All opinions are always 100% honest and my own. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. I also participate in: CJ Affiliate; eBay Partner Network; Rakuten Affiliate Network; ShareASale; Walmart Affiliate Program; independent affiliate networks.
Have you ever heard someone trying to prove a point—possibly in a political, scientific, or moral argument—that just seemed wrong, but you couldn't explain why? Have you heard or read positions that your gut said didn't make sense, but you couldn't pinpoint the problem? Have you stopped challenging ideas you thought were bad, because you felt unable to articulate your position? If so, it's time to learn to recognize logical fallacies by studying myriad logical fallacy examples.
A logical fallacy is an incorrect argumentation used in reasoning that results in a misconception. Unfortunately, such fallacies are used all the time —from supposedly credible sources—to justify all manner of legislation, imposition, justification, and perpetrating general stupidity on innocent bystanders. But learning to spot the fallacies—and name them correctly—is a crucial step in debunking nonsense.
Logic is necessary to understand and communicate your beliefs to others. Logic is necessary to analyze other's beliefs. Logic is crucial to finding truth.
Mormon Momma will be featuring a number of posts to explain logical fallacies in the upcoming months. We will include a number of logical fallacy examples so that you can learn to identify them when they come up. And, trust me, they will!
Alison Moore Smith is a 60-year-old entrepreneur, who graduated from BYU in 1987. She has been (very happily) married to Samuel M. Smith for 39 years. They are parents of six incredible children and grandparents to two astounding grandsons.
I can’t wait for this series to start. When will you post? I’ve listened to you long enough to know you’re an expert at finding stupidity! 😀
Chandra, I just posted the first entry: argumentum ad populum. Thanks for your interest! Add your own examples!
Did my comment disappear?
Your comment is on the argumentum ad populum post, djinn. 🙂 If you had another, it did not come through.
I think the topic is rather challenging as not everybody can be ready to use logic and for some it is even hard to do and when they argue they just do it for sport without any logic at all.
Anna, you are right. It can be challenging! But I do think any adult can do it. And should do it. Being able to make choices reasonably and sensibly — and avoiding positions that aren’t logical — should be something every strives for.
The study of logical fallacies is made more accessible by being broken down into classes. When you learn about a particular fallacy, you’ll start recognizing it. And when you recognize it, you can call label it correctly and explain why it’s not a reasonable position.
I particularly hope women will understand the value of logic and study it as they tend to employ it less (not logical ideas, but the particular study of such principles), at least in my anecdotal experience. Doing so will go much further to achieving gender equality than bra burning ever did. 🙂
Listening the interlocutor in the dialogue is the first step. The main thing is not just plain hearing but apprehensively listening with understanding. Not an easy task.