It is very important to know how to detect arguments that seem reasonable but that do not hide the truth at all. They are fallacies.
These arguments or conclusions that a person reaches to settle an issue and that are apparently valid but, when analyzed, we see that they are not supported by any logic, are known in the field of both philosophy and psychology as fallacies.
These arguments that seem valid are actually wrong, so everything that can be “taken” from them is also false, since it violates the rules of logic but dressing up in a supposed argumentative validity.
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Being able to detect them will make us know how to act when someone tries to use one against us, since it is important that we refute these fallacies with really logical and well-founded arguments.
What is a logical fallacy?
“Electricity is necessary to live. Nuclear energy allows us to obtain electricity. Therefore, nuclear energy is necessary to live . With reasoning of this type we find ourselves daily in any area of our lives. It seems valid since it follows an apparently logical reasoning, but if we analyze it carefully, we realize that nuclear energy is not necessary since we have other ways of getting electricity.
A logical fallacy is precisely this. An argument in which, based on two (or more) totally true premises, a conclusion is reached that, despite appearing to derive perfectly from the union between both premises, is not correct.
A fallacy is as if someone were trying to convince us that 1+1 is 11 since, according to the person making the fallacy, addition in mathematics consists of uniting numbers. In your reasoning it may be true, but not in the real world.
The problem is that these fallacies are not only used on a small scale in discussions with friends or family to quickly settle the debate, but they are very common in the media and in political speeches, and can become deeply rooted in the collective mentality.
For this reason, it is important to know what kind of logical fallacies we are continually exposed to in order to detect them quickly and not be fooled by their supposed plausibility. And this is what we are going to do next.
What are the main types of logical fallacies?
When someone with whom we are debating uses a fallacy, it automatically invalidates our argument no matter how reasonable it may be, so it is very important to detect them. The problem is that this is not always easy, as fallacies tend to be subtle.
Anyway, in this article we are going to give you all the tools so that you can quickly realize that someone is using a fallacy to “attack” your reasoning. These are the main types of logical fallacies.
1. Fallacy of the false dilemma
When someone makes a false dilemma fallacy, it is because they are offering only two options to a conflict when in reality there are many more. There are times when there are really only two options, such as: “your car is red or it is not”. This is true, there are no other options. Either it’s red or it’s another color.
But a very different thing is: “if you are not with me, you are against me”. This is a fallacy. And if someone tells us, we must make them see that there is a wide range of options. It cannot be limited to just two.
2. Fallacy of personal attack
One of the most typical fallacies when someone runs out of arguments when arguing with someone. And it is that the last resource is to personally attack the person with whom you are debating, thus fleeing from the very reasoning that was being carried out.
They don’t have to be insults. Normally it consists of appealing to some aspect of studies, personality, social group, gender, etc., to try to invalidate someone. “You haven’t studied medicine , you can’t talk about this” is an example of this type of fallacy. And it is not necessary to have studied medicine to have a valid opinion about something related to it.
3. Straw man fallacy
One of the most typical. This fallacy consists of twisting an argument so that it seems that we are attacking someone. Even when we try to say something with good intentions, someone may try to turn it around.
If we say “I think it lacks a bit of salt” and someone responds “ah, am I the worst cook in the world?”, this someone is using a straw man fallacy.
4. Snowball Fallacy
As its name suggests, it is a fallacy that is getting bigger and bigger. It consists of starting from an already erroneous assumption and establishing new statements that derive from it more and more erroneous.
“Stop playing console. If you don’t, when you’re older you’ll start gambling. And if you bet you will lose all your money. And if this happens, you will end up committing crimes to get more” is an example of the snowball fallacy.
5. Fallacy of abusive generalization
One of the most typical fallacies and where most forms of racism are hidden. It consists of making a universal statement about something without having enough evidence to support it, so we arrive at a wrong assumption.
“Yesterday a Romanian robbed my mother on the street. All Romanians are thieves” would be an example of this type of fallacy. When we generalize, we are most likely falling into one of these logical fallacies.
6. Fallacy of irrelevant conclusion
In this type of fallacy, we start from a specific premise to end up giving a conclusion that has nothing to do with this premise. Generally this fallacy is used to try to change another person’s thinking.
“If you are against machismo, you have to defend that women are above men” is a clear example of this. A hasty conclusion is being drawn and that does not have to be true, because if you are against machismo, you must defend that women and men are equal. Neither is above the other.
7. Fallacy of causality
The fallacy of causality is one of the most typical. It is the one that occurs when we try to find the explanation for a certain event but we do it incorrectly, establishing a cause that explains it but that surely has no relationship.
“I heard neighbors yelling at each other. This will be because they are going to get divorced” is a clear example of this. We try to find an explanation for something but we rush to give a cause without any proof.
8. Circular fallacy
The circular fallacy is one in which, as its name suggests, the same argument is repeated over and over again, without contributing anything new. It is very typical of people who always hide behind a premise and no matter how much we provide new arguments, they continue to defend their position with the same reasoning.
If we are talking to someone about cinema and we are comparing two films, we might say “for me the script of this film is more complex and elaborate” and they answer us “yes, but this one has won more Oscars”. And if we continue “I think the photography is better in this one, in the other it is a little more left” and they continue with “yes, but this one has won more Oscars”, this person is using a circular fallacy against us. In the absence of arguments, they always rely on it to try to win the debate.
9. Populist fallacy
It is one of the most common fallacies. It consists of supposing that something is correct because the majority does it, that is, because it is something popular. This type of fallacy is extremely common in the world of advertising.
“This product is the best because it is the best seller.” Just because it’s the best seller doesn’t have to mean it’s the best. It is possible that it is the best seller because it is cheaper, a celebrity has promoted it or simply because of consumer habit. “Smoking is not so bad because many people smoke” would be another example of populist fallacy.
10. Fallacy of appeal to tradition
In the absence of reasonable arguments, many people appeal to tradition to justify their behavior or to settle any debate. The people who use them defend that if something has always been done this way, it is because it is the right thing to do.
“Bullfighting cannot be prohibited because it is a tradition” is one of the clearest examples of this type of fallacy. “Mobile phones are not necessary because before we lived without them”, “No one has ever done this before, surely they are making a mistake”, “We cannot change the laws, they have been working for a long time”, etc., are other examples. It consists of appealing to tradition when there is fear of change and you want to settle a debate with someone who is open to evolution.
Bibliographic references
- Portillo Fernández, J. (2017) “The use of fallacies in absurd communication”. Logos: Journal of Linguistics, Philosophy and Literature, 28(2).
- Garcia Damborenea, R. (2011) “Dictionary of Fallacies”. Use of reason.
- Clark, J., Clark, T. (2005) “Humbug!: The Skeptic’s Field Guide to Spotting Fallacies in Thinking”. Nifty Books.
To the classic question “what do you do?” I always answer “basically I am a psychologist”. In fact, my academic training has revolved around the psychology of development, education and community, a field of study influenced my volunteer activities, as well as my first work experiences in personal services.