In
philosophical argumentation, it is important to recognize logic
fallacies and avoid using them. Think of those fallacies in your
textbook and/or discussed in class and find current examples (3 minimum)
of their use on the web or in popular print publications. Be sure to
identify each fallacy and explain why it is a fallacy.
Due September 6, 2012
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An example of ignoratio elenchi is the "two wrongs make a right" fallacy, which was recently used to great effect by the Democrats during the final stages of the healthcare debate. When asked if he thought using the reconciliation strategy to pass the healthcare bill with a simple majority vote was the right thing to do, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid--after claiming that nobody was talking about it (a logical fallacy known as the incorrect statement)--Reid released a statement detailing how many times the Republicans have used the reconciliation strategy over the last decade. Like the example above, Reid made an argument, but it was an irrelevant one that said nothing about how right or wrong the strategy is.
2 "president Obama is a socialist"There are lots of words that get thrown around in political ad hominum arguments, leading to the common charge of "name-calling" and "mud-slinging": racist, nazi, hippy, teabagger, anti-christ, etc
3 . Going back to the healthcare debate, President Obama has said on multiple occasions that those opposed to his healthcare initiative want to keep the status quo, despite the wealth of ideas that have come from his opposition to change healthcare. This is a pretty common tactic used by the majority against the minority--The Unapologetic Geek (Top Ten Fallicies in Politics)
1. In a speech made by President Barack Obama, he talked about how the people, not the government keep the economy going but its the government that keeps up the infrastructure. The Democratic party took exerts of the speech where President Obama was saying " you didn't build that!" and changed it around to make him appear to be arguing that the people had no say in government. This would be an example of changing meaning.
2. in a debate, Republican candidate Pawlenty argued that medicare needed to be reformed and that he had a plan. He further stated that if you chose Obama's plan to fix medicare then it was a plan to do nothing. This could be an example of mere assertion.
3. Another presidential hopeful, Representative Bachmann said that the congressional budget office had said that Obama care would cut 800,000 jobs. She was quoted on saying how could Obama say this. The truth is that the CBO could not estimate anything about the effects of the program because the bill was to complex. This is an example of argument by authority.
4. Representative Rick Perry mad the statement "For the White House or anyone else to be criticizing creation of jobs now in America is a little bit hypocritical," is an example of a straw man. to the best of my knowledge, no one is criticizing job creation.
White House Correspondent
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By Olivier Knox, Yahoo! News
Obama’s DNC speech assignment: Spell out his vision for a second term.
On Wednesday organizers announced they were moving the speech from Bank of America Stadium, which seats 74,000, to Time Warner Cable Arena, which seats 20,000, citing the risk of thunderstorms.
While disappointed Democrats worried this meant no balloon drop, Republicans insisted the shift showed the 2008 bubble has burst, charging that the president feared being unable to fill the stadium.
Fallacy #1 He faces enormous hurdles. Oh, voters think he's likable enough, to borrow a phrase. They like him personally quite a bit more than they do Mitt Romney, according to recent polls.
Making a statement that voters like Obama more than Romney, is at best wishful thinking. Not every one that will vote this election, respond to the polls. Those who do answer the polls, are just a hand full of the total voting population.
Fallacy #2 Obama aides countered that the 65,000 ticket holders, 19,000 people on the waiting list, thousands of reporters and others attending the convention meant the arena would be packed. And some noted that many of the ticket holders earned their seats by volunteering for Obama’s campaign.
I’m not sure if this is a fallacy or not, but this makes no sense to me. If there are 65,000 ticket holders, and 19,000 people on the waiting list, why would you move the speech to a smaller arena?
Fallacy #3 Clinton: "Listen to me now. No president, no president -- not me, not any of my predecessors -- no one could have fully repaired all the damage that he found in just four years," Clinton told the rapt audience of thousands.
This maybe true, but we will never know because Clinton nor any of his predecessors thank god, never had the opportunity to bail us out of an economic depression.
Avelardo Hernandez
In the article Obama is not Carter; Romney is not Reagan written by professor of history and public affairs, Julian Zelizer. I found three fallacies.
“…Obama is extremely vulnerable as a result of the slow economic recovery. With So much of the work force struggling with unemployment and unstable jobs, Romney has a fighting chance.” This quote is an example of a fallacy of composition. It is saying that because of unemployment and unstable jobs, Romney can win this election. Essentially this fallacy would be saying that Romney would not have a chance to win if employment was good and jobs were stable, which is incorrect because you can not say because A and B, C will happen.
“If Democrats are to do well, the president will have to do more than blame President George W. Bush or congressional Republicans or just warn about what a Romney-Ryan White would do.” This is an example of Ad Hominem Argument (or an argument against the man) which says Obama will do well if he stops blaming other people for the economy it is attacking Obama.
“If you felt that exciement when you voted for Barack Obama, shouldn’t you feel that way now that he’s President Obama?” This is an example of an inconsistency fallacy. It is saying that you shouldn’t vote for Obama because you are no longer excited for him.
1. "One of Mitt Romney’s biggest problems is that people just don’t really like him. He has one of those faces that you just want to punch. - Mike Huckabee." (http://news.yahoo.com/). That is Ad Hominem. He's attacking the person, not the positions.
2. Sarah Palin posted a Crosshairs ad around the time the Gabrielle Giffords shooting occured. ( http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/24/sarah-palins-pac-puts-gun_n_511433.html) Appeal to Force.
3. Clint Eastwood at the RNC. Dubious Authority.
An example of a fallacies would be the following:
Red Herring/Clinton Campaign. "I am qualified to be president because my husband is Bill Clinton." The fact that her husband is Bill Clinton has no logical connection whatsoever to her personal qualification to the presidency ... it is used to throw people off.
Appeal to Ignorance/Democratic Candidates."George Bush is the most unpopular president in history." The person makes a supposedly factual statement in the belief his/audience is ignorant of the truth. Actually, the most unpopular president in history was Harry S. Truman, followed by Jimmy Carter ... both democrats. Bush comes in third.
Ad Hominem/Guiliani Campaign. "Don't vote for Romney because he employes illegal immigrants." Latin for "to the person," perhaps better "against the person," it is what we would call today a "personal attack."
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