Logical Fallacies Part 1 (Old stuff #5)

By avoiding logical fallacies, we can have a good argument and form a well thought out worldview." In order to avoid logical fallacies, we need to know a little about them. When we know what they look like, then perhaps we can avoid them. Since there are several, I am going to try to address approximately three of them per post. In this post I am hoping cover the self contradiction, false dilemma, and my favorite ad hominem (also known as character assassination). 

The self contradiction is when a statement fails to fulfill its own conditions for rational acceptability or truthfulness. Self contradictions are necessarily false, because when an argument contains premises which contradict each other, no conclusion is possible. This is one of those logical fallacies that is easier to recognize with an example. Here are a few: 1) "I cannot speak a word of English." 2) "You should never believe anything without empirical data." 3) "If God can do anything, God can make a stone so heavy God won't be able to lift it." Obviously the use of English in the first statement contradicts its premise. The second statement asserts a truth that cannot be measured with empirical data making the statement necessarily false. The contradiction in the third statement that God can do anything except lift his exceptionally heavy stone should be obvious, but that is a classic example of a self contradictory statement. 

The false dilemma is a statement that gives a very restricted set of options, when in reality, there are more options available. We generally know the false dilemma by the phrase, "either...or". I am sure you have heard the statement, "You are either for me or against me" when in fact it is sometimes possible to be neither. Interestingly enough, we can find this very statement when Joshua asked a man "with a drawn sword in his hand... Are you for us or for our enemies?" (Joshua 5:13-14) The man stated, “Neither, but as commander of the army of the Lord I have now come." The commander of the Lord's army was there on his own business in this case, and was therefore neither for Joshua or his enemies (the false dilemma). A more personal example would be a question that can sometimes be asked of parents, "Do you love me more or my sibling?" The dilemma presents only two options, when in fact as most parents know, we love our kids unequivocally equally. The false dilemma is often the favorite logical fallacy since it reduces an argument or proposition to two options, which can seem like an insurmountable obstacle.

​I call the ad hominem my favorite logical fallacy, because it often reminds me of an elementary school playground. The ad hominem is a statement that shifts an argument from a point being discussed to the personality of the person who stated it. It is an attempt to undermine an idea by attacking the person who is proposing the idea. Some examples are: "Only uneducated people believe that!" or "Don't believe him, he is stupid!" Aside from this form of logical fallacy reminding me of playground banter, the fact is the character of a person does not determine the truth of a statement. In fact, an individual with a very low IQ could state, "A fire is hot!", and rather than attacking the truth of his statement based on his intelligence, most would just say, "Thank you captain obvious!" My point with the ad hominem is that if you have to rely on name calling or character assassination to make your point, then you might have a pretty weak point. Truth is truth no matter who states it, and personal ridicule does not change truth. I now hope that by reading this post you can start to spot these logical fallacies. When you read the news, see an advertisement, or have a discussion with a friend, try to identify one of these logical fallacies. I am certain that you will start to spot them, and in doing so you will begin to think well.