someone with n + 1 dollars is not rich.
2) Someone with only one dollar is not rich.
3) If someone with only one dollar is not rich, then
someone with only two dollars is not rich.
4) Someone with only two dollars is not rich. (1, 2)
…and so on…
999,999,999) Some one with one hundred million
dollars is not rich (1, 999,999,998).
22. Conceptual Slippery Slope
1) We should not draw a distinction between
things that are not significantly different.
2) If A is not significantly different from B, and B is not
significantly different from C, then A is not
significantly different from C.
Depends upon the following principles:
26. Fairness Slippery Slope
Argues that drawing a line between
similar cases is unfair.
Yet we have to draw the line
somewhere.Pass Fail
100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0
6059
29. 4. Causal Slippery Slope
Logic: If A happens, that will lead to D, which is pure evil,
so we can’t allow A.
30. 4. Causal Slippery Slope
1. If gay marriage is legalized, then polygamy will be
legalized.
2. If polygamy is legalized, then incest will be legalized.
3. If incest is legalized, then bestiality will be legalized.
4. If we legalize bestiality we are all going to hell.
5. We cannot legalize gay marriage. (1-4)
OpenIcons : CC0 Public Domain
31. 4. Causal Slippery Slope
This is usually—though not always—a fallacious argument.
1. Are the effects really bad?
2. Are the effects likely to occur?
3. Do the dangers outweigh the benefits?
OpenIcons : CC0 Public Domain
32. What is a fallacy of vagueness?
WokinghamLibraries CC0 Public Domain
33. What is a fallacy of vagueness?
Imprecise
WokinghamLibraries CC0 Public Domain
34. What is an Argument from the
Heaps?
Ivan Aleksic Flicker
35. Argument from the Heaps:
Making a small change does not add up to a
qualitative difference.
E.g., adding a grain of sand to an amount
that is not a heap, will not make it a heap.
Ivan Aleksic Flicker
37. Conceptual Slippery Slope:
Things that are at opposite ends of a conceptual
spectrum are the same. E.g., A is not much
different than B, which is not much different than
C, which is not much different than D, which is not
much different than E, so A is the same as E.
@CanStock Photo
38. Heaps or Slippery Slope?
“Brutus has a full bowl of food. Even if he eats a
piece of his food, it will still be full, so his bowl
of food will never be empty.”
Argument from
Heaps
Conceptual
Slippery SlopeNeither.
Ivan Aleksic Flicker
Sh4rp_i Dog Food 2 Flicker
@CanStock Photo
39. Good! It is an Argument from the
Heaps!
Ivan Aleksic Flicker
40. Argument from the Heaps: If it’s not empty,
taking away one piece of food won’t make it
empty!
Ivan Aleksic Flicker
41. What is a Fairness Slippery Slope?
Crimfants Flicker CC BY-SA 2.0
43. What is a Causal Slippery Slope?
OpenIcons : CC0 Public Domain
44. 4. Causal Slippery Slope
If we allow X to happen, it will cause something bad to
happen, which will cause something worse to happen,
which will cause something evil to happen, so we can’t
allow X to happen.
OpenIcons : CC0 Public Domain
45. Heaps or Slippery Slope?
“Claire finished eating thirty minutes ago and I
finished twenty-six minutes ago. It’s almost the
same. Why can’t I swim now, too?”
Fairness Slippery
Slope
Causal
Slippery Slope
Neither.
binu kumar Flicker OpenIcons : CC0 Public Domain
Michael Williams WikiMedia Commons
46. Yes! It’s a Fairness Slippery Slope.
Crimfants Flicker CC BY-SA 2.0
47. A Fairness Slippery Slope argues that drawing an
arbitrary line between two similar things is unfair.
Crimfants Flicker CC BY-SA 2.0
Editor's Notes
Is this an Argument From the Heaps or a Conceptual Slippery Slope Argument?
https://www.polleverywhere.com/multiple_choice_polls/hK9RpOc5uRMcEcz
Is this a Fairness Slippery Slope argument or a Causal Slippery Slope argument: "Jimmy got to sleep over at Johnny's for doing two hours of homework, and I did almost two hours. I only did ten minutes less! I should be able to stay over at Jennie's!"
https://www.polleverywhere.com/multiple_choice_polls/VAH4EOlTrYczbzX