Fallacy
From Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A logical fallacy or simply a fallacy is some logical transition that people think can be done, but that really cannot be done. It is like an error in thinking. Aristotle and other philosophers identified several such kinds of fallacies:
[edit] Aristotelian Fallacies
[edit] Material Fallacies
The list is based on the Organon by Aristotle and is widely accepted in scientific literature. The terms used are those commonly used in English.
- Fallacy of the Accident, also known as a dicto simpliciter ad dictum secundum quid. In this fallacy a general rule is improperly applied to some special situation. Example:
- Grass is green
- This parched plot is grass
- Therefore this parched plot is green.
- Converse Fallacy of the Accident
- Fallacy of the Irrelevant Conclusion (Ignoratio Elechi): Instead of proving or disproving the fact, the attention is drawn to something irrelevant to the argument:
- Purely personal considerations: Argumentum Ad hominem. For instance:
- The speaker said something wrong yesterday;
- Therefore he cannot be right today.
- Popular sentiment: Argumentum Ad populum, appeal to the majority
- Fear: Argumentum Ad baculum (against the stick)
- Propriety: Argumentum Ad verecundiam
- Purely personal considerations: Argumentum Ad hominem. For instance:
- Fallacy of Begging the Question
- Fallacy of the Consequent
- Fallacy of the False Cause, also known as Non Sequitur, or Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc
- Fallacy of the Many Questions: Many questions are improperly grouped to just represent one question.
