Fallacy

In order to understand what a fallacy is, one must understand what an argument is. An argument consists of one or more premises and one conclusion. A premise is a statement that is either true or false that is offered in support of a claim being made, which is the conclusion. There are two main types of arguments: deductive and inductive. A deductive argument is an argument where the premises provide complete support for the conclusion. An inductive argument is an argument where the premises provide some degree of support but less than complete support needed for the conclusion. A fallacy is an argument in which the premises given for the conclusion do not provide the needed support. A deductive fallacy can have true premises and still have a false conclusion. An inductive fallacy is one where the premises do not provide enough support for the conclusion. Generally speaking, a fallacy is an error in reasoning(Cohen, n.d.) There are several common fallacies that exist today; however, I will focus on Ad Hominem, Appeal to Authority and Straw Man.

Ad Hominem is a Latin term that means against the man or against the person. An Ad Hominem fallacy is the error at attacking the character or motives of a person who has stated an idea, rather than the idea itself (csun.) The implication is that the person's argument and ability to argue correctly lacks authority(wb,wujuoedua,irg.) Typically, this fallacy involves two steps. First, there is an attack against the character of the person making the claim. Second, the attack is taken to be evidence against the claim or argument the person in question is making. This type of argument has the following form:

1. Person A makes Claim X.

2. Person B makes an attack on person A.

3. Therefore A's claim is false.

An example of an Ad Hominem Fallacy is:

Bill: "I believe that abortion is morally wrong."

Dave: " Of course you would say that, you're a priest."

Bill: "What about the arguments I gave to support my position?"

Dave: "Those don't count. Like I said, you're a priest, so you have to say that abortion is wrong. Further, you are just a lackey to the Pope, so I can't believe what you say(Cohen, n.d.)"

Appeal to Authority is also known as Fallacious Appeal to Authority, Misuse of Authority, Irrelevant Authority, Questionable Authority, Inappropriate Authority and Ad verecundiam. Appeal to Authority is committed when the person in question is not a legitimate authority on the subject. In other words, the person in question is not an expert on the subject. A person might accept the claim because they believe that the person making the claim is a legitimate expert and therefore the claim is accepted as reasonable. The claim could be true, however the fact that an unqualified person made the claim does not provide any reason to accept it as true. Because people have a tendency to believe authorities this fallacy is a fairly a common one. This type of argument has the following form:

1. Person A is (claimed to be) an authority on subject S.

2. Person A makes claim C about subject S.

3. Therefore, C is true

Examples of an Appeal to Authority Fallacy are:

1. I'm not a doctor, but I play one on the hit series "Bimbos and Studmuffins in the OR." You can take it from me that when you need a fast acting, effective and safe painkiller there is nothing better than MorphiDope 2000. That is my considered medical opinion.

2. Sasha: "I played the lottery today and I know I am going to win something."

Siphwe: "What did you do, rig the outcome?"

Sasha: "No, silly. I called my Super Psychic Buddy at the 1-900-MindPower number. After consulting his magic Californian Tarot deck, he told me my lucky numbers."

Siphwe: "And you believed him?"

Sasha: "Certainly, he is a certified Californian Master-Mind psychic. That is why I believe what he has to say. I mean, like, who else would know