Logical Fallacies and Persuasive Techniques
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Appeal
Definition: Playing on the audience’s emotions, fears, needs or
desires to persuade them that you are right
Circular Argument
Either/or
Begging the Claim
Genetic Fallacy
Ad Populum
Ad Hominem:
Moral Equivalence
Example: Emotions (You would be so happy if…)
Fallacies
Evidence:
Definition: Using statistics, Expert opinion, Research finding, and
anecdotal evidence to prove a point.
Example: Research, statistics, expert opinion
Definition:Common errors in reasoning that will undermine
the logic of your argument
Definition: An attack on the character of a person rather than his or her opinions or arguments.
.
EX: Green Peace's strategies aren't effective because they are all dirty, lazy hippies
Attacks
Definition: Portraying opposing views or people as foolish,
dangerous, uncaring or deceitful in an attempt to
discredit them
Example: My opponent would see us hand over control of our
country to our enemies.
Definition: An emotional appeal that speaks to positive (such as patriotism, religion, democracy) or negative (such as terrorism or fascism) concepts rather than the real issue at hand.
Inclusive/Exclusive Language
EX: If you were a true American you would support the rights of people to choose whatever vehicle they want.
Definition: Use of we, us and our to show solidarity, or They and
them to show exclusion
Definition: A conclusion that the writer should prove is validated within the claim.
Example: We are all in this together. It is up to us to see that this
great undertaking of ours does not fail.
EX: Filthy and polluting coal should be banned
Rhetorical:
Definition:This restates the argument rather than actually proving it
EX: The president is a good communicator because he speaks effectively
Definition: Questions which do not expect an answer and are
asked for effect only.
DefinitionA conclusion that oversimplifies the argument by reducing it to only two sides or choices.
EX: we can either stop using cars or destroy the earth
Example: Are you okay? (Asked to someone who is clearly in pain)
Definition: A conclusion based in an argument that the origins of a person, idea, institute, or theory determine its character, nature, or worth
EX: The founder of ford is evil because he thinks just like Hitler
Cause and Effect:
Definition: Arguing that one thing led to another
Example: Because you were outside while it was raining, you got
wet.
Connotation:
Definition: Comparing minor misdeeds with major atrocities.
EX: That parking attendant who gave me a ticket is as bad as Hitler.
Definition: using emotionally loaded words to influence people
Example: Brat = negative emotional association
Analogy:
Definition: Comparing one thing to another in order to prove a
point.
Example: I hate (insert class here) trying to pass it is like trying to
swim up a waterfall.
Generalization:
Hasty Generalization
Definition: Rushing to conclusion before you have all the relevant facts,
EX: I just meat this person but I already hate them.
Definition: Making a sweeping statement about a whole group
based upon one or two members of the group.
Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc
Example: Sports fans are all crazy.
Definition: A conclusion that assume that if 'A' occurred after 'B' then 'B' must have cause 'A'
Humor:
Definition: Using puns, irony, sarcasm, satire, and jokes to
discredit opposing views
EX: I drank a bottled water and now I am sick, so the water must have made me sick
Example: Saying “totally artraged” instead of “outraged” when
talking about controversial art
Red Herring
Definition: A diversionary tactic that avoids the key issues, often by avoiding opposing arguments rather than addressing them.
Jargon:
Definition: using specialized/technical terms to show oneself to
be an expert in the field they are discussing
Wood is a essential to making shelter, but what will animals use as shelter?
Example: Hammerhead, Masthead, Nameplate, Wicket, Sidebar,
Op/Ed, and Feature all mean significantly different
things to a journalist than to the average person.
Formal Language:
Definition: Using higher level language with limited emotional
reactions to sound more knowledgeable
Straw Man
Example: The above really means: 87 years ago, the founding
fathers decided that America should be a land of
freedom.
Definition: Oversimplifying an opponent's viewpoint and than attacking that hollow argument.
Colloquial Language
EX: People who don't support equality hate humanity
Definition: informal, everyday language used to appear friendly
and similar to their audience
Example: “That totally grossed me out” vs. “That really disgusted
me”
Slippery Slope
Alliteration:
Defenition: This is a conlusion based on the premise that if A happens, than eventually through a seies of small steps, through B, C, ... X, Y, Z will happen, too, basically equating A and Z.
Definition: repetition of initial consonant sounds to add
emphasis
Example: She sell sea shells down by the sea shore.
EX:If we ban Hummers because they are bad for the environment eventually the government will ban all cars, so we should not ban hummers
Assonance:
Definition: Repetition of vowel sounds for emphasis
Example: The elite meet and greet