Fallacies in Daily Life
We are exposed to fallacies constantly in daily life
whether it be on social media, amongst certain politicians, or even amongst our
own peers. Although we may not detect that such extreme fallacies are being
used, we must begin to recognize that the things people say may not always be
the most reliable or relevant arguments. Here are some examples of fallacies
that one may encounter every day:
1) Ad
Hominem: Imagine you are in an argument with your older sibling about some
topic and he or she says “You’re younger than me how could you possibly know
this?” By directly attacking personal characteristics rather than the actual
topic, a logical fallacy is made.
2) Slippery Slope: "If you break your diet and eat cake today, you will want 20 slices of cake tomorrow and gain back the 10 pounds you lost!" This example shows that extreme hypotheticals are
dangerous to use in arguments as they often are not reliable nor strong.
Often times, we are convinced that one’s argument is
true without analyzing the true facts behind with case. We must begin to question
each ad hominem, straw man, slippery slope, etc. just like we did in class with
“Staring down sexism: Fearless Girl should stay” and “The Charging Bull
Sculptor is Right. Fearless Girls Should Go.” We found that both articles used
a variety of fallacies; for example, ad hominem is used in the former by
calling those who opposed the sculpture “unimaginative sexist clowns” (Everett).
By analyzing these pieces we found that their arguments may not be the
strongest out there.
Great post Anishka! This really brings attention to how so many of the points we make are not completely logical.
ReplyDeleteI like how you gave examples of fallacies that are present in everyday speech. Analyzing fallacies like we did in class really shows how arguments that seem strong and persuasive can really be weak at their cores.
ReplyDeleteReally good post. I liked the examples of the fallacies and how you showed that arguments people can make aren't valid at all!
ReplyDeleteWow. This is a really helpful way to both remember and understand logical fallacies. By using examples from relatable scenarios, it is easier to see common fallacies show up in arguments made in reality.
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