Publisher Description

A timely and accessible guide to 100 of the most infamous logical fallacies in Western philosophy, helping readers avoid and detect false assumptions and faulty reasoning  You'll love this book or you'll hate it. So, you're either with us or against us. And if you're against us then you hate books. No true intellectual would hate this book. Ever decide to avoid a restaurant because of one bad meal? Choose a product because a celebrity endorsed it? Or ignore what a politician says because she's not a member of your party? For as long as people have been discussing, conversing, persuading, advocating, proselytizing, pontificating, or otherwise stating their case, their arguments have been vulnerable to false assumptions and faulty reasoning. Drawing upon a long history of logical falsehoods and philosophical flubs, Bad Arguments demonstrates how misguided arguments come to be, and what we can do to detect them in the rhetoric of others and avoid using them ourselves. Fallacies—or conclusions that don't follow from their premise—are at the root of most bad arguments, but it can be easy to stumble into a fallacy without realizing it. In this clear and concise guide to good arguments gone bad, Robert Arp, Steven Barbone, and Michael Bruce take readers through 100 of the most infamous fallacies in Western philosophy, identifying the most common missteps, pitfalls, and dead-ends of arguments gone awry. Whether an instance of sunk costs, is ought, affirming the consequent, moving the goal post, begging the question, or the ever-popular slippery slope, each fallacy engages with examples drawn from contemporary politics, economics, media, and popular culture. Further diagrams and tables supplement entries and contextualize common errors in logical reasoning. At a time in our world when it is crucial to be able to identify and challenge rhetorical half-truths, this bookhelps readers to better understand flawed argumentation and develop logical literacy. Unrivaled in its breadth of coverage and a worthy companion to its sister volume Just the Arguments (2011), Bad Arguments is an essential tool for undergraduate students and general readers looking to hone their critical thinking and rhetorical skills.

Back Cover

You'll love this book or you'll hate it. So, you're either with us or against us. And if you're against us then you hate books. No true intellectual would hate this book. Ever decide to avoid a restaurant because of one bad meal? Choose a product because a celebrity endorsed it? Or ignore what a politician says because she's not a member of your party? For as long as people have been discussing, conversing, persuading, advocating, proselytizing, pontificating, or otherwise stating their case, arguments have been vulnerable to false assumptions and faulty reasoning. Drawing upon a long history of logical falsehoods and philosophical flubs, Bad Arguments demonstrates how misguided arguments come to be, what we can do to detect them in the rhetoric of others, and how to avoid using them ourselves. Fallacies - or conclusions that don't follow from their premises - are at the root of most bad arguments, but it can be easy to stumble into a fallacy without realizing it. In this clear and concise guide to good arguments gone bad, Robert Arp, Steven Barbone, and Michael Bruce take readers through 100 of the most infamous fallacies in Western philosophy, identifying the most common missteps, pitfalls, and dead-ends of argumentation. Whether an instance of sunk cost, is ought, affirming the consequent, moving the goal post, begging the question, or the ever-popular slippery slope, each fallacy is enriched by examples drawn from contemporary politics, economics, media, and popular culture, and is supplemented with useful diagrams and tables. At a time in our world when it is crucial to be able to identify and challenge rhetorical half-truths, this book helps readers to better understand flawed argumentation and develop logical literacy. Unrivaled in its breadth of coverage and a worthy companion to its sister volume, Just the Arguments (2011), Bad Arguments is an essential tool for students and general readers looking to hone their critical thinking and rhetorical skills.

Flap

You'll love this book or you'll hate it. So, you're either with us or against us. And if you're against us then you hate books. No true intellectual would hate this book. Ever decide to avoid a restaurant because of one bad meal? Choose a product because a celebrity endorsed it? Or ignore what a politician says because she's not a member of your party? For as long as people have been discussing, conversing, persuading, advocating, proselytizing, pontificating, or otherwise stating their case, arguments have been vulnerable to false assumptions and faulty reasoning. Drawing upon a long history of logical falsehoods and philosophical flubs, Bad Arguments demonstrates how misguided arguments come to be, what we can do to detect them in the rhetoric of others, and how to avoid using them ourselves. Fallacies - or conclusions that don't follow from their premises - are at the root of most bad arguments, but it can be easy to stumble into a fallacy without realizing it. In this clear and concise guide to good arguments gone bad, Robert Arp, Steven Barbone, and Michael Bruce take readers through 100 of the most infamous fallacies in Western philosophy, identifying the most common missteps, pitfalls, and dead-ends of argumentation. Whether an instance of sunk cost, is ought, affirming the consequent, moving the goal post, begging the question, or the ever-popular slippery slope, each fallacy is enriched by examples drawn from contemporary politics, economics, media, and popular culture, and is supplemented with useful diagrams and tables. At a time in our world when it is crucial to be able to identify and challenge rhetorical half-truths, this book helps readers to better understand flawed argumentation and develop logical literacy. Unrivaled in its breadth of coverage and a worthy companion to its sister volume, Just the Arguments (2011), Bad Arguments is an essential tool for students and general readers looking to hone their critical thinking and rhetorical skills.

