Now Class

Virginia Beach VA

Description

A teachable moment…Can it be a learning moment too? (Logic 102) Thomas Jefferson: “Every day is lost in which we do not learn something useful. Man has no nobler or more valuable possession than time.” If you learn to recognize mistakes in your deductive reasoning and arguments presented to you, you make better decisions. It IS just that simple. You could rescue yourself from your membership in the “Fools of the Decade” club. I know you don’t read your history very often, or put very much stock in it. The truth of the matter is historians will look back on trumpeters as being the linchpin of the Republicans fastest descent into hell! Their stupidity and lack of education will be the primary reason for their basic beliefs in falsehoods. One reason educated people do not support Trump or fascism, it’s because their education has taught them better. You are less susceptible to falsehoods if you have the reasoning power to recognize lies when they’re presented to you in disguise of truthful statements by respected leaders. Republican leaders have been lying to you for generations! Actions versus words, when their actions do not meet the statements they are making, they become liars and hypocrites! Following are 5 of the most common logic mistakes, but there are many others. 1) The Straw Man Fallacy This fallacy occurs when your opponent over-simplifies or misrepresents your argument (i.e., setting up a "straw man") to make it easier to attack or refute. Instead of fully addressing your actual argument, speakers relying on this fallacy present a superficially similar -- but ultimately not equal -- version of your real stance, helping them create the illusion of easily defeating you. Example: John: I think we should hire someone to redesign our website. Lola: You're saying we should throw our money away on external resources instead of building up our in-house design team? That's going to hurt our company in the long run. 2) The Bandwagon Fallacy Just because a significant population of people believe a proposition is true, doesn't automatically make it true. Popularity alone is not enough to validate an argument, though it's often used as a standalone justification of validity. Arguments in this style don't take into account whether or not the population validating the argument is actually qualified to do so, or if contrary evidence exists. While most of us expect to see bandwagon arguments in advertising (e.g., "three out of four people think X brand toothpaste cleans teeth best"), this fallacy can easily sneak it's way into everyday meetings, conversations and politics. Example: The majority of people believe advertisers should spend more money on billboards, so billboards are objectively the best form of advertisement. 3) The Appeal to Authority Fallacy While appeals to authority are by no means always fallacious, they can quickly become dangerous when you rely too heavily on the opinion of a single person -- especially if that person is attempting to validate something outside of their expertise. Getting an authority figure to back your proposition can be a powerful addition to an existing argument, but it can't be the pillar your entire argument rests on. Just because someone in a position of power believes something to be true, doesn't make it true. Example: Despite the fact that our Q4 numbers are much lower than usual, we should push forward using the same strategy of continued propaganda because our Glorious Leader says this is the best approach. 4) The False Dilemma Fallacy This common fallacy misleads by presenting complex issues in terms of two inherently opposed sides. Instead of acknowledging that most (if not all) issues can be thought of on a spectrum of possibilities and stances, the false dilemma fallacy asserts that there are only two mutually exclusive outcomes. This fallacy is particularly problematic because it can lend false credence to extreme stances, ignoring opportunities for compromise or chances to re-frame the issue in a new way. Example: We can either agree with the Republicans lies, or just let the democracy fail. There is no other option. 5) The Personal Incredulity Fallacy If you have difficulty understanding how or why something is true, that doesn't automatically mean the thing in question is false. A personal or collective lack of understanding isn't enough to render a claim invalid. Example: I don't understand how trump lost the election, so there must have been another factor at play. There are many more specific types of fallacies if you are really interested in sharpening your mental abilities. The question is: Do you want to become a better human being?