Fallacies are arguments, bad arguments that are not repairable. It is an argument of a comment, opinion, or fact that is prone to falsity with little premises. Content fallacies are whenthe premises (generic premises) of an argument is "dubious", as the book would say(Epstein, Critical Thinking). And there's nothing to support its conclusion. But, as the book pointed out, these premises can sometimes be true rather than false. There are many different types of content fallacies, such as false dilemma, slippery slope, and appleal to the emotion.
False Dilemma - is when you have an "either" or "or" situation, where you might believe that there is only two options you can choose from. But in reality, there might be more than just those two options you are confronted with.
Example: My dad always tells my brother that he either gets straight A's in school and be successful, or don't and be a bum for the rest of his life.
In this situation, there are other options that my brother can have. He doesn't necessarily have to have all straight A's in school to be successful. There are other ways to be successful too. Just look at Bill Gates, and how he turned out to be a success, even though he didn't go to college. Therefore, what my dad is not entirely correct.
I found your example very interesting. I'm sure every parent has told his or her child that if they did not get good Grades in school, they will not be successful in life. Even though they may argue that, that still does not mean that he or she will not become wealthy and happy in the future.
ReplyDeleteI know plenty of people who did not even finish college and as of today, they are still well of and happy with their lives. Even though they do not have the highest paying job, they are still happy. That is what people need to learn today, try to be more confident and look on the full part of the glass.
I love you dad’s example! It is great! My mom used to try and scare me like that to.
ReplyDeleteI have found that people use False Dilemmas lot to try and get a point across to someone! They find that it is easier for people to live in a black and white world rather than having all of these possibilities. It is also easier if people just give you to options an “either or” as you stated it. It keeps things not messy, but it also allows people to be scared into something and not have all this information on a decision.