A fallacy is an error that is made in an argument. The error might be in the claims made, the evidence as presented, or in the reasoning process. You of course want to avoid any of these fallacies when giving a speech. The table in the Avoiding Fallacies in Argument section in Ch. 15 of your text, presents four categories of fallacy that public speakers often commit:
- Fallacies in claims
- Fallacies in evidence
- Fallacies in reasoning
- Fallacies in responding to counterarguments
In a Word document, write roughly 600 words in response to the following:
- Write an original example of a fallacy in each of the four categories mentioned above that you might commit in your upcoming persuasive speech. For example, say your persuasive speech topic was “The local community garden has improved the neighborhood.” You might commit a Post hoc fallacy if you claimed, “Residents say they’re happy so it must be because of the new community garden.”
- How could you modify each of these fallacies so as to no longer be a fallacy—in other words, to make it an example of sound reasoning? What additional information would you need?
- Which of the fallacies are youmost likely to commit in your upcoming speech and why? Explain your answer along with why you think you are prone to this fallacy.
