The Fallacy Detective

The Fallacy Detective

Lesson 1- 5

What is a fallacy?

A fallacy is an error in logic - A place where someone has made a mistake in his or her thinking.

After you complete this book you should

• know how to spot bad reasoning

• put a higher value on a good reasonoing

• know how to to avoid falllacies in your own reasoning

The most common errors in reasoning are

• avoiding the question

• making assumptions

• statistical fallacies

Exercise your mind

• the mind is like a muscle. It needs exercise too

• We must discipline our minds the same way an athlete excersise his body

• this is the first quality of an inquiring mind

love to listen - A person who is humble and who loves to listen may show these characteristics:

• He is more interested in what other people have to say than in having them listen to him. Humility brings respect for others and their thoughts.

• He places a modest value on his own opinions- he admits that other people often have better ideas that he does.

• He willingly admits when he doesn't know something. I fhe doesn't understand something, he is open about it.

• He is willing to question his own position on an issue.

Why do you think we need other people's input or opinion on an issue?

When we are forming an opinion on an issue, it is often a good idea to collect other people's viewpoints on it. the more viewpoints we hear, the better we understand the whole picture.

What are the benefits from looking at opposing view points?

• We can change our views if we are wrong.

• We can help others. even it is wrong it helps us to defend our views, and it helps us to communicate our views to others.

AVOIDING QUESTIONS

RED HERRING FALLACY

A red herring introduces an irrelevant point into an argument, we are avoiding the question.

Recognizing Red Herrings

When someone introduces a red herring, he may be saying something which is true although irrelevant.