• Fallacies: Making Bad Arguments Appear
Good.
• They are the products of either a mistake in
reasoning or the creation of an illusion.
,• Formal Fallacies may be identified by merely
examining the form or structure of an
argument. An example of a form is:
All a are b.
All c are b.
All a are c.
,• Informal Fallacies can be detected only by
examining the content of the argument.
Consider this example:
The Brooklyn Bridge is made of atoms.
Atoms are invisible.
Therefore, the Brooklyn Bridge is invisible.
, • Logical Irrelevance vs. Psychological
Relevance:
• The conclusion seems to follow from the premises,
even though it does not follow logically.
Good.
• They are the products of either a mistake in
reasoning or the creation of an illusion.
,• Formal Fallacies may be identified by merely
examining the form or structure of an
argument. An example of a form is:
All a are b.
All c are b.
All a are c.
,• Informal Fallacies can be detected only by
examining the content of the argument.
Consider this example:
The Brooklyn Bridge is made of atoms.
Atoms are invisible.
Therefore, the Brooklyn Bridge is invisible.
, • Logical Irrelevance vs. Psychological
Relevance:
• The conclusion seems to follow from the premises,
even though it does not follow logically.
