7 Informal Fallacies Enterline Design Services LLC/iStock/Thinkstock Learning Objectives
After reading this chapter, you should be able to: 1. Describe the various fallacies of support, their origins, and circumstances in which specific
arguments may not be fallacious.
2. Describe the various fallacies of relevance, their origins, and circumstances in which
specific arguments may not be fallacious. 3. Describe the various fallacies of clarity, their origins, and circumstances in which specific
arguments may not be fallacious. 239 © 2015 Bridgepoint Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Not for resale or redistribution.
har85668_07_c07_239-278.indd 239 4/9/15 11:30 AM We can conceive of logic as providing us with the best tools for seeking truth. If our goal is to
seek truth, then we must be clear that the task is not limited to the formation of true beliefs
based on a solid logical foundation, for the task also involves learning to avoid forming false
beliefs. Therefore, just as it is important to learn to employ good reasoning, it is also important to learn to avoid bad reasoning. Toward this end, this chapter will focus on fallacies. Fallacies are errors in reasoning; more
specifically, they are common patterns of reasoning with a high likelihood of leading to false
conclusions. Logical fallacies often seem like good reasoning because they resemble perfectly
legitimate argument forms. For example, the following is a perfectly valid argument:
If you live in Paris, then you live in France.
You live in Paris.
Therefore, you live in France. Assuming that both of the premises are true, it logically follows that the conclusion must be
true. The following argument is very similar:
If you live in Paris, then you live in France.
You live in France.
Therefore, you live in Paris. This second argument, however, is invalid; there are plenty of other places to live in France.
This is a common formal fallacy known as affirming the consequent. Chapter 4 discussed how
this fallacy was based on an incorrect logical form. This chapter will focus on informal fallacies, fallacies whose errors are not so much a matter of form but of content. The rest of this
chapter will cover some of the most common and important fallacies, with definitions and
examples. Learning about fallacies can be a lot of fun, but be warned: Once you begin noticing
fallacies, you may start to see them everywhere. Before we start, it is worth noting a few things. First, there are many, many fallacies. This
chapter will consider only a sampling of some of the most well-known fallacies. Second, there
is a lot of overlap between fallacies. Reasonable people can interpret the same errors as different fallacies. Focus on trying to understand both interpretations rather than on insisting
that only one can be right. Third, different philosophers often have different terminology for
the same fallacies and make different distinctions among them. Therefore, you may find that
others use different terminology for the fallacies that we will learn about in this chapter. Not
to worry—it is the ideas here that are most important: Our goal is to learn to identify and
avoid mistakes in reasoning, regardless of specific terminology.
Finally, there are many ways to divide the fallacies into categories. This chapter will refer to
fallacies of support, fallacies of clarity, and fallacies of relevance. Avoiding fallacies may be difficult at first, but ultimately, as we learn to reason more fairly and carefully, we will find that
avoiding fallacious reasoning helps us develop habits of mental fairness, trustworthiness, and
openness, enhancing our ability to discern truth from error. © 2015 Bridgepoint Education, Inc. All rights reserved. Not for resale or redistribution.
har85668_07_c07_239-278.indd 240 4/9/15 11:30 AM Section 7.1  Fallacies of Support 7.1  Fallacies of Support
When reasoning, it is essential to reach conclusions
based on adequate evidence; otherwise, our views
are unsubstantiated. The better the evidence, the
more credible our claims are, and the more likely
they are to be true. Fallacies can lead us to accept
conclusions that are not adequately supported and
may be false. Let us learn some of the most common
ways this can happen. Begging the Question One of the most common fallacies is called
begging the question, also known as petitio principii. This fallacy occurs when someone gives reasoning that assumes a major point at issue; it assumes
a particular answer to the question with which we
are concerned. In other words, the premises of the
argument claim something that someone probably

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