Author Biography

ROBERT ARP is an instructor of philosophy and a researcher for the US Army. He has published numerous books and articles in philosophy and other areas. More information about his work and research interests can be found on his website. STEVEN BARBONE is an Associate Professor of philosophy at San Diego State University. He has published numerous articles and book chapters on Baruch Spinoza. MICHAEL BRUCE works in the software industry in San Francisco. With Steven Barbone, he edited Just the Arguments (Wiley Blackwell, 2011). An avid researcher in the history of philosophy and psychology, he has been published widely and is an active blogger for Psychology Today.

Table of Contents

Notes on Contributors xiii Introduction 1 Part I Formal Fallacies 35 Propositional Logic 37 1 Affirming a Disjunct 39
Jason Iuliano 2 Affirming the Consequent 42
Brett Gaul 3 Denying the Antecedent 46
Brett Gaul Categorical Logic 49 4 Exclusive Premises 51
Charlene Elsby 5 Four Terms 55
Charlene Elsby 6 Illicit Major and Minor Terms 60
Charlene Elsby 7 Undistributed Middle 63
Charlene Elsby Part II Informal Fallacies 67 Fallacies of Relevance 69 8 Ad Hominem: Bias 71
George Wrisley 9 Ad Hominem: Circumstantial 77
George Wrisley 10 Ad Hominem: Direct 83
George Wrisley 11 Ad Hominem: Tu Quoque 88
George Wrisley 12 Adverse Consequences 94
David Vander Laan 13 Appeal to Emotion: Force or Fear 98
George Wrisley 14 Appeal to Emotion: Pity 102
George Wrisley 15 Appeal to Ignorance 106
Benjamin W. McCraw 16 Appeal to the People 112
Benjamin W. McCraw 17 Appeal to Personal Incredulity 115
Tuomas W. Manninen 18 Appeal to Ridicule 118
Gregory L. Bock 19 Appeal to Tradition 121
Nicolas Michaud 20 Argument from Fallacy 125
Christian Cotton 21 Availability Error 128
David Kyle Johnson 22 Base Rate 133
Tuomas W. Manninen 23 Burden of Proof 137
Andrew Russo 24 Countless Counterfeits 140
David Kyle Johnson 25 Diminished Responsibility 145
Tuomas W. Manninen 26 Essentializing 149
Jack Bowen 27 Galileo Gambit 152
David Kyle Johnson 28 Gambler's Fallacy 157
Grant Sterling 29 Genetic Fallacy 160
Frank Scalambrino 30 Historian's Fallacy 163
Heather Rivera 31 Homunculus 165
Kimberly BaltzerJaray 32 Inappropriate Appeal to Authority 168
Nicolas Michaud 33 Irrelevant Conclusion 172
Steven Barbone 34 Kettle Logic 174
Andy Wible 35 Line Drawing 177
Alexander E. Hooke 36 Mistaking the Relevance of Proximate Causation 181
David Kyle Johnson 37 Moving the Goalposts 185
Tuomas W. Manninen 38 Mystery, Therefore Magic 189
David Kyle Johnson 39 Naturalistic Fallacy 193
Benjamin W. McCraw 40 Poisoning the Well 196
Roberto Ruiz 41 Proving Too Much 201
Kimberly BaltzerJaray 42 Psychologist's Fallacy 204
Frank Scalambrino 43 Red Herring 208
Heather Rivera 44 Reductio ad Hitlerum 212
Frank Scalambrino 45 Argument by Repetition 215
Leigh Kolb 46 Special Pleading 219
Dan Yim 47 Straw Man 223
Scott Aikin and John Casey 48 Sunk Cost 227
Robert Arp 49 Two Wrongs Make a Right 230
David LaRocca 50 Weak Analogy 234
Bertha Alvarez Manninen Fallacies of Ambiguity 239 51 Accent 241
Roberto Ruiz 52 Amphiboly 246
Roberto Ruiz 53 Composition 250
Jason Waller 54 Confusing an Explanation for an Excuse 252
Kimberly BaltzerJaray 55 Definist Fallacy 255
Christian Cotton 56 Division 259
Jason Waller 57 Equivocation 261
Bertha Alvarez Manninen 58 Etymological Fallacy 266
Leigh Kolb 59 Euphemism 270
Kimberly BaltzerJaray 60 Hedging 273
Christian Cotton 61 If by Whiskey 277
Christian Cotton 62 Inflation of Conflict 280
Andy Wible 63 Legalistic Mistake 282
Marco Antonio Azevedo 64 Oversimplification 286
Dan Burkett 65 Proof by Verbosity 289
Phil Smolenski 66 Sorites Fallacy 293
Jack Bowen Fallacies of Presumption 297 67 Accident 299
Steven Barbone 68 All or Nothing 301
David Kyle Johnson 69 Anthropomorphic Bias 305
David Kyle Johnson 70 Begging the Question 308
Heather Rivera 71 Chronological Snobbery 311
A.G. Holdier 72 Complex Question 314
A.G. Holdier 73 Confirmation Bias 317
David Kyle Johnson 74 Conjunction 321
Jason Iuliano 75 Constructive Nature of Perception 324
David Kyle Johnson 76 Converse Accident 330
Steven Barbone 77 Existential Fallacy 332
Frank Scalambrino 78 False Cause: Cum Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc 335
Bertha Alvarez Manninen 79 False Cause: Ignoring Common Cause 338
Bertha Alvarez Manninen 80 False Cause: Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc 342
Bertha Alvarez Manninen 81 False Dilemma 346
Jennifer Culver 82 Free Speech 348
Scott Aikin and John Casey 83 Guilt by Association 351
Leigh Kolb 84 Hasty Generalization 354
Michael J. Muniz 85 Intentional Fallacy 357
Nicolas Michaud 86 Is/Ought Fallacy 360
Mark T. Nelson 87 Masked Man 364
Charles Taliaferro 88 Middle Ground 367
Grant Sterling 89 Mind Projection 369
Charles Taliaferro 90 Moralistic Fallacy 371
Galen Foresman 91 No True Scotsman 374
Tuomas W. Manninen 92 Reification 378
Robert Sinclair 93 Representative Heuristic 382
David Kyle Johnson 94 Slippery Slope 385
Michael J. Muniz 95 Stolen Concept 388
Rory E. Kraft, Jr. 96 Subjective Validation 392
David Kyle Johnson 97 Subjectivist Fallacy 396
Frank Scalambrino 98 Suppressed Evidence 399
David Kyle Johnson 99 Unfalsifiability 403
Jack Bowen 100 Unwarranted Assumption 407
Kimberly BaltzerJaray Index 410  

