The Types of Fallacies Essay Example for Free

The Types of Fallacies Essay * â€Å"Argument† from pity: when feeling sorry for someone drives us to a position on an unrelated matter * We have a job that needs doing; Helen can barely support her starving children and needs work desperately. But does Helen have the skills we need? We may not care if she does; and if we don’t, nobody can fault us for hiring her out of compassion. But feeling sorry for Helen may lead us to misjudge her skills or overestimate her abilities, and that is a mistake in reasoning. * â€Å"Argument† from envy: When we find fault with a person because of envy * â€Å"Well, he may have a lot of money but he certainly has bad manners† would be an example of this if it is envy that prompts us to criticize him. Apple Polishing: Pride can lead us to exaggerate our own accomplishments and abilities and lead to our making other irrelevant judgments * Moore recently sat on a jury in a criminal case involving alleged prostitution and pandering at a strip club; the defendant’s attorney told the members of the jury it would take â€Å"an unusually discerning jury† to see that the law, despite its wording, wasn’t really intended to apply to someone like his client. Ultimately the jury members did find with the defense, but let us hope it wasn’t because the attorney flattered their ability to discern things. Guilt trip: Eliciting feelings of guilt to get others to do or not do something, or to accept the view that they should or should not do it * â€Å"How could you not invite Trixie to your wedding? She would never do that to you and you know she must be very hurt. † The remark is intended to make someone feel sorry for Trixie, but even more fundamentally it is supposed to induce a sense of guilt. * Wishful thinking: when we accept or urge acceptance (or rejection) of a claim simply because it would be pleasant (or unpleasant) if it were true. Some people, for example, may believe in God simply on the basis of wishful thinking or desire for an afterlife. A smoker may refuse to acknowledge the health hazards of smoking. We’ve had students who are in denial about the consequences of cutting classes. * Peer pressure â€Å"argument†: A desire for acceptance can motivate us to accept a claim not because of its merits, but because we will gain someone’s approval (or will avoid having approval withdrawn). Group think: when one substitutes pride of membership in a group for reason and deliberation in arriving at a position on an issue; and let’s include the fallacy in our list of the top ten fallacies of all time, because it is exceedingly common. * involves one’s sense of group identification, which people experience when they are part of a group—a team, a club, a school, a gang, a state, a nation, the Elks, Wal-Mart, the U. S. A. Mauritius, you name it. * Nationalism (a form of â€Å"GROUP THINK†): a powerful and fierce emotion that can lead to blind endorsement of a country’s policies and practices. (â€Å"My country right or wrong† explicitly discourages critical thinking and encourages blind patriotism. ) Nationalism is also invoked to reject, condemn, or silence criticism of one’s country as unpatriotic or treasonable (and may or may not involve an element of peer pressure). If a letter writer expresses a criticism of America on the opinion page of your local newspaper on Monday, you can bet that by the end of the week there will be a response dismissing the criticism with the â€Å"argument† that if so-and-so doesn’t like it here, he or she ought to move to Russia (or Cuba or Afghanistan or Iraq). * Rationalizing: when we use a false pretext to satisfy our own desires or interests * Let’s say Mr. Smith decides to do something really nice for his wife on her birthday and buys her a new table saw. â€Å"This saw wasn’t cheap,† he tells her. But you’re going to be glad we have it, because it will keep me out in the garage and out of your way when you’re working here in the house. † * â€Å"Argument† from popularity: when we urge someone to accept a claim (or fall prey to someone’s doing it to us) simply on the grounds that all or most or some substantial number of people (other than authorities or experts, of course) believe it * â€Å"Argument† from common practice: trying to justify or defend an action or practice (as distinguished from an assertion or claim) on the grounds that it is common. â€Å"I shouldn’t get a speeding ticket because everyone drives over the limit† would be an example. â€Å"Everyone cheats on their taxes, so I don’t see why I shouldn’t† would be another. * â€Å"Argument† from tradition: People do things because that’s the way things have always been done, and they believe things because that’s what people have always believed * The fact that it’s a tradition among most American children to believe in Santa Claus, for instance, doesn’t prove Santa Claus exists; and the fact it’s also a tradition for most American parents to deceive their kids about Santa Claus doesn’t necessarily mean it is okay for them to do so.

