Like the previous example, the second premise generates a potential stopping point. Therefore, abortion is a constitutional right. Abortion is a choice affecting women’s bodies. The Constitution guarantees Americans the right to control their bodies. Those who advocate for legalized abortion are not immune from this fallacy. However, as presented, the premise creates a presumption it is valid in all cases. Not all individuals would agree that abortion is murder. The problem, then rests in the second premise. Most people would agree with the first premise that murder is morally wrong. ![]() ![]() One of the common arguments made by those who oppose legalized abortion is the following: To see how begging the question develops as a fallacy, let’s turn to standard arguments in the abortion debate. Arguments composed in this way will only be considered sound or strong by those who already accept their conclusion.ĭilbert: And we know mass creates gravity because more dense planets have more gravity.ĭogbert: How do we know which planets are more dense? Instead of considering the strength of the argument and any evidence associated with it, we focus solely on the individual.Ī begging the question fallacy is a form of circular reasoning that occurs when the conclusion of the argument is used as one of the premises of the argument. The fallacy in this type of reasoning occurs when we confuse the truth of the proposition with the person stating it. We are to infer that the supplement will work because the doctor says it will work. Even though we do learn something about the specifics of the supplement, the focus is on the doctor and her implied authoritative knowledge. At times she will mention that she used the supplement and successfully lost weight. A doctor will discuss the science of the supplement. Think about, for example, ads for the latest weight loss supplement. We see this fallacy in play regularly in commercials or other advertisements featuring a doctor, lawyer, or other professional. Appeals to authority look like this:Īuthority figure X says Y. When we appeal to authority we claim the truth of a proposition is guaranteed because of the opinion of a famous person. The fallacy happens when we connect the truth of a proposition to the person asserting it. However, Jane ignores these and focuses on Bill’s supposed character – he’s a big jerk. If we examine this exchange we can see that Bill’s arguments are sound and supported by what appears to be good evidence. Jane: Well, you’re a big jerk and don’t know anything, so we don’t have to go back to class. Jane: I don’t think we need to worry about it.īill: Well, the bell rang a few minutes ago. It is the weak form of arguing that many of us employed on our elementary school playgrounds such as this exchange:īill: I think we should go back to class now. This type of fallacy is often used in political campaigns where candidates focus on the personal aspects of a candidate rather than his or her qualifications. An easy way to remember this fallacy is to think of it as the personal attack fallacy. ![]() The ad hominem fallacy occurs when we shift our focus from the premises and conclusions of the argument and focus instead on the individual making the argument. Without thinking too hard you can probably think of one counter-example. Therefore, all Republicans are conservatives.Īll liberals are Democrats. ![]() We must infer from the statement that some philosophers are not wise.Īll conservatives are Republicans. However, the error arises from the fact that it is not a known quantity. This statement is stronger because it allows for the possibility there are counter- examples. And since the fact of being wise is abstract, how do we truly know if one is wise or not? Consider how the statement changes with the use of a different quantifier: We can show the flaw in this statement by simply finding a counter-example. The focus is on the use of some sort of quantifying word such as “all” or “some.” Consider this example:
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