Material Fallacies

Fallacy is a mistake in argument. A fallacious argument is one that seems to prove its conclusion
but does not, for one of two reasons: material (the use of terms) or formal (the reasoning process).

I. Fallacies of Language

Equivocation -This fallacy is committed when we use one term for two concepts.

To expose the equivocation or double identity of the equivocal term, use these two steps:
1) First identify the word or phrase that shifts its meaning
2) Then identify the two different meanings by using two different words or phrases.

The Golden Rule in this fallacy is to unmake an ambiguity, make a distinction.

Examples:
1. All laws require lawgivers, and the laws of nature are laws, therefore the laws of nature
require a lawgiver.
2. A Russian-English language translator computer was tested by being given this
sentence, “The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak,” to translate into Russian, and
then back into English. It came out: “The vodka is agreeable but the meat is too tender.”
3. I couldn’t work for NASA because safety regulations demand that some missions be
aborted, and I don’t believe in abortion.
4. The English don’t drive on the right side of the road. Therefore they drive on the wrong
side.
5. Nothing is more expensive than diamonds but paper is more expensive than nothing.
Therefore paper is more expensive than diamonds.

Amphiboly - A statement is amphibolous when its meaning is indeterminate because of the loose
or awkward way in which its words are combined.

Examples:
1. The anthropologists went to a remote area and took photographs of some native
women, but they weren't developed. (from Marilyn vos Savant)
2. “It won’t be a real New England clam chowder unless you put your heart into it.” (New
England Homestead, reprinted in The New Yorker 6/12/54)
3. “GUEST FOR LUNCH ONE WAY TO SOLVE EATING PROBLEM” (headline in
the Providence Bulletin, reprinted in The New Yorker 5/8/54)
4. (Advertisement): “Dogs bathed, fleas removed and returned to your house for $40.”

Accent - When a premise relies for its apparent meaning on one possible emphasis, but a
conclusion is drawn from it that relies on the meaning of the same words accented differently, the
fallacy of accent is committed.

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 Example:
I do not choose to run this time. (But perhaps he will.)
I do not choose to run this time. (I choose not to run.)
I do not choose to run this time. (But I can be forced.)
I do not choose to run this time. (But I can be drafted.)
I do not choose to run this time. (But I may do it tomorrow.)

Slanting - Instead of proving that the thing it describes is good or bad, it assumes its value or
disvalue in the very description of it – e.g. calling an idea “enlightened” or “radical,” “traditional”
or “stagnant,” “flexible” or “fickle.” This is an equivocation or double meaning because it both
describes and evaluates at once, in a single word. It both denotes a fact and connotes an evaluating
attitude toward the fact.

Slanting can also be done by omitting relevant information and by selecting only favorable
or only unfavorable data.

One of the most common forms of slanting is the euphemism: The Holocaust was called
“the final solution to the Jewish problem,” and the slaughter of civilians in war is called collateral
damage.” Slavery was defended by some such linguistic indirection as the following: “Since a
gradation of human enterprise is necessary for the optimal functioning of human society, there
must be a lowest position on the spectrum; and since this position is odious to the majority of
humankind, it is necessary to enforce its occupation by establishing appropriate civil structures to
protect it.”

Slogans – There is no fallacy in a slogan as such, but in its use as a substitute for argument.

Example:
1. Person A: I’m pro-life.
B: Why?
A: Because of that bumper sticker: ‘A Child, Not a Choice.’
B: Well, I’m pro-choice. Because of the bumper sticker: ‘Every Woman’s Right to
Choose’

2. Chris: Why are you voting for the incumbent?

Mark: You know the saying ‘Don’t change horses in the middle of the stream.’ And ‘If it ain’t
broke, don’t fix it.’

Hyperbole – “Hyperbole” means “exaggeration.” This is routinely done by “media hype.” For
instance, note every occurrence of the word “crisis” in your daily newspaper. How many are really
crises and how many are only “a tempest in a teapot?” Do the same with the word “shocking.”
Surely it is highly ironic that this word is used more and more as the public find less and less to be
shocked at.
Another form of hyperbole is the “absurd extension” of the other speaker’s claim.

Examples
1. “You need to clean up your room.” “Oh, so you want me to be your slave.”

