About this week...
This week, as well as our remaining fallacy examinations, will follow the Week 9 pattern. You'll read about specific fallacies and examine one or more articles about your final project subject to see if they contain any of the fallacies of the week.
10a Fallacies 3
Ad hominem
Two wrongs make a right
These are three of the frequently used fallacies. Basically, they ask us to reject an argument because there is something wrong with the arguer ... not the argument ... and if caught doing something inappropriate, to accept the behavior because others have done the same thing and probably been even worse. In the case of hasty conclusion, sometimes called hasty generalization, the arguer is leaping to a conclusion before having enough evidence.
10b Fallacies 4
Irrelevant reason
Appeal to Ignorance
Slippery Slope
These three are often used, too. They are a bit more subtle, so be careful about how you apply their definitions to passages in the articles.
In both 10a and 10b you would be well advised to use opinion pieces as opposed to straight news pieces. The usual pattern in straight news is to use a fallacious quote from one of the arguers in a debate. In that case, it is not the news story that is false; it is the point made by the one being quoted. However, most of the time the one being quoted is being used to strengthen the understanding of an argument, not to undermine it.
In addition to the required chapter reading, use the resources below to gain a strong understanding of these fallacies before you begin to look for them.
All sources used, whether quoted, summarized, or paraphrased, MUST be properly cited in MLA style in-text and in a list of works cited in your discussion posts.
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