Fallacy of the Day: False Equivalence

Fallacy of the Day

False Equivalence

Open Ended

What is wrong with the argument?

What is wrong with this argument?

A knife and dynamite are both tools that can be used as weapons, so they’re pretty much the same thing, and therefore if we allow people to buy knives at the store, then we should also allow them to also buy dynamite.

False Equivalence

False equivalence arises when one draws an equivalence between two things based on the notion that they share some characteristics that are, in reality, not significant enough to justify the equation.

False Equivalence

• Its typical logical form is as follows:

  X has characteristics A and B. Y has characteristics B and C. Therefore, X and Y are equivalent (since they both share characteristic B).

• Comparing apples to oranges

• It's considered fallacious because it equates the two subjects on false grounds, either exaggerating the importance of the similarities or ignoring the differences between them that are in fact too important to make the equivalence accurate.

Multiple Choice

Which of the following is NOT and example of false equivalence?

• Taking money from other people is a crime, so taxation can practically be seen as an illegal activity.

• Of course smoking causes cancer. The smoke from cigarettes is a carcinogen.

• Bears and cats are both furry mammals; Therefore, it’s the same thing to have a bear as a pet.

• Cars kill people just like guns. Therefore, if we ban either one of them, we should ban the other too.

Open Ended

Write your own example of false equivalence.