Instructor

Discuss the ten fallacies.

[JSmiley]

you mean of logic?

These are the ones I can remember:

Slippery slope argument
Circular argument

What are the others? I seem to remember that they have fancy latin names.

Slippery slope arguments take a small detail and exaggerate the consequences of that detail repeatedly until almost any conclusion can be reached. ie: If I buy you a candy then you will eat too much candy and become addicted to it and then have to spend all your money on dentists bills, never be able to attract a woman later in life because you are so poor, and commit suicide unhappy and alone when you are 37 years old. Therefore I'm sorry but I can't buy you a candy.

Circular arguments are the kind of logic that uses the conclusion to justify the conclusion itself. ie: A PS3 is the best video game system so if you are going to buy a video game system the best choice is the PS3

But I remember from highschool there were a lot more, so if you have a list of the 10 you are thinking about, it may facilitate discussion if you posted it.

links:
Fallacy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Logical fallacy - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

[BobK]

Originally Posted by JSmiley

you mean of logic?

These are the ones I can remember:

Slippery slope argument
Circular argument

What are the others? I seem to remember that they have fancy latin names.

...

One of those: Ad hominem - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Another: Petitio principi, alias Begging the question - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (or maybe this duplicates Jesse's last.)


b

[eflnow]

Such erudition is enlightening! My compliments to JSmiley and BobK!

[JSmiley]

worth mentioning: false premises

These are premises taken to be valid for a reason that is not rigorous, like a correlation in time (one happend, then two happend, therefore one caused two), basis on probability (a chance is not a proof), presupposition (We have A, and some unfounded rule, so A caused B), Ad Hominim....

Basically all logical thought is a method of attacking any premise until it has been rigorously tested and shown not to be false. Then the process of deduction becomes the simplest part. Logic is only as good as its founding premises, so whether you know a list of n fallacies or not, if you can attack the premise properly then you will avoid a fallacy of any name.

We each have one or two that we are personally susceptible to though. We would all do well to learn and remember our personal worsts.