Fallacy Summary and Application Paper
Running head: FALLACY SUMMARY AND APPLICATION PAPER
Fallacy Summary and Application Paper
Nicole Thompson
University of Phoenix
Critical Thinking: Strategies in Decision Making
MGT350
William B. Rankin, II AAE
January 24, 2005
Fallacy Summary and Application Paper
What do you see when you look at Begging the Question, Hasty Generalization, and Appealing to Emotion? When you initially look at these three categories they may not seem to have too much in common. However, when you look deeper you will see that in fact, they are all different types of logical fallacies. Logical fallacies are errors of reasoning, errors that may be recognized and corrected by prudent thinkers (Downes, 1995). The following quote helps explain why logic is important to us in today 's society. "Logic is not everything. But it is somethingsomething which can be taught, something which can be learned, something which can help us in some degree to think more sensibly about the dangerous world in which we live (Fischer, 1970, p. 306)."
Begging the Question is a type of fallacy that is used quite a bit. It is considered to be a fallacy of assuming when trying to prove something. One of the main things to remember with the use of this fallacy is that the term "Begging the Question" has a very specific meaning. This means that if someone was trying to prove something to us but they are not being specific and leave room for there to be more questions asked then there is a good chance this is an example of a begging the question fallacy. According to Whitman, "The fact that we believe pornography should be legal means that it is a valid form of free expression. And since it 's free expression, it shouldn 't be banned (Whitman, 2001)" is an example of begging the question.
When you are confronted with something that could be a question of Begging the Question you need to think it through and see if what you are seeing or hearing is actually true. Or if it is just an
Fallacy Summary and Application Paper
Nicole Thompson
University of Phoenix
Critical Thinking: Strategies in Decision Making
MGT350
William B. Rankin, II AAE
January 24, 2005
Fallacy Summary and Application Paper
What do you see when you look at Begging the Question, Hasty Generalization, and Appealing to Emotion? When you initially look at these three categories they may not seem to have too much in common. However, when you look deeper you will see that in fact, they are all different types of logical fallacies. Logical fallacies are errors of reasoning, errors that may be recognized and corrected by prudent thinkers (Downes, 1995). The following quote helps explain why logic is important to us in today 's society. "Logic is not everything. But it is somethingsomething which can be taught, something which can be learned, something which can help us in some degree to think more sensibly about the dangerous world in which we live (Fischer, 1970, p. 306)."
Begging the Question is a type of fallacy that is used quite a bit. It is considered to be a fallacy of assuming when trying to prove something. One of the main things to remember with the use of this fallacy is that the term "Begging the Question" has a very specific meaning. This means that if someone was trying to prove something to us but they are not being specific and leave room for there to be more questions asked then there is a good chance this is an example of a begging the question fallacy. According to Whitman, "The fact that we believe pornography should be legal means that it is a valid form of free expression. And since it 's free expression, it shouldn 't be banned (Whitman, 2001)" is an example of begging the question.
When you are confronted with something that could be a question of Begging the Question you need to think it through and see if what you are seeing or hearing is actually true. Or if it is just an
References: Downes, S. (1995). Stephen 's Guide to the Logical Fallacies. Retrieved January 19, 2005, from http://www.datanation.com/fallacies/ Fischer, D. H. (1970). Historians ' Fallacies: Toward a Logic of Historical Thought. : Harper & Row. Labossiere, M. C. (1995). Fallacy Tutorial Pro 3.0. Retrieved January 21, 2005, from http://www.nizkor.org/features/fallacies/ Whitman, G. (2001). Logical Fallacies and the Art of Debate. Retrieved January 20, 2005, from http://www.csun.edu/~dgw61315/fallacies.html#Committing%20your%20very%20own%20logical%20fallacies