WHAT IS A LOGICAL FALLACY?
A Logical fallacy is an error or oversight that alters proper reasoning. These errors found in reasoning or argument invalidate the conclusion of such reasoning or argument. These errors are sometimes intentional, especially in the political sphere, and unintentional at other times. These fallacies corrupt, deceive and undermine both the actor and victim of these fallacies. One's ability to spot these errors gives them an edge in discerning between a right and a wrong judgment. One's ability to make sound arguments that are free of errors or mistakes is a priceless skill.
FIVE FALLACIES THAT NEGATIVELY AFFECT OUR LIVES
- Ad hominem fallacy
- False dilemma/False dichotomy
- Slippery slope fallacy
- Tu quoque fallacy
- Bandwagon fallacy
Ad hominem fallacy
Ad Hominem is a Latin word, meaning "against the man". When the focus of an argument shifts from facing the issue in question to attacking someone's personality or other physical characteristics, it is an Ad hominem fallacy. This is a fallacy where people undermine someone else's view on a matter because of their characteristics such as their Family background, fashion, stature, socio-economic status, etc and so many other features of the person. Someone could say I don't agree with Mr. A's proposition because he is from Africa. The argument presented by Mr. A may be reasonable and even better than that held by this individual, but he fails to see it because of this type of fallacy. The act of using words to attack people's personal characteristics does not say anything about the truth or falsehood of their claims. This is usually used in politics to manipulate the mind of the masses against one's opponent. When people fall for this, there is uncertainty in the competency of the emerging winner of the elections because he was not voted in based on his competency but rather on his ability to mudsling his opponent very much that he gains the favor of the masses. He played the saint while tarnishing his opponent's image. If this form of fallacy were physical stones, I bet nobody who sat to listen to the debate between Trump and Biden would have left there in good shape. When deciding on matters in our daily lives, we should make sure that this fallacy does not constitute the greater part of our reasoning. Though it may be useful to consider personal characteristics at times, it should not be the horse that moves the cart.
False dilemma/False dichotomy
This fallacy is also regarded as either-or fallacy or false dichotomy. This mode of reasoning errs by limiting the options that are open to people to just two. It is either you are white or black. It is either you love pop music or you hate music, either we go to war or we appear weak. It is either you love reasoning or religion. These are false dichotomies. What this fallacy does is that it oversimplify a wider range of options. It takes away one's right to choose from a wide range of options. Dilemma-based arguments are only correct when, in fact, there are more than the stated options. It is not a fallacy where there are actually only two options to choose from. For instance, people may say something like, If you don't love Micheal Jackson's songs, then you don't know good music. What does that even mean! Someone may not be a fan of Micheal's music but listen to some other good music. This line of reasoning or fallacy is usually employed as a manipulative tool by politicians and peer groups to influence people's decisions. Among female peers, you can hear something like " Angela doesn't have a boyfriend at 18; that's so immature of her". In this case you are manipulated into either having a boyfriend at 18 or risk being tagged immature by peers. Many possibilities could explain why Angela doesn't have a boyfriend at 18, so it's a false dichotomy to say either she has a boyfriend at 18 or she is immature. Hope you get the point? The false dilemma fallacy is often a manipulative tool designed to cause people to separate into two opposing groups by heroicizing one side and debasing the other.
Slippery slope fallacy
This line of reasoning draws a definite improbable conclusion from a series of imagined premises that builds from a benign state to a very consequential position. Jimmy's Dad may say something like: "Hey jimmy If you don't pass your exams, you won't be admitted into college and therefore would be unable to get a job; With no job, you would have no money, and would eventually resort to stealing for survival. When eventually caught, you would spend most of your life in prison!" Jimmy's father moved from a benign premise to an improbable extreme. This type of fallacy is worse if jimmy's father manages to get jimmy to grow into thinking that way. It may look like a piece of good advice on surface assimilation, but deeper probing into this kind of argument exposes the dangers. The effects are the same for seemingly positive arguments with the same slippery slope pattern. The dangers of a positive argument with this same pattern is that it may present one with an unrealistic future and false hope.
This fallacy is not just a long series of causes. Some cause-and-effect chains are perfectly correlational or reasonable. There could be a complicated series of causes that are all related, and we may have a good reason for expecting the first cause to generate the last outcome. The slippery slope fallacy however suggests that unlikely or ridiculous outcomes are likely when there is not enough evidence to think so. The slippery slope fallacy, when used as an intentional excuse may be inconsequential, however, it becomes a problem when it forms a mental picture of a person's life, and thus forms the foundation upon which conclusions on various life's issues are made. It can also be used as a manipulative tool.
Tu quoque fallacy
Tu quoque is Latin for "you too". it is also called the "appeal to hypocrisy" because it distracts from the argument by pointing out the hypocrisy in the opponent. Here people focus on the other person's hypocrisy as a diversionary tactic by accusing the other person of the same problem or something similar. Identifying hypocrisy in the other person does not make a person any less guilty. People do this to shift criticism from themselves by accusing the other person of committing similar acts. If Mike says " maybe I cheated to get good grades but you also cheated when you were much younger, didn't you?" Mike is trying to defend his action by projecting blame to others. Whether or not others cheated doesn't nullify or mitigate the fact that Mike cheated and should bear full responsibility for his actions. The tu quoque fallacy is intended to shift blame and distract from the standing issue.
It should be noted that it is not a fallacy to simply point out hypocrisy where it occurs. For example, Mike may say I cheated, Jack cheated, you cheated but I am still responsible for my actions. I am sorry and I promise not to get involved in cheating again. In this case, Mike isn't defending himself or excusing his actions, rather he is admitting his part within a larger problem. It only becomes a tu quoque fallacy when the arguer uses hypocrisy found in others to neutralize or mitigate criticism and distract from the issue. People who are prone to this kind of reasoning may never be able to get to the position of self-actualization in life.
Bandwagon fallacy
This is a very common form of fallacy. The bandwagon fallacy assumes something is true or right because other people agree with it. This fallacy can be subdivided into:
Ad Populum fallacy - this is when something is considered right or true because it is popular.
Consensus gentium - is when something is accepted because the relevant authorities or people all agree on it.
Status appeal fallacy - is when something is accepted because it has the reputation that makes one look popular, successful, or important. This tactic is usually used by marketers, salespeople, and advertisers to lure people to buy their products. Every successful person takes coffee at least twice a day; buy orion coffee today for a successful life.
Bandwagon fallacy also causes pluralistic ignorance. Sometimes we want to do something we know is right to do but may neglect to do so because others are not doing so. While walking on a road, you may see someone who seems to be experiencing an attack, you have an urge to help that person but you walk past that person because other people also passed by without helping. Since the majority of people didn't help, you feel it is the right thing to do or at least you feel compelled not to help. When everyone accepts the status quo, nobody probes its validity. The fact that many people accept something to be true does not always mean it is right. Scientists once thought the earth was round and the whole world believed it until they later ascertained it is spherical. Who knows, maybe it is actually triangular; I am just saying.
Successful people have the habit of probing their status quo with the desire to change it for the better.
These fallacies constitute a great chunk of our daily lives and often go unspotted. I hope you can identify these fallacies when you see them as you go through life.
