MODULE 10 The term fallacy is derived from the Latin infinitive
NON-ARGUMENTS fallere, which means “to deceive” or “to appear false or
Arguments, in general, have a tone like this: “This is so
(conclusion), because that is so (premises).” Or “because this is so
and this is so (premises), therefore, you should believe such and
such (conclusion)”. If the tone is other than this, we have a good
reason to think that what we have is not an argument.
TYPES OF NON-ARGUMENT
1. Report. A report is a set of statements intended to provide
information about a situation, topic, or event. It’s not an argument
because an argument provides support/evidence for some claim.
For example:
“Fiona Shrek was born at 4:15 PM on Sunday, February
15, 2004. She was, at birth, 120 pounds, 13.8 ounces, and
she measures 520 inches long!”
2. Illustration. An illustration is a statement together with a
clarifying example. Illustrations provide an instance or an
example of something whereas arguments provide
support/evidence for some claim. For example:
“Many insects are edible. For example, grasshoppers and
wood ants are delicious when deep-fried.”
3. Explanation. Explanations provide a reason for the occurrence
of some phenomenon, and hence, they are, by themselves, not
arguments. Explanations provide a reason why something is the
case, while arguments provide a reason why one should think that
something is the case. Explanations offer understanding while
arguments offer
justification.
“Filipinos do not support the pro-abortion bill because
they are generally devoted Christians”.
“The Titanic sank because it struck an iceberg.”
4. Conditionals. Conditionals look very much like arguments and
intuitively “feel” very much like arguments, but their antecedents
are not asserted to be true. They are no
more than complex statements.
“If it rains, then, the ground is wet.”
5. Commands. Commands are statements that instruct or order
something to be done. Commands, especially those put as
imperative statements, are neither true nor false, so they are not
arguments.
“Come here.”
“Take my hand and dance with me.”
MODULE 12
FALLACIES AND COMMON MISTAKES IN
THINKING
deceptive”. A fallacy is a deceptive, illogical, and
misleading argument. It is a false reasoning which has
the appearance of truth.
A fallacy committed with the intention to deceive or
mislead an opponent is known as sophism or sophistry.
When done unknowingly or due to the ignorance of the
rules of reasoning, it is called paralogism.
KINDS OF FALLACIES
1. FALLACIES OF RELEVANCE
The mistaken arguments under this classification rely on
premises that seem to be relevant to the conclusion but in
fact are not.
a. Argumentum Ad Baculum (Appeal to Force)
It occurs when someone resorts to force (or the threat of
force) to push others to accept a conclusion
Ex. There is enough proof of the truth of the Bible. All
those who refuse to accept that truth will burn in Hell.
b. Argumentum Ad Crumenam (Argument to Money)
It is committed when the appeal is made to the sense of
greed.
Ex. Please give me a passing mark, Sir. Ako na ang
bahala sa’yo. Pwede nating pag-usapan, Sir, kung
magkano.
c. Argumentum Ad Hominem (Attacking the Person)
It is committed when the attack is made not on the
arguments but on the person speaking.
Ex. “Why should we agree on what he is saying? He is
an exconvict.”
d. Argumentum Ad Ignorantiam (Appeal to
Ignorance)
It is committed when a proposition is argued to be true
simply because it has not been proven false, or
something is said to be false since it has not been proven
true.
Ex. There are ghosts since no one is saying that there are
none.
e. Argumentum Ad Misericordiam (Argument to
Pity)
It arises when an appeal to evidence is replaced by an
appeal to pity, mercy, or sympathy.
Ex. You must accept that 1+1=46, after all I am dying.
f. Argumentum Ad Populum (Appeal to Popularity)
It is committed when one tries to win acceptance by appealing to
a large group of people.
Ex.
Buy this brand X detergent bar because most Visayans use it.
Popular basketball stars wear Nike shoes. I think the best thing to
do is buy this brand of shoes.
g. Argumentum Ad Verecundiam (Appeal to Authority)
It is committed when one appeals to an authority (person or any
source) to try to win support for an assertion.
Ex. According to Gov. X, Filipinos are poor because they are lazy.
There is a God because my professor says so.
h. Ignoratio Elenchi (Ignorance of Refutation)
It consists in proving something other than that which is supposed
to be proven. It is also called “ignoring the issue”, “missing the
point”, and “evading the question”.
Ex. "I think that we should make the academic requirements
stricter for students. I recommend that you support this because
we are in a budget crisis and we do not want our salaries
affected."
i. Non Sequitur
This Latin phrase means “it does not follow.” It occurs when the
conclusion is not logically connected to its premises.
Ex. As a student of a Catholic institution, I will become an
overseas contract worker.
John is an American, therefore, he is good in dancing.
Mahal loves Mura because Mura loves Mahal
j. Tu Quoque
This term literally means “you too” or “look who’s talking”. It
occurs when one argues that an action is acceptable because the
opponent has performed it.
Ex. You say I should not smoke, but why are you smoking?
2. FALLACIES OF PRESUMPTION
The mistaken arguments arise from dependence on a proposition
that is assumed to be true, but is in fact false or questionable or
without evidence.
a. Begging the Question
This is a fallacy in which the premises include the claim that the
conclusion is true or assume that the conclusion is true.