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 2. “You can’t stay out all night. You’re only sixteen.” “My life is ruined. I’m a prisoner in
my own home forever.”
3. “Oh, so you’re against pornography. You must be against freedom of speech.”

Straw Man – The ‘straw man’ fallacy consists in refuting an unfairly weak, stupid, or ridiculous
version of your opponent’s idea (either his conclusion or his argument) instead of the more
reasonable idea he actually holds. You first set up a “straw man,” or scarecrow, then knock it
down, since a straw man is easy to knock down.
To avoid such fallacy, it is important that you must first state your opponent’s idea in your
own words (to be sure you understand the idea instead of just parroting the words), to his
satisfaction before you go on to refute it.
Example
The optimist may “refute” the pessimist by noting htat “not everything is bad”, and the pessimist
may “refute” the optimist by noting that “not everything is good.”
II. Fallacies of Diversion

Ad hominem – argument addressed to the person

Two Kinds
1. Poisoning the Well – the direct attack on the trustworthiness of the person

Examples
a. “How could you possibly counsel married couples? You’ve never been
married.”
b. “What do you know? You’re not a teenager.”

2. Tu quoque (“you too”) – consists of accusing your critic of the same thing your
critic accuses you of, rather than defending yourself against the criticism

Example
Judge: You have just been convicted or petty larceny.
Prisoner: Your honor, I just looked up your salary; you get $200,000 a year.
If I’m a thief, you’re a bigger one.

Ad verecundiam – means “the appeal to reverence.” or the appeal to illegitimate authority. Here,
the authority becomes illegitimate when the authority is irrelevant, unreliable and dogmatic.

Examples
1.
According to 75% convicted felons, the Philippine justice system is unjust.
2.
There must be something to astrology; my mother swears by it.
“Ho Chi Minh was not a tyrant.” “How do you know that?” “Jane Fonda said so.”
3.
“Mary was assumed into Heaven.” “How do you know that?” “The Church said
4.
so.”
5. “Allah hates the aggressor.” “How do you know what Allah thinks?” “It’s in the
Qur’an”.
Ad baculum – appeal to force (“baculum” means “stick”)

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Examples
1. Of course there’s a real Santa Claus, but he doesn’t bring presents to children who
don’t believe in him.
2. Before you answer, remember who pays your salary.

Ad misericordiam – appeal to pity

Examples
1. If you don’t see your way clear to commit adultery with me, I will despair and
probably kill myself.
2. Officer, I don’t deserve a speeding ticket: my dog just died, my mother-in-law
moved in and my tax is being audited.

Ad ignominiam – appeal to shame; Shame itself is not a fallacy; but deciding what to do or say
by appealing only to shame is a logical fallacy because it is a diversion from objective truth, facts
and evidence.

Examples
1. You’re going to talk to teenagers about chastity? You’ll be a laughing stock.
They’ll call you a Puritan behind your back, and a weirdo. Prepare for a big blush.
2. What? You’re going to be a lawyer? Is it because you want people to tell jokes on
you?

Ad populum – fallacy of believing or doing something only because it is popular

Examples
1. Capital punishment can’t be wrong; 75% of the people support it.
2. Heroism? Who believes in that today?

Ad ignorantiam – appeal to ignorance; An idea must be true because we do not know that it is
not.

Examples
1. He can’t prove he earned that money so he must have stole it.
2. How can there be a war going on? I haven’t seen any evidence of it.
3. God must exist because I’ve never seen any proof that he doesn’t

III. Fallacies of Oversimplification

Dicto simpliciter – Application of a general principle to a special case without qualification

Examples
1. Man is a rational animal. Therefore even a lazy student can pass a logic course.
2. “Man has been progressively more lenient, first to citizens, then to slaves, then to
animals, and then (presumably) to plants. I think it wrong to sit on a man; soon, I shall

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 think it wrong to sit on a horse; eventually (I suppose) I shall think it wrong to sit on a
chair.” (G.K. Chesterton, Orthodoxy)

Special Case – the fallacy rooted on the principle that something is true in some special case,
therefore it is rue simply.

Examples
1. There are a lot of lazy students who can’t pass a logic course. Therefore man is not
rational.
2. “If women ran the world, we’d have fewer wars.” “Oh yeah? Lizzie Borden was a
multiple axe murderer. That goes to show you how aggressive women are.”

