Fallacy

Instructions:

A fallacy is a mistake in reasoning. It isn’t just being wrong. It isn’t just being silly. It is where a conclusion has been reached through an incorrect or unfair process. Present 4 fallacy the fallacies must be examples of any 4 above.

 

 

Rules:

• Your four fallacies must be examples of the following:

 

1. Ad hominem circumstantial
2. Ad hominemtuquoque
3. Appeal to ignorance
4. Confusion of correlation and cause
5. False analogy
6. False dilemma
7. Hasty generalisation
8. Post hoc, ergo propter hoc
9. Slippery slope
10. Straw man

• You can only use a type of fallacy once (and a maximum of two versions of ad hominem).

 

• Each fallacy must be not older than 10/01/2019.
• Each fallacy must be from a different source, and that source cannot be repeated (e.g.: one from your grandmother, one from the Gold Coast Bulletin, one from Donald Trump, one from a particular YouTube video, etc.)
• You can only use a location twice, for example:
  1. 1 or 2 of your fallacies must come from printed sources, e.g.: newspapers, magazines, brochures, pamphlets.
  2. 1 or 2 of your fallacies must be spoken, e.g.: conversations with a relative or friend, speeches made by politicians, mistakes found in YouTube videos, on television, etc.

 

1. 1 or 2 of your fallacies can come from online, e.g.: Facebook comments, blogs, online articles, etc.

 

Valid combinations:

Written	2	2	1
Spoken	2	1	2
Online	1	2	2

 

• The fallacy MUST be unintentional. Fallacy websites and memes may not be used. Funny TV shows that have fallacies in them are using them to be funny, not to make a mistake; and fallacies appearing in fiction are not mistakes.
• The fallacy MUST be serious. If the source was approached, would they say they were only joking or exaggerating, rather than making a legitimate argument?
• Fallacies always occur in a process of reasoning—make sure you actually have a fallacy, and not just a mistake (an easy way to check is to see if there is a conclusion—no conclusion, no fallacy).

 

 

 

Grading:

Your 5 fallacies will be graded on the following scale:

• 5 = Perfect (this is rare, this sort of find would be able to shown to others students in future semesters because of how awesome it is, and the fallacy is described showing a great understanding of theory)
• 5 = Amazing! (Amazing find and explanation – we will want to tell other teachers about it!)
• 4 = Excellent (an excellent fallacy – great explanation and well discovered)
• 5 = Good – Very Good (something may be missing from stopping this being excellent, either the find or the explanation)
• 3 = Good (well found, explained, described, and a good example of the fallacy)
• 5 = OK (a correct example of the fallacy but either a convenient find or imperfectly described)
• 2 = Poor (either pushing the fallacy into a category that doesn’t really fit; a weak example of a fallacy; a find that is far too convenient to be believed; or the explanation of why it is that type of fallacy is incorrect)
• 1 = Not a fallacy/Breaks a rule (not the fallacy you said it was, or the fallacy breaks one of the above rules such as date, type of source, etc)

 

Checking:

 

 

 

SPEECH:

 

 

 

 

The following information must be covered/presented with each fallacy:

• Name of fallacy (e.g.: Hasty generalisation)
• Context/background (e.g.: What happened? Where did you find this fallacy? Describe the situation, or other relevant arguments/assumptions surrounding the fallacy. Also, you should provide information so that we could find the fallacy if we wanted to look for it in writing or online (or spoken sources if they’re from an online video) sources—e.g.: the date, section and title of the newspaper/hyperlink)
• The direct quote of the fallacy
  • For your written source(s), you must embed a legible scanned/photographed copy of the fallacy in print
  • For your spoken source(s), type the dialogue in quotes (or, if a video and it is available online, and if time permits, quickly play it)
  • If you use an online source, embed a screengrab of the fallacy
• You are then to explain/describe/defend why it is that what you found is an example of the fallacy (“This is a hasty generalisation because…”)