Empty answer (different words - same meaning)
Ex. I failed the test because I didn't pass it.
b. Fallacy of Accident
This fallacy is committed when what is accidental is confused
with what is essential.
Ex. Brown is a color. A Filipino is brown. Therefore, a Filipino is
a Ex. Insecure is the contradictory of secure. Insincere is also the
color.
Cutting people with knives is a crime. Surgeons cut people
with knives. Surgeons are criminals.
c. Fallacy of False Cause
This fallacy, also called post hoc, occurs when the arguer points to
something as the cause of the event simply because the event
followed it. Superstitious beliefs are examples of this fallacy.
Ex. During the past two months, every time the cheerleaders have
worn blue ribbons, the basketball team has won. So if we want to
keep winning, they had better continue to wear the
blue ribbons
d. Fallacy of Complex Question
This fallacy is committed when a single question that is actually
two (or more) separate questions is asked, and then a single
answer is then applied to both questions.
Ex. Have you stopped cheating on exams?
Where did you hide the cookies you stole?
3. FALLACIES IN LANGUAGE
Mistaken arguments in this group are due to lack of preciseness in
the words, phrases, or sentences used to express thoughts.
a. Accent or Prosody
This arises when a false stress of voice is placed upon a given
word in order to mislead, confuse, or produce a wrong
interpretation.
Ex. Do not (1) use (2) your cellphone while (3) inside the church.
b. Amphiboly
This occurs when the premises used in an argument are
ambiguous because of careless or ungrammatical phrasing. It is a
statement with double meaning.
Ex. For Sale: Convertible sofa of a model used only for one week.
Lost: Cat of a girl with white fur.
c. Fallacy of Composition
This occurs due to the assumption that the whole has the
characteristics of its parts.
Ex. A tiger eats more than a human being. Therefore, tigers, as a
group, eat more food than do
all the humans on earth.
d. Fallacy of Division
This is committed when one assumes that the parts have the
characteristics of the whole.
Ex. You are studying at a college for rich students. Therefore, you
must be rich.
e. Equivocation
It comes from the Latin terms equi (equal) and vox (voice), which
together means “with equal voices”. This fallacy happens when
we use a single term with different meanings.
Ex. God is love. Love is blind. Therefore, God is blind.
f. Fallacy of Figure of Speech
It occurs when one concludes that a similarity in the construction
of one term with
another establishes a corresponding similarity in their meaning.
contradictory of sincere. Therefore, inflammable is the
contradictory of flammable.
g. Fallacy of Hasty Generalization
This fallacy is committed when a person draws a conclusion about
a population based on a sample that is not large enough.
Ex. Some Filipinos are corrupt. Therefore, all Filipinos are
corrupt.
OTHER TYPES OF FALLACIES
a. Slippery Slope
This fallacy happens when one assumes that taking a first step
will lead to subsequent steps that cannot be prevented.
Ex. "We've got to stop them from banning pornography. Once
they start banning one form of literature, they will never stop.
Next thing you know, they will be burning all the books!"
b. Strawman Fallacy
Misrepresent an opponent's position to make it easier to attack
them; thus making one's own position seem much stronger.
Ex. I'm in favor of legalized gambling. There are those who
oppose it, but they apparently believe that anything that's fun is
sinful.
c. False Dilemma
This happens when only 2 choices are offered when, actually,
there are more.
Ex. You're either with us or you're with the terrorists.
d. Weak Analogy
This happens when an analogy is used to prove or disprove an
argument, but the analogy is too dissimilar to be effective, that is,
it is unlike the argument more than it is like the argument.
Ex. Not believing in the literal resurrection of Jesus because the
Bible has errors and contradictions, is like denying that the Titanic
sunk because eye-witnesses did not agree if the ship broke in half
before or after it sunk.
Truth – a property of statements and not of arguments. If a
proposition is true (i.e. that is the case), we call the proposition as
true.
Validity – a property of deductive arguments and not of
statements (and not of inductive arguments). If a deductive
argument has a good structure, we call it valid.
Note: Only deductive arguments could be assessed to be valid or
invalid. Inductive arguments are assessed as strong (or weak), or
correct or incorrect, but not valid or invalid.
Soundness – a property of deductive arguments. A deductive
argument is “sound” when it is valid and all its propositions are
true.
VALID ARGUMENTS
We call an argument deductively valid when the conclusion is
entailed by, or logically follows from the premises. Validity is a
property of the argument’s form. It doesn’t matter what the
premises and the conclusion actually say. It just matters whether
the argument has the right form.

Module 11
EVALUATING ARGUMENTS

To assess the worth of an argument, only two aspects or properties

of the argument need to be considered: the truth of the premises
and the validity of the reasoning from the
premises to the conclusion.
The following are some major examples of valid forms of deductive arguments:
The Argument Its Form
If it rains, then, the ground is wet If P then Q
It has rained. P_________
Hence, the ground is wet. So, Q

If he is kind, he will help me. If P then Q

He did not help me. ___ Not Q_____
He is not kind. Not P
All Lucenahins are Filipinos. A=B
All Filipinos are mortals.___ B=C
All Lucenahins are mortals. A=C