Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Fallacies
Fallacies are negative parts of an argument that make the argument unsound, un-repairable, and weak. Now there are three types of fallacies; structural fallacies, content fallacies, and fallacies that violate the principle of rational discussion. For this discussion I will focus my real life example on a content fallacy I heard in the past. I often hear people talk about the war in Iraq. I go back and forth with my uncle on why the war is justifiable or not and we disagree. He gets upset and says “I served in the military I know what is justifiable and what isn’t, you or anyone else who didn’t serve does not”. Basically what he is saying is that because he served in the military it makes him an expert on military matters and you have to serve in the military in order to know what is right and what is wrong. This is obviously a content fallacy as his premise (I served in the military I know what is justifiable and what isn’t) is dubious and no other premises will support his conclusion (you or anyone else who didn’t serve does not). More specifically it falls under the category of mistaking the person for the argument. That is anything that group says about _____ is either false or true.
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This is a good example for content fallacies. Great job of explaining it a little in the beginning and throughout your example as well as at the end. You wrote everything in your own words which makes it even better because it shows me that you read and understood what you read. I can relate to you and your uncle. My uncle was a navy Seal and we have had similar arguments about war and what not. It is hard to get them to see or understand our viewpoint, but then again can't get too upset for they have seen and done things we can't even imagine. Great job!
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