Modes of Reasoning

Missing premises for fallacies of presumption

1. Shifting the burden of proof – an argument can prove its conclusion by asking someone else to prove one’s position or the contrary of one’s position

2. Appeal to ignorance – an argument can prove its conclusion by treating the absence of evidence for one position as evidence for the contrary conclusion

3. Self-evident truth- an argument can prove its conclusion by stating its premise and/or conclusion in such a way that it is true simply because of the way that it is stated

4. I.e. clearly x is/isnt the case- either its empirically or evidentially true and if so, you don't need to say clearly. Manufactures the truth

5. Begging the question – an argument can prove its conclusion by saying the same thing in its premise as it says in its conclusion using different words

6. Equivocation- an argument can prove its conclusion by using the same word, term, or expression with multiple meanings. (be ware if you see the same noun repeated multiple times through the premise and in the conclusion- it may have different meanings)

7. Red herring – an argument can prove a conclusion, which is irrelevant to its premise/s

8. Common practice/ popularity- an argument can prove its conclusion by assuming that what most people do, say or believe to be true, is true

9. Appeal to authority – an argument can prove its conclusion by assuming that because experts say something is true, it must be true

10. Hasty Generalization (an argument can prove its conclusion by using a sample, which is too small or too unrepresentative of its population

11. False cause – an argument can prove its conclusion by assuming that not all the necessary conditions of a causal relationship have to be met in order to have a causal relationship. (ie the light goes on after you turn the switch therefore the switch must control the light)

12. Slippery slope – an argument can prove its conclusion by assuming that terms are causally...