ENGL 1031 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Correlation Does Not Imply Causation, Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc, Hasty Generalization
Document Summary
Engages our critical reasoning faculties to make a point. Used when you construct an essay around facts. Favors the use of logic: statistical evidence, empirical quotations from authorities, data, proven facts. Logical fallacies mistaken or misleading uses of logos: post hoc ergo propter hoc fallacy. Confuses cause and effect: cum hoc ergo propter hoc fallacy. It suggests that since two unrelated events happen at the same time, they should thus be interpreted as cause and effect: the hasty generalization. When conclusions are drawn too quickly: the either-or-argument. Oversimplification of a complicated issue: stacking the evidence. Presents only one side of the issue/argument: begging the questions. Uses an argument as evidence for itself: the red herring or non sequitor. A sudden shift in topic: straw man argument. The writer sets up a fake or distorted representation of a counterargument so as to have something to easily argue against and to present the writer"s own position in a more favorable light: equivocation.
