|
|
A question about informal fallacies in generalInformal fallacies are arguments which contain one or more premises that aren’t true or supported. Does this mean that they contain an element of truth to them? Does it mean that an argument with a weak but not false premise can add some positive probability to a certain conclusion? Like if someone says that “if I’m not Spider man then my name would not be Peter. But since my name is Peter I’m Spiderman” then it’s obviously not 100% true but does it at least add some probability to the claim that they are Spider man? If so then what if someone makes a lot of these kind of weak arguments until the probability becomes almost 100%? Or am I completely misunderstanding something here? |
| asked on Friday, Mar 25, 2022 10:19:29 AM by Alex | |
Top Categories Suggested by Community |
|
Comments |
|
|
| |
Want to get notified of all questions as they are asked? Update your mail preferences and turn on "Instant Notification."
Many of our ideas about the world are based more on feelings than facts, sensibilities than science, and rage than reality. We gravitate toward ideas that make us feel comfortable in areas such as religion, politics, philosophy, social justice, love and sex, humanity, and morality. We avoid ideas that make us feel uncomfortable. This avoidance is a largely unconscious process that affects our judgment and gets in the way of our ability to reach rational and reasonable conclusions. By understanding how our mind works in this area, we can start embracing uncomfortable ideas and be better informed, be more understanding of others, and make better decisions in all areas of life.
* This is for the author's bookstore only. Applies to autographed hardcover, audiobook, and ebook.
|
|
Your initial statement that "Informal fallacies are arguments which contain one or more premises that aren’t true or supported" is the problem. To say an argument contains a fallacy is to say that there's an error in reasoning from the premises to the conclusion. It's not saying the premises are false. An argument is not fallacious just because the premises are false. The statement "“if I’m not Spider man then my name would not be Peter" is a false statement. It's not a little false; it's 100% false. "“if I’m not Spider man then my name would not be Peter" is logically equivalent to "If my name is Peter then I'm Spider man". This is called the contrapositive. Finding just one counterexample disproves the statement. If your name is Peter and you're not Spider man then that proves the statement is false. So a trillion such examples adds nothing. |
| answered on Friday, Mar 25, 2022 10:43:15 AM by Ed F | |
Ed F Suggested These Categories |
|
Comments |
|
|
| |