Long Description

You ll love this book or you ll hate it. So, you re either with us or against us. And if you re against us then you hate books. No true intellectual would hate this book. Ever decide to avoid a restaurant because of one bad meal? Choose a product because a celebrity endorsed it? Or ignore what a politician says because she s not a member of your party? For as long as people have been discussing, conversing, persuading, advocating, proselytizing, pontificating, or otherwise stating their case, arguments have been vulnerable to false assumptions and faulty reasoning. Drawing upon a long history of logical falsehoods and philosophical flubs, Bad Arguments demonstrates how misguided arguments come to be and what we can do to detect them in the rhetoric of others and avoid using them ourselves. Fallacies or conclusions that don t follow from their premises are at the root of most bad arguments, but it can be easy to stumble into a fallacy without realizing it. In this clear and concise guide to good arguments gone bad, Robert Arp, Steven Barbone, and Michael Bruce take readers through 100 of the most infamous fallacies in Western philosophy, identifying the most common missteps, pitfalls, and dead-ends of argumentation. Whether an instance of sunk cost, is ought, affirming the consequent, moving the goal post, begging the question, or the ever-popular slippery slope , each fallacy engages with examples drawn from contemporary politics, economics, media, and popular culture. Further diagrams and tables supplement entries and contextualize common errors in logical reasoning. At a time in our world when it is crucial to be able to identify and challenge rhetorical half-truths, this bookhelps readers to better understand flawed argumentation and develop logical literacy. Unrivaled in its breadth of coverage and a worthy companion to its sister volume, Just the Arguments (2011), Bad Arguments is an essential tool for undergraduate students and general readers looking to hone their critical thinking and rhetorical skills.

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