Logical Fallacies

vegetables are bad for you after all the dinosaurs ate plants and we all know what happened to them let's pause for a moment that argument was ridiculous and that's because it contained a logical fallacy a logical fallacy is any kind of error in reasoning that renders an argument invalid they can involve distorting or manipulating facts drawing false conclusions or distracting you from the actual issue at hand in theory it seems like they'd be pretty easy to spot but this isn't always the case sometimes logical fallacies are used intentionally to try and win a debate in

these cases they're often presented by the speaker with a certain level of confidence and in doing so they're more persuasive if they sound like they know what they're talking about we're more likely to believe them even if their stance doesn't make complete logical sense one common logical fallacy is the false cause this is when someone incorrectly identifies the cause of something in my argument I stated that the dinosaurs became extinct because they ate vegetables now while these two separate things did happen diet of vegetables was not the cause of their extinction maybe you've heard false

cause more commonly represented by the phrase correlation does not equal causation meaning that just because two things occurred around the same time it doesn't mean that one caused the other a strawman is when someone takes an argument and misrepresents it so that it's easier to attack for example let's say Callie is advocating that sporks should be the new standard for silverware since they're more efficient Madeleine responds that she's shocked Callie would want to outlaw spoons and forks and put millions out of work at the fork and spoon factories a straw man is frequently used in

politics in an effort to discredit and other politicians views on a particular issue begging the question is a type of circular argument where someone includes the conclusion as a part of their reasoning George says ghosts exist because I saw a ghost in my closet his conclusion is ghosts exist his premise also assumes that ghosts exist rather than assuming that ghosts exist from the get-go George should be using evidence and reasoning to prove that they exist the false dilemma or false dichotomy is a logical fallacy where a situation is presented as being an either/or option when

in reality there are more possible options available than just the chosen to Rebecca rings the doorbell but Ethan doesn't answer she then thinks oh Ethan must not be home Rebecca posits that either Ethan answers the door or he is at home in reality he could be sleeping doing some work in the backyard or taking a shower most logical fallacies can be spotted by thinking critically make sure to ask questions is logic at work here or is it simply rhetoric does their proof actually lead to the conclusion they're proposing by applying critical thinking you'll be able

to detect logical fallacies in the world around you and prevent yourself from using them as well GCF global creating opportunities for a better life