Unit 6.6        Essay Completion

Look again at the examination question about logical fallacies (from exercise 6.1). This time you've been given the first letters of the missing words - most of which you've also studied in the other exercises in unit 6. To check the answers, click in the circle after each word and to check the meaning and see other examples of the word, click on the gap.

Define and discuss examples of three kinds of fallacy which are used in arguments

A fallacy is a form of argument that is not val                 either because it is not based on logical pri                 or because it doesn’t add                the question, but instead focuses on personal or emotional issues.

The ad hominem fallacy is when someone attacks the person who they are arguing with instead of addressing what they are saying. The words ‘ad hominem’ den                 ‘to the man’ – in other words when the attack is directed at the person instead of the ideas they’re expressing. This is very common in politics. For instance, if the government proposes cutting university fees, the opposition might say it’s just a cheap vote-winning tactic. They may hope that people will draw the con                           that the only reason that the government wants to cut university fees is to win votes. But they haven’t actually discussed whether it’s a good idea or not to cut university fees.

The fallacy of false cause is commonly found in reports on research or comments on the causes of social problems. The mistake here is to int                         the fact that two things are found together as evidence that one is the cause of the other. But the fact that two things are cor                  is amb                    in terms of causation. For instance, a study which ind                     that attractive people are more successful may con                   for many people the importance of appearance. However, even if the results are correct, this doesn’t mean that good looks are the cause of success. It’s equally con                         that success is what causes people to look better! Or it may be that there are other, con                   factors which cause both success and good looks. Perhaps, for instance, richer people have more money to spend on their children’s health, clothes etc and on their education, so that the real reason for both good looks and success is an economic one!

Another common weakness in arguments is known as the ‘straw man fallacy’. Straw is a kind of dry grass and in the old days people used to make models of men from straw and burn them in festivals. The ana                with arguments is that the man they used to burn was vir                      the same as a real man – with clothes etc – but is only made of straw. They burn this straw man instead of a real one just as in arguments people present an idea that is app                     the same as the one they’re arguing against, but much weaker, so it’s easy for them to seem to win the argument.  An example of a straw man argument could be when people who want a higher minimum driving age in New Zealand might say, ‘The not                   that we should give teenagers a licence to drive as soon as they reach the age of 15 is ridiculous’. No one is really saying that we should give teenagers ust because they reach 15. In fact, teenagers need to apply for a licence and pass a test in the normal way. This person has invented a false reality - a straw man - in order to make their argument seem stronger.

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