Composition – Ignoring the fact that what is true of the part is not necessarily true of the whole.

Examples
1. Texas has more millionaires than any other state, therefore Texas is the riches state.
2. Every one of the actors in this movie is great, so it must be a great movie.
3. “There’s a bug on this blade of grass.” “My goodness, you certainly have a buggy
lawn.”

Division – Ignoring the fact that what is true to the whole is not always true to the part.

Examples
1. If ten glasses of wine per meal is harmful to health, then one glass of wine per meal
must also be harmful to health, for it cannot be that many good things make one
bad thing.
2. Irishmen are scattered all over the world. Patrick is an Irishman. Therefore Pat is
scattered all over the world.
3. Businessmen are cruel. You are a businessman hence you are cruel.

Black and White Fallacy – consists in arguing “it is not this one extreme, therefore it must be the
opposite extreme”

Examples
1. “Do you hate me?” “No.” “How wonderful! You love me!”
2. No man is perfect, therefore all men are wicked.
3. Few men are wicked, therefore most men are innocent.

Quoting out of Context – The meaning of this fallacy is quite clear from its name. It comes in
two main forms: the context that is ignored can be either literary or real. In the literary form, it is
simply the text before and after the quoted part that is the context ignored. In the other form, it is
the real, lived situation surrounding the spoken words. What is ignored is relevant facts such as
who the speaker was addressing, the relationship between the two, what issue they were discussing,
and what else was said.

Example

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Anton: “I am the Great Truth-Teller. No one can make me tell a lie.”
Brian: “I can. Watch me. Tell me, is it bad to lie?”
Anton: “Yes.”
Brian: “So I should avoid it?”
Anton: “Yes.”
Brian: “In order to avoid it, I must know what it is, right?”
Anton: “Of course.”
Brian: “But I am confused about what it is to tell a lie. Please teach me.”
Anton: “How?”
Brian: “I learn best by examples. So give me an example.”
Anton: “All right. I am a Martian.”
Brian: “Aha! The Great Truth-Teller has told a lie.”

Steoreotyping – Socially-fabricated qualities we attached on different groups or classes. Like the

Dicto simpliciter, it makes no exceptions

Examples
1. You’re tall; you must play basketball.
2. You’re black; you must dance well.
3. You’re a cannibal; you must be primitive.” (The movie “The Silence of the Lambs”
shredded that stereotype.)

IV. Fallacies of Argumentation

Non sequitur – an argument in which the conclusion does not logically, necessarily, follow from
the premises; an argument in which it is possible that the premises be true yet the conclusion false.
But this specific fallacy of non sequitur is a material fallacy, not a formal one. It depends on the
content of the propositions, not the logical form.

Examples
The sky is blue.
The sea is blue.
Therefore the sky is the sea.

Is a formal fallacy. But

Grass is green.
I feel depressed today.
Therefore the grass is to blame for my depression.

Is a non sequitur.

All courthouses are buildings.

Therefore all buildings are courthouses.

Is a formal fallacy. But

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I hate courthouses.
Therefore you will lose your case in court today.

Is a non sequitur.

Ignoratio Elenchi – irrelevant conclusion

- this consists in giving reasons that prove a different conclusion than the one
the argument purports.
Example
a. It may be argued that socialized medicine is necessary because many poor people
die due to lack of adequate basic medical care. The premise is true, and certainly
proves something in the area of social needs, but it does not prove that socialized
medicine is necessary or even useful to attain this end.

b. Neville Chamberlain argued for England’s appeasement of Hitler on the grounds

that peace was preferable to war. The premise is true, but did not support his
conclusion; in fact, his appeasement encouraged Hitler to go to war.

Begging the Question – assuming what you set out to prove, smuggling the conclusion back into
the premises, usually under different words.

Examples
1. Moliere’s doctor asked, “Why does opium make one sleepy,” answered, “Because it
possesses sleep-inducing power.”

2. The accused will be given a fair trial before he is hanged.

3. Interviewer: "Your resume looks impressive but I need another reference."

Bill:"Jill can give me a good reference."
Interviewer: "Good. But how do I know that Jill is trustworthy?"
Bill: "Certainly. I can vouch for her."

Complex Question – a question with hidden assumption

Examples
1. Do you think we should keep having these useless meetings or not?
2. Are you more hopelessly stupid today than yesterday, or not?”

