Fallacy Paper

Fallacy Summary and Application Paper

What information can be gathered from, "Begging the Question," "Hasty Generalization," and "Appealing to Emotion?" Though from first glance, they generally do not have much in common. However, when looking deeper, you will see that they are all different types of logical fallacies. Logical fallacies, by definition, are errors of reasoning. Or, to put it in a simpler form, errors that may be recognized and corrected by prudent thinkers (Downes, 1995). The following quote helps explain why logic is important to us in today's society. "Logic is not everything. But it is somethingÐ'--something which can be taught, something which can be learned, something which can help us in some degree to think more sensibly about the dangerous world in which we live (Fischer, 1970, p. 306)."

Begging the Question is a type of fallacy that is used quite a bit. It is considered to be a fallacy of assuming when trying to prove something. One of the main things to remember with the use of this fallacy is that the term "Begging the Question" has a very specific meaning. This means that if someone was trying to prove something to us but they are not being specific and leave room for more questions, which is why this type of fallacy is said to be a "circular argument."

When you are confronted with something that could possibly a form of "Begging the Question" one should consider all the facts, and question ones self in order to see if all the arguments line up, or if it is an implied interpretation or expression of the writer and/or speaker. One example of "Begging the Question," as can be use by a number of more fallacy's is, "God must exist." One can surmise that God exists because it is written in the Bible. Another might question that assumption by asking, "Why should I believe the Bible?", or "Can the writings in the Bible actually be revered as God's true word, or did someone just make them up?" However, another bigger question could be "Have you actually seen God?" As history has shown, there are many questions surrounding God, and religion, and for some time now, people have beenÐ'..."Begging the Question."

Hasty generalization is a fallacy accepted on the support of a sample that is too small or biased to warrant it. The idea is that these misguided samples represent an entire population, thus giving off false information, and actually swaying a few.

Since information gathered for a Hasty Generalization is obtained when the sample is too small, it is important to note that the information gathered only represents a minute percentage of the population, and a very small demographic. The most reliable way to do this is to take as large a sample as possible, a census if necessary. If the population targeted in question were of a specific ethnicity, and culture, then a small sample would suffice. If the population in question was very diversified, then a fairly large sample would be needed. A Hasty Generalization, like other fallacies, might have a true conclusion; however, if the reasoning is fallacious, there is no need to accept the conclusion based on the information given.

Hasty Generalizations are commonly committed due to bias or prejudice. Also, laziness is a major factorÐ'...not concerned enough to do the actual research required. It is almost too easy to jump to conclusions and harder to gather adequate information that would justify ones conclusion.

One great example of this fallacy that I have seen recently, and is somewhat comedic in my opinion, is an old ad combating drug use. Within this ad, a father finds drugs in his son's room. When confronted, the teenager yells, "You, okay, I learned it by watching you!" Many of us have probably seen, or heard this phrase when growing up, but the ad concludes that parents who do drugs, have children who do drugsÐ'...when in actuality, studies have shown that only a small percentage of children with drug-addicted parents follow in their parent's footsteps. The advertisement is referring to a small percentage, but insists that all parents who do drugs, have children who do drugs.

Appeal to Emotion fallacy is committed when someone manipulates