rhetorical fallacies(英语修辞与写作lecture 5)

RhetoricalFallaciesEnglishRhetoricandWritingInordinaryusage,thetermfallacyreferstomistakenbeliefsaswellastothefaultyreasoning.Inlogic,thetermisgenerallyusedtoreferonlytoaformoftechnicallyincorrectargument,especiallyifthatargumentappearstobevalidorconvincing.Soherewealsodefineafallacyasalogicalargumentorrhetoricaldevicethatappearstobesoundbutistrulyunsoundwhenexaminedmoreclosely.Define“fallacy”FallaciesappealingtoLogiclogosBeggingtheQuestionHastyGeneralizationFalseAnalogiesPostHocNonSequiturEither-OrFallacyFallaciesAppealingtoEmotionpathosAppealtoFearAppealtoFlatteryAppealtoPityAppealtoPopularityAppealtoTraditionBandwagonappealRedHerringFallaciesAppealingtoCredibilityethosAdHominemAppealtoAuthorityFallaciesinlogicalreasoning1)“Nonsequitur”:Thephrasemeans“itdoesnotfollow”andappliestoerrorofreasoninginwhichtheconclusiondoesnotfollowfromtheevidencepresented.Example:Smokingcigarettesisdangerous,butnearlyeverythinginlifehassomedanger,suchasdrivingacarorcrossingthestreet.So,ifyouarewillingtodriveacar,youshouldalsobewillingtosmoke.Ifthoseprotestersreallylovedtheircountry,theywouldn’tquestionthegovernment.2)“Beggingthequestion”:Thephrasemeanstoassumethetruthofapointthatneedstobeproved.Suchanargumentiscircular.Example:“Thissenselesslanguagerequirementshouldbedropped.”“Haveyoustoppedtakingdrugs?”“Whendidyoustopbeatingyourwife?”“Whyisprivatedevelopmentofresourcessomuchmoreefficientthananypubliccontrol?”3)“PostHoc”:ThephraseinLatinreferstothegeneralizationfrominsufficientevidenceas“notprovingtobethecase”,or“afterthis,thereforebecauseofthis.Example:Itookanaspirinandtookanap;thenmyheadachedisappeared.Sotheaspirincuredmyheadache.Sincetheyabolishedcapitalpunishment,thecrimeratetherehasincreased,whichtellsusthatcapitalpunishmentmustberestored.4)Theeither-orfallacy:Anargumentassumesafalsedilemmawhenitassumesthatoneoftwocasesmustbetrue,whereinfactthereareotheroptionsaswell.Alsocalled:Oversimplification.Examples:You’reeitherwithus,oragainstus.EitherwemustbanXortheAmericanwayoflifewillcollapse.EitheryoudrinkBurpsyCola,oryouwillhavenofriendsandnosociallife.5)Hastygeneralization:Ifawriterderivesageneralconclusiononthebasisofjustafewexamplesthatarenotrepresentativeofallpossiblesituations,cases,orscenarios,thens/heisguiltyofhastygeneralization.Example:Ioncegotabadcartonofmilkfromthatstore,soI'llnevershopthereagain.6)Falseanalogy:Ifawriterusesacomparisonthatisveryweak,inappropriate,orbasedonamisunderstanding,thens/heisusingfalseanalogy.Example:Collegeismuchlikehighschool.Eachhas50minuteclasses.Eachhasadifferentteacherfordifferentsubjects.Sothereisnodifferencebetweenthem.Fallaciesrelatedtopathos1)AppealtoEmotion:Thisfallacyiscommittedwhensomeonemanipulatespeoples'emotionsinordertogetthemtoacceptaclaimasbeingtrue.Example:ThenewUltraSkinnydietwillmakeyoufeelgreat.Nolongerbetroubledbyyourweight.Enjoytheadmiringstaresoftheoppositesex.Revelinyournewfreedomfromfat.Youwillknowtruehappinessifyoutryourdiet!Fear:Ifyoudon’tbelieveinGod,Godsurewon’tbehappyaboutthat!Pity:IdeserveanAintheclassbecausemymomwasreallysickandsoIcouldn’tconcentrateVanity:Intelligentpeoplelikeyourselfdeserve[fillinanyproducthere]2)BandwagonAppeal:“Everybodyisdoingit.”Thisfallacyassertsthat,sincethemajorityofpeoplebelievesanargumentorchoosesaparticularcourseofaction,theargumentmustbetrue,orthecourseofactionmustbefollowed,orthedecisionmustbethebestchoice.Example:TheEarthmustbeflat.Millionsofpeopleknowthatitis.Areyoutryingtotellthemthattheyareallmistakenfools?(IsabellatoColumbus)85%ofconsumerspurchaseIBMcomputersratherthanMacintosh;allthosepeoplecan’tbewrong.IBMmustmakethebestcomputers.Whybetheonlyparentonyourblockwhosekidsdon’thavetheWaterWidgetFunSet™?3)ARedHerringattemptstodistractanaudiencebyshiftingattentionawayfromanimportantissue.Example:Ishouldnotpayafineforrecklessdriving.Therearemanyotherpeopleonthestreetwhoaredangerouscriminalsandrapists,andthepoliceshouldbechasingthem,notharassingadecenttax-payingcitizenlikeme.”Ourreliefprogramhasadmittedlylosttrackofsomedonations,butjustthinkofallthesufferingchildrenwe’vesavedfromstarvationanddisease.Fallacioususeofethos1)AdHominem:aclaimorargumentisrejectedonthebasisofsomeirrelevantfactabouttheauthoroforthepersonpresentingtheclaimorargument.Examples:BillClinton’sproposalisbad,becausehehadsexintheWhiteHouse(abusiveadhominem)Ofcourseheopposesrentcontrol.Heownstwoapartmentbuildingshimself!(circumstantialadhominem)JohnKerrycriticizesGeorgeBush’smilitaryrecord?Wait,didn’tKerrygetthose3purpleheartsbyblowingupsomeinnocentVietnamese?2)AppealtoAuthority:thepersoninquestionisnotalegitimateauthorityonthesubject.Moreformally,ifpersonAisnotqualifiedtomakereliableclaimsinsubjectS,thentheargumentwillbefallacious.NotanexpertoranInappropriateAuthority:Accordingtomydad…Einsteinsaid…[somethingaboutevolution]UnidentifiedAuthority:Studiesshow…Expertsagree…Sciencesays…AppealtotheMasses:Everybodyknows…Exercise:Anelementaryacquaintancewiththegeneralpatternofinferencecanhelpwritersintwoways:1)Itcanmake