Logic Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ===Fallacies=== Not all arguments live up to the standards of correct reasoning. When they do not, they are usually referred to as [[Fallacy|fallacies]]. Their central aspect is not that their conclusion is false but that there is some flaw with the reasoning leading to this conclusion.{{sfnm|1a1=Hansen|1y=2020|2a1=Chatfield|2y=2017|2p=194}} So the argument "it is sunny today; therefore spiders have eight legs" is fallacious even though the conclusion is true. Some theorists, like [[John Stuart Mill]], give a more restrictive definition of fallacies by additionally requiring that they appear to be correct.{{sfnm|1a1=Walton|1y=1987|1loc=1. A new model of argument|1pp=7|2a1=Hansen|2y=2020}} This way, genuine fallacies can be distinguished from mere mistakes of reasoning due to carelessness. This explains why people tend to commit fallacies: because they have an alluring element that seduces people into committing and accepting them.{{sfn |Hansen |2020}} However, this reference to appearances is controversial because it belongs to the field of [[psychology]], not logic, and because appearances may be different for different people.{{sfnm|1a1=Hansen|1y=2020|2a1=Walton|2y=1987|2loc=3. Logic of propositions|2pp=63}} [[File:Young America's dilemma - Dalrymple. LCCN2010651418.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|alt=Poster from 1901|Young America's dilemma: Shall I be wise and great, or rich and powerful? (poster from 1901) This is an example of a [[false dilemma]]: an [[informal fallacy]] using a disjunctive premise that excludes viable alternatives.]] Fallacies are usually divided into [[formal fallacy|formal]] and informal fallacies.{{sfnm|1a1=Vleet|1y=2010|1loc=Introduction|1pp=ixβx|2a1=Dowden|3a1=Stump}} For formal fallacies, the source of the error is found in the ''form'' of the argument. For example, [[denying the antecedent]] is one type of formal fallacy, as in "if Othello is a bachelor, then he is male; Othello is not a bachelor; therefore Othello is not male".{{sfnm|1a1=Sternberg|2a1=Stone|2y=2012|2pp=327β356}} But most fallacies fall into the category of informal fallacies, of which a great variety is discussed in the academic literature. The source of their error is usually found in the ''content'' or the ''context'' of the argument.{{sfnm|1a1=Walton|1y=1987|1loc=1. A new model of argument|1pp=2β4|2a1=Dowden|3a1=Hansen|3y=2020}} Informal fallacies are sometimes categorized as fallacies of ambiguity, fallacies of presumption, or fallacies of relevance. For fallacies of ambiguity, the ambiguity and vagueness of natural language are responsible for their flaw, as in "feathers are light; what is light cannot be dark; therefore feathers cannot be dark".{{sfnm|1a1=Engel|1y=1982|1loc=2. The medium of language|1pp=59β92|2a1=Mackie|2y=1967|3a1=Stump}} Fallacies of presumption have a wrong or unjustified premise but may be valid otherwise.{{sfnm|1a1=Stump|2a1=Engel|2y=1982|2loc=4. Fallacies of presumption|2pp=143β212}} In the case of fallacies of relevance, the premises do not support the conclusion because they are not relevant to it.{{sfnm|1a1=Stump|2a1=Mackie|2y=1967}} Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. If you do not want your writing to be edited mercilessly, then do not submit it here. You are also promising us that you wrote this yourself, or copied it from a public domain or similar free resource (see Christianpedia:Copyrights for details). Do not submit copyrighted work without permission! Cancel Editing help (opens in new window) Discuss this page