Saturday, September 18, 2010

Structural Fallacies

Fallacy is just a bad argument that is agree on to be unrepairable. There are some argument that is bad because of how they are structured, these are called structural fallacies. The form alone can give a lot of information about a person's argument regardless of what is the subject matter. There are 7 fallacy type:

Affirmative the consequence: If A, then B. B. Therefore A
Example: If all mammals have hair to cover their whole bodies, then birds are mammals. Birds have feathers to     cover their whole bodies. Therefore, birds are mammals.  

Denying the antecedent: If A, then B. not A. Therefore, not B.
Example: If all mammals have have hair to cover their whole bodies, then sharks are not mammals. Sharks do not have fur to cover their bodies. Therefore, sharks are not mammals.

Arguing backwards with all: All S are P. a is P. Therefore, a is S.
Example: All vegetable are green. Green apples are green. Therefore, green apples are vegetable.

Reasoning in a chain with some: Some S are P. Some P are Q. Therefore, some S are Q.
Example: Some mammals are very small. Some small animals are cold blood animals. Therefore, some mammals are  cold blood animals.

Arguing backward with no: All S are P. No Q is S. Therefore, no Q is P.
Example: All things with seed are consider to be fruit. Seedless grapes have so seeds. Therefore, seedless grapes are not fruits.

arguing backward with almost all: Almost all S are P. a is P. Therefore, a is S.
Example: Almost all aquatic animals are not mammals. Whales are aquatic animals. Therefore, whales are not mammals.

Reasoning in a chain with almost all: Almost all S are P. Almost all P are Q. Therefore, almost all S are Q.
Example: Almost all fruits are edible raw food. Almost all edible raw food are full with dangerous bacterias. Therefore, almost all fruits are full with dangerous bacterias.    

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