PHI 1101 Chapter Notes - Chapter 6: Wishful Thinking, Rhetorical Device, Ignoratio Elenchi

• School: University of Ottawa
• Department: Philosophy
• Course: PHI 1101
• Professor: Sascha Maicher

Document Summary

Fallacy: a mistake in reasoning, an argument that doesn"t really support or prove the contention it is supposed to support or prove. Example: you tell me it"s dangerous to text when i"m driving, but i have seen you doing it. Dismissing the claim that it is dangerous to text and drive. The other person texting and driving has no relevance to whether or not texting and driving is dangerous. Relevance fallacy (red herrings): a mistake in reasoning, where the premise of an argument is not relevant to the issue in question (as seen in the example above). The premise(s) of relevance fallacies may seem relevant, but logically they aren"t relevant at all. Argument ad hominem (most common fallacy): when someone attempts to dismiss another person"s position on an issue by discussing the person and not by discussing the issue or that person"s position on it.