Common fallacies

2009-01-17T19:09:05Z

Carterv:

'''Common fallacies''' are arguments that have a [[logical fallacy]] inherent in them, yet are still commonly accepted by people who:

*have difficulties with abstract thinking
*are young students, or are adults unwilling to reconsider opinions they formed as students
*exercise their free will to embrace fallacies without concern for whether they are flawed

Examples of common fallacies are:

*a theory should be accepted until a better alternative is found
*rates of recession, decay or growth observed today are somehow constant for extrapolation backwards in time
*higher taxes must produce more revenue for the government
*fewer guns must reduce the rate of crime
*choice is somehow meaningful regardless of whether it is informed
*human thought can answer any question
*loaded questions: embodies an assumption that, if answered, indicates an implied agreement. (e.g., Have you stopped beating your wife yet?)
*Ad Hominem: arguments that focus on irrelevant personal attributes of an opponent, hoping to divert attention from the issue being discussed or the content of an opponents argument.
*Appeal to Misleading Authority: When a person believes a claim to be true simply because an "authority" says so, when that "authority" is not actually an authority on the subject at hand. For example if somebody believes a claim about chemistry to be true simply because a psychologist says it is true. What constitutes an authority is debatable.
*That a woman can get pregnant without having [[sex]].
(please add and improve)
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[[Category:Logical Fallacies]]

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Common fallacies