Hey blogging world! The Scott Odorico here again to talk to you about my next prompt, which is the wonderful world of logical fallacies. For those who do not know what these are (just like I was), a logical fallacy is an incorrect argument or reasoning in attempt to persuade someone in an argument. These are very common devices, and there is a range of them! So many of them in fact, that it would take almost this entire page up if I wrote them all down. I'm just kidding of course, there are not that many (that I know of at least), but here are some key ones that I may discuss later on: slippery slope, ad hominem, straw man, and false dichotomy. These logical fallacies are so common that most of do not even recognize them due to how often they appear in everyday life!
When I think of logical fallacies, I instantly think about those ridiculous politicians (yes, those of both parties) who go above and beyond on trying to make an argument in their favor. These politicians often use straw man, or ad hominem fallacies which somehow always, always, always ends up in attacking the other politician (what a surprise, right?). The straw man fallacy is characterized as misrepresenting an opponents argument in an effort to make one's own argument much more attractive. The ad hominem fallacy can be defined as attacking a person making an argument rather that discussing the argument. One pretty good example of the ad hominem fallacy is between Barack Obama and Sarah Palin, when they exchange attacks on the issue of nuclear war. Here it is for your viewing pleasure:
Here there is some attacking going on between these two politicians that obviously results in some false claims. Another more humorous, and fake example of an ad hominem fallacy is one of Steven Colbert, on his show on Comedy Central, called The Colbert Report. Although it is not exactly real, it stresses the idea of logical fallacies, nonetheless. Here is a clip from Steven Colbert's The Colbert Report:
Steven Colbert's comedic brilliance really makes this video tolerable, and gets the viewer away from the fact that an actual politician is saying something like this about another politician, on national television!
Another large logical fallacy in our country is the false dichotomy fallacy. This fallacy, which is defined as simplifying an argument so that there are only two choices or outcomes to choose from, appears often in commercials to make a decision easier for the viewer. One video I found is a great in depth look at false dichotomies and shows some good examples of ones in our country today. Here is the video for your viewing pleasure:
This man has some wonderful insight on the world of false dichotomies.
The final fallacy I would like to talk about today is the slippery slope fallacy. This fallacy, which is characterized as assuming that event X will set off a chain reaction of events resulting in dire conditions, is often in everyday talk and communications. Most of us, at some point in our life time, have probably said the phrase, "Oh, you're on a slippery slope, buddy!" And if you have said this, you used a logical fallacy! Woo Hoo! NO! Not "woo hoo" at all. To be a successful speaker and a successful arguer, one must try to stay away from logical fallacies.
Finally, if you are looking for some more logical fallacy fun, visit this blog post I found online, it is very amusing (especially the video).
Fallacy Blog
Talk to you next time blogging world!
Godspeed.
Work Cited
Video 1: Chen, Andy (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ebT1Oo6yDMI&feature=related)
Video 2: Comedy Central, The Colbert Report (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQ24HdCPN9E)
Video 3: Shanedk (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V-fZ_jHMwFE)
Link 1: (http://randomrantsandravings.wordpress.com/2011/10/13/logic-101-a-nifty-link/)
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