Bobs World :: essays research papers

Bob's World "Bobby," yelled his mother in a shrill voice. "Bobby, you have to get up and go to school today!" "But mom, I have to work at school and I can't watch TV there," Bob pleaded. "Besides I get the lowest marks in my class because the work is so easy that I get bored." "Just come and have your breakfast and go to school," she ordered him. As Bob headed towards school, he saw one of his friends skateboarding down the street. "Yo Bob, you wanna try my board, man?" the youth asked. "No thanks, my knee is acting up again," Bob replied. "Sure man, whatever you say dude," was the reply he got as the youth skated away at top speed. "Hi Bob," came the voice of Lucille as she came up to walk to school with him. "Hi Lucille," Bob replied shyly. Bob and Lucille were good friends. Bob wished that they could go out on a date but, he knew there was several reasons why they would not make a good couple. First Lucille had told him that she did not like it if her boyfriend was a lot smarter and better at sports than her. After-all they were so different. She worked so hard to get stuff done while he needed very little time if any at all. She was the captain of the soccer and basketball teams while, if his knee was better, he could beat her at any sport. He knew they were just so different they were fated not to be together. The two friends chatted their way to school. She talked about her sports games and practices and how much homework she had while he talked about the TV shows he had watched. When they got to school they said their good-bye's -- she had trigonometry and he had basic computers. As the teacher started her usual rant about this and that, Bob turned to his brilliant (like him) friend John when he said. "Hey man didn't I see you walking with that Lucille chick?" John asked him. "Ya I mean she isn't smart or as good at sports like you and me but I like her anyway," Bob replied. "But Bob man, she just smacks of effort, how does one person do so much work?" John asked Bob. "I know that is a serious letdown, doing stuff sucks, I don't know why she does it," Bob used his usual drowsy voice.

How the Police Access Data to Obtain Criminal Information Essay

Advancement in technology has completely changed the way in which law enforcement agents obtain information, organize and make use of that information (Foster, 2005). Foster (2005) states that technology has enhanced the use of information both in strategic and tactical sense. Scientific criminal investigation is one of the earliest methods of obtaining information concerning crime and criminals. Fingerprint classification is a very good example of scientific criminal investigation. Information technology has greatly enhanced the use of fingerprints in criminal investigation (Foster, 2005). Interviewing is the other method used by law enforcement agents to obtain information. Uncle Bob was asked a few questions by the law enforcement officer in order to collect information concerning his name, address and driving license number. All information concerning criminal activities of an individual, collected by law enforcement and which law enforcement officers have access to, is taken as privileged information (Foster, 2005). This implies that this information is for official use only. Law enforcement agencies have general access to a wide range of information of the common man that is confidential and protected by law. The information retained by law enforcement agencies runs the spectrum from crime reports to personnel records (Pattavina, 2005). Police officers gather a great deal of information, which they preserve for a long time. Majority of the law enforcement agencies in the United States have computerized files and criminal records. This implies that most of the law enforcement officers in the country have access to computerized criminal histories (Pattavina, 2005). Criminal justice information systems contain all information collected in and used in the criminal justice system. This information include: state drivers’ license records, privately gathered information and personal data in addition to court transcripts of testimony. Police records on the other hand deal with information gathered, preserved as well as organized by the police (Foster, 2005). A fully integrated law enforcement record management system has the capacity to access to all other records preserved by different criminal justice organizations. The Florida police department was able to obtain information concerning the weight, height, and criminal history of uncle Bob because its record management system is fully integrated. A fully integrated record management system is made up of various smaller systems whose main role is to exchange information with a master server (Foster, 2005). Law enforcement management system, as stated by Pattavina (2005), is a comprehensive system that allows for the capture in addition to transmission of information from a wide range of sources and also allows for different types of information queries in addition to bridging law enforcement agencies to outside sources of information (Foster, 2005). Law enforcement agencies make use of the internet to exchange information on matters of national security (Pattavina, 2005). Miami Police Department obtained criminal and personal information of uncle Bob through the internet. Communication between the police officer in the field and his agency was enhanced by the fact that law enforcement officers can access a wide range of reference manuals as well as policy in searchable online databases (Foster, 2005). The internet is one of the major technology developments that supplements law enforcement communication schemes. Uncle Bob is likely to be charged with over speeding. It can therefore be concluded that advancement in technology has completely changed the way in which law enforcement agents obtain information, organize and make use of information. Interviewing is one of the major approaches employed by law enforcement agents to gather information. Communication between law enforcement officers in the field with their agencies as well as between different criminal justice organizations is enhanced by integration of Internet in communication system.

Personal Experience Persuave Communication - 1063 Words

Coming into Persuasive Communication, I didn’t really know what to expect. A couple of my roommates and friends had taken and recommended the course, and I needed a second year writing GEC, so I decided to enroll in persuasive communication. My original opinion of persuasive communication was a very basic one; convincing someone to do something or to feel a certain way. However, as we progressed through the course, I realized that there was a lot more to persuasive communication than just having valid points, the way you present those points are often what determine whether or not you are successful in persuading. When coming up with a strategy to make your persuasion successful, there are numerous factors that can either help or hinder your success. One of the main factors is the audience. Factors such as the audiences’ gender, level of self-monitoring, and level of intimacy can make or break your persuasive message. This is where communication analysis is necessary. Taking the time to research, study, and learn about the audience is almost as important as the time spent on creating the actual presentation. Different types of audiences have different feelings and beliefs, and if you are not aware of those beliefs, you could easily offend some people, making them very unlikely to do whatever it is that you are trying to convince them to do. The importance of knowing and understanding the audience was definitely one of the main things I have taken from this course. When it