Work Ethics Quiz

INFORMAL FALLACIES

FALLACIES IN GENERAL

A fallacy is a defect in an argument that consists in something other than the false premises alone. Fallacies are usually divided into two groups: formal and informal. A formal fallacy is one that may be identified by merely examining the form or structure of an argument. Informal fallaciesare those that can be detected only by examining the content of the argument. Informal fallacies can be further classified as Fallacies of Ambiguities, Relevance, and Insufficient Evidence.

FALLACY OF AMBIGUITY

An ambiguous word, phrase, or sentence is one that has two or more distinct meanings. The inferential relationship between the propositions included in a single argument will be sure to hold only if we are careful to employ exactly the same meaning in each of them. The fallacies of ambiguity all involve a confusion of two or more different senses (http://www.philosophypages.com/lg/e06c.htm).

1. EQUIVOCATION

* using a term in its different sense/meaning and making it appear to have only one meaning

Example:Congressmen can create or abolish laws. The law of supply and demand is a law. Therefore, congressmen can abolish the law of supply and demand.

2. AMPHIBOLY

* using a phrase whose meaning is ambiguous due to its grammatical construction

Example:To be repaired: the rocking chair of an old lady with two broken legs

3. IMPROPER ACCENT

* misleading people by placing improper emphasis on a word, phrase or a particular aspect of an issue or claim

Example:To be repaired: the rocking chair of an old lady with two broken legs.

FALLACY OF INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

Fallacies of insufficient evidence are mistakes in reasoning that occur because the premises, though logically relevant to the conclusion, fail to provide sufficient evidence to support the conclusion.

4. ACCIDENT

* applying a general rule to a particular case when circumstances suggest that an exception to the rule...