Arguing in a Circle – using a conclusion to justify a premise after having used the premise to
justify that conclusion

Example
“I want to be happy.”
“How can you be happy?”
“By doing what I want.”

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 “What is it that you want?”
“To be happy.”

Contradictory Premises
Examples
1. The only thing we have to fear is fear itself.
2. We can know nothing.
3. There are absolutely no absolutes.
4. I will not tolerate intolerance!
5. The trouble with people like is you’re always stereotyping people like us.

V. Fallacies of Induction

Hasty Generalization – an inference made from some specific examples to a general principle

Examples
1. All the swans we’ve ever seen were white, so all swans must be white. (“All swans are
white” was a classic logic textbook example of a universal proposition – until a rare species
of black swan was discovered.)
2. Modern philosophers are atheists. Look at Machiavelli and Hobbes and Locke. (Descartes,
Berkeley, Spinoza and Leibniz are theists.)
3. We went to three ball games this year and the home team lost each one. They’re losers.

Post Hoc – Post hoc ergo propter hoc (after that therefore caused by that)
- it consists in inferring that one thing is the cause of another simply because
the firs thing is observed to occur before the second thing.

Hypothesis Contrary to Fact – “if only” fallacy

- it consists in arguing that if only x were true, which it isn’t then y would be
true.

Example
If the Italians had believed in clocks, their trains would have run on time. If their trains
had run on time, they would not have thought Mussolini was a god for his miracle of making the
trains run on time. If they had not thought Mussolini was a god, they would never have let him
become dictator. If he had not been dictator, Hitler would not have had him as his ally. If Hitler
had not had him as his ally, he would not have had to bail him out when he invaded Greece and
Yugoslavia. If he did not have to do that, Hitler could have invaded Russia earlier. If he had
invaded Russia earlier, he would have conquered Russia. If he had conquered Russia, he could
have fought a one-front war, he could have invaded England. If he had invaded England, he would
have conquered it. If he had conquered England, he would have ruled all Europe. If he had ruled
all Europe, he would have ruled the world. If he had ruled the world, we would all have been
brought up under Nazi propaganda and would have been Nazis. So the only reason we are not all
Nazis is because the Italians did not believe in clocks.

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False Analogy – Analogies are rightly used to suggest or stimulate the mind to move from one of
two similar things to the other, just as similes do, and also metaphors, which are implicit similes,
without the word “like”.
- Analogies are fallacies when
i. Using a false analogy, one that is not a real resemblance, or in
ii. Using an analogy falsely, by assuming that when two things are similar in
one way they will also be similar in another way.

Example
If you were a woman who one morning awoke to find that you had been kidnapped, strapped to a
hospital bed, and unwillingly hooked up to a famous violinist’s circulatory system through
intravenous tubes, and then told that if you pulled out these tubes the violinist would die, since he
needs your rare blood type in continuous transfusion in order to live, it would not be wrong for
you to protest and pull out the tubes. Therefore, when a woman is unwillingly pregnant it is not
wrong for her to have an abortion. (Analogy from Judith Jarvis Thompson)
- Are babies and famous violinists the same?

Math is easy. It’s just a piece of cake. (Is Math and cake the same?)

Argument from Silence – When a speaker or writer is silent about x, we cannot conclude that he
does not believe in x, or that there is no x. The fallacy called the “argument from silence” does just
that. Western legal systems recognize this fallacy in the principle that “silence betokeneth
nothing” (used by Thomas More).

Example:
Notice that this author never once refers to her husband and there is no evidence whatever of any
reference to her husband, in any documents of her time or later, by her friends or by her enemies.
Therefore she must have been married

Selective Evidence – Referring only to the evidence that tends to support your hypothesis and
ignoring the evidence that tends to refute it.

Slanting the Question – This is a fallacy that occurs especially in polls. Pollsters can obtain
almost any result they want if only they slant the question in a certain way.

Examples
Examine the difference between the two sets of questions.
1. Do you support the right of a woman to freely choose whether or not to carry her pregnancy
to term?
Do you support the right to life of all human beings at all stages of development from
conception to natural death?

2. Don’t you think people are entitled to basic health care?

Do you think we should be forced to pay for socialized medicine?

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