How to Avoid Logical Fallacies

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Need to make a great argument? You’ll need to think carefully about what you want to say, and use excellent rhetoric to get others on your side. You’ll need to consider the opposition and be sure to address counter-arguments so that your audience can see you’ve thought the whole thing out. But beware: a great argument can come undone when your logic doesn’t pass muster. Knowing about common logical mistakes--called logical fallacies--that can help you build an argument that will win every time.

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Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

An argument or essay
Computer
Pen and paper

Step1

Don’t attack an opponent’s character as a way of building up your argument. This is called “argument to the man,” and it’s considered a logical fallacy since character issues may be irrelevant to the argument you’re making. Don’t assume that character flaws are evidence.

Step2

Don’t confuse your causes and effects. “Faulty causation” is one of the most common logical fallacies, and it occurs when you assume that just because something happens after something else, the second thing is caused by the first. For example, just because your favorite wine glass broke after you argued with your sister doesn’t mean the argument caused the breakage. A lot of superstitions are based on faulty causation.

Step3

Avoid jumping to conclusions. This is called “faulty generalization,” and it occurs when you draw a conclusion from evidence that is incomplete. For example, you’re guilty of faulty generalization if you see a teenage boy wearing low-slung pants and instantly hold your purse more tightly--you’re generalizing about the behavior of teenage boys dressed a certain way, which is a stereotype.

Step4

Don’t introduce a “red herring.” A red herring is something you throw into your argument--such as an irrelevant line of thought or an unrelated detail--in order to distract your audience from other aspects of your argument. Think of a murder mystery--the shifty character you meet on page one is usually a red herring, meant to keep your attention away from the true culprit--the ordinary boy-next-door.

Step5

Avoid drawing a “false analogy.” Showing how two things are alike can be a great way to build support for your argument. For example, you might compare a current event with a similar historical event to hypothesize about an outcome of the current event. A false analogy occurs when you assume that just because two entities share a common characteristic, they must share other characteristics as well.

Step6

Don’t try to convince your audience that it’s your way or the highway. This is called the “either/or” fallacy, and it occurs when you suggest that the only alternative to your own argument is something terrible. For example, George W. Bush committed the either/or fallacy when he claimed, “You’re either with us, or you’re with the terrorists.” He used this devise for rhetorical effect, but in reality, there are many options besides the black-and-white one he describes.

Tips & Warnings

When building an argument, always make sure you lay out your facts clearly so that the conclusions you draw are based on carefully thought-out reasons.