vegetables are bad for you after all the
dinosaurs ate plants and we all know
what happened to them let's pause for a
moment that argument was ridiculous and
that's because it contained a logical
fallacy a logical fallacy is any kind of
error in reasoning that renders an
argument invalid they can involve
distorting or manipulating facts drawing
false conclusions or distracting you
from the actual issue at hand in theory
it seems like they'd be pretty easy to
spot but this isn't always the case
sometimes logical fallacies are used
intentionally to try and win a debate in
these cases they're often presented by
the speaker with a certain level of
confidence and in doing so they're more
persuasive if they sound like they know
what they're talking about we're more
likely to believe them even if their
stance doesn't make complete logical
sense one common logical fallacy is the
false cause this is when someone
incorrectly identifies the cause of
something in my argument I stated that
the dinosaurs became extinct because
they ate vegetables now while these two
separate things did happen diet of
vegetables was not the cause of their
extinction maybe you've heard false
cause more commonly represented by the
phrase correlation does not equal
causation meaning that just because two
things occurred around the same time it
doesn't mean that one caused the other a
strawman is when someone takes an
argument and misrepresents it so that
it's easier to attack for example let's
say Callie is advocating that sporks
should be the new standard for
silverware since they're more efficient
Madeleine responds that she's shocked
Callie would want to outlaw spoons and
forks and put millions out of work at
the fork and spoon factories a straw man
is frequently used in politics in an
effort to discredit and other
politicians views on a particular issue
begging the question is a type of
circular argument where someone includes
the conclusion as a part of their
reasoning George says ghosts exist
because I saw a ghost in my closet his
conclusion is ghosts exist
his premise also assumes that ghosts
exist rather than assuming that ghosts
exist from the get-go George should be
using evidence and reasoning to prove
that they exist the false dilemma or
false dichotomy is a logical fallacy
where a situation is presented as being
an either/or option when in reality
there are more possible options
available than just the chosen to
Rebecca rings the doorbell but Ethan
doesn't answer
she then thinks oh Ethan must not be
home
Rebecca posits that either Ethan answers
the door or he is at home in reality he
could be sleeping doing some work in the
backyard or taking a shower most logical
fallacies can be spotted by thinking
critically make sure to ask questions is
logic at work here or is it simply
rhetoric does their proof actually lead
to the conclusion they're proposing by
applying critical thinking you'll be
able to detect logical fallacies in the
world around you and prevent yourself
from using them as well GCF global
creating opportunities for a better life