ENGLISH NOTES For REET – Logical Fallacies

Please read logical fallacies and their Hindi context in this post. We will read the logical fallacies here in a very short way and getting example of every logical fallacies.

A mistaken belief, especially one based on unsound argument.

Logical fallacies in Hindi

fallacy of hasty generalization	जल्दबाजी में सामान्यीकरण
fallacy of equivocation	गोल-मोल बात
fallacy of circumlocution or begging the question	कपट पूर्ण बातें
fallacy of non sequitur	अप्रासंगिक जवाब
fallacy of amphiboly	वाक्य – छल
appeal to authority	अधिकार के लिए अपील
fallacy of appeal to multitude	भीड़ के लिए अपील
fallacy of composition	रचना
fallacy of division	विभाजन की कमजोरी
fallacy of false cause	झूठे कारण की दोष
fallacy of ignoring the question	सवाल को नजरअंदाज करने का दोष
fallacy of false analogy	झूठी सादृश्य
fallacy of irrelevant conclusion	अप्रासंगिक ननष्कषण
the fallacy of Appeal to pity	दया की अपील

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You can directly read this topic from here Fallacies

Fallacy of Hasty Generalization :-

This fallacy occurs when the argument jumps from the general to the particular or from the particular to the general. In other words, we generalize on the basis of too few particulars or when we ignore other particulars which actually show our generalization to be unsound.

Examples are-

1. You can’t trust these foreigners. Only yesterday a Jamaican bus conductor tried to cheat me out of six pence.
2. You should not trust these monkeys. As yesterday a monkeys looted me on the way.

The Fallacy of Equivocation :-

This fallacy is committed when someone word is used in two different senses in the
course of an argument.

Example –

1. It is our duty to do what is right. We have the right to disregard good advice.
2. Ravindra is very smooth, we need a smoothly working student’s council. So we should appoint Ravindra a President.

The Fallacy of Circumlocution or Begging the Question–

This fallacy is committed when one assumes the truth of what one sets out to prove; i.e. the proposition is assumed without any proof. Here the conclusion merely restates the basic premises in different words.

Ex.1. The new student says that I am his favorite professor. And he must be telling
the truth, because no student would lie to his favorite professor.

1. My client says that I am an honest shopkeeper and he must be telling the truth because no client would lie to his shopkeeper.
2. My client says that I am an honest shopkeeper and he must be telling the truth because no client would lie to his shopkeeper

The Fallacy of Non-Sequitur :

This fallacy occurs when a conclusion is drawn arbitrarily without there being any justification for it. As a rule the subject of the major premise must appear in the predicate on the minor premise

Example

1. All rich persons (subject) should held the poor John is a rich person (predicate). Then we can conclude; Therefore John should help the poor. Otherwise we shall commit the fallacy of non-sequitur as in:
2. All communists are opposed to U.S. policies, therefore all those opposed to U.S. policies are communists.

The Fallacy of Amphiboly :–

This occurs when the premises of an argument are ambiguous be
cause of their grammatical structure. Here a proposition is liable to be interpreted in
more than one way.

Ex.– “The Duke yet lives that Henry shall depose”.

Appeal to Authority :-

In this fallacy, the opponent appeals to the authority of some famous individual or an eminent authority in order to win public assent for his conclusion instead of establishing the contention on its own merits. Advertisers often use this kind of argument when they try to persuade us to use a particular brand of soap because a famous film star says it is good. Sometimes the appeal is made to the reverence which
people free for a great name or for a long established usage or custom. It is then called Argumentism ad verecundiam.

Example:- Shakespeare’s sonnets are great literature because Shakespeare was a great writer and
he wrote them. Triple Talaq is valid because the holy Quran says it.

The Fallacy of Appeal to Multitude :

In this fallacy the arguer tries to arouse the feelings of the masses and thus tries to win assent for his conclusion, a device popular with propagandists, politicians and advertisers. Technically, it is known as Argumentum ad Populum because appeal is made to passions and prejudices rather than to intelligence.

Examples are-

1. If we wish to live at peace with the rest of the world and to defend ourselves against any nation that might be foolhardy enough to attach us, it is imperative that we should possess the nuclear deterrent.
2. Hindu people of India should remain united. So all the Hindu people should resolve to build Ram Temple in Ayodhya.

Argument from Ignorance :

This fallacy is committed when the speaker argues that a particular
proposition is true simply because it has never been proved false, or that it must be
false because it has never been proved to be true.

The Fallacy of Composition :

When we infer that what is true of a part or parts taken separately is also true of the whole, we commit the fallacy of composition.

The Fallacy of Division :-

It is the reverse of the fallacy of composition. Here the arguer infers that what is true of the whole must necessarily be true of its parts.

The Fallacy of False Cause :-

When one mistakes what is not the cause of a given effect for its real cause, or when one presumes that a particular cause gives rise to a particular effect, though actually this may not be the case, the fallacy of false cause is committed.

The Fallacy of Ignoring the Question :-

When the reasoner ignores the real question and talks about something else, hoping to produce the same effects as if he were discussing the real one, he commits this fallacy.

The Fallacy of False Analogy :-

This fallacy occurs when some proposition is sought to be established as true or valid by providing a parallel example. Analogy does not prove anything.

The Fallacy of Irrelevant Conclusion :-

This fallacy is committed when the arguer tries to establish a particular conclusion by his argument, but the argument in fact establishes a totally different conclusion. This fallacy also occurs when the conclusion contains some important term that has not been mentioned at all in the premises.

The Fallacy of Appeal to Pity :-

This fallacy is committed when a person appeals to the pity of another in order to win approval for his conclusion.

1. My client is the sole support of his aged parents. If he is sent to prison it will break their hearts and they will be left homeless and penniless