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Building an argument

Information, resources, and tools to help you build strong arguments

What is a fallacy?

Types of fallacies

If you are still feeling puzzled or curious about the fallacies covered in this section or would like more information on non-sequiturs and red herring fallacies especially, see: 

Red Herring (from Wi-Phi)

Red Herring and Non Sequitur (from Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy

Non Sequitur (from Logical Reasoning by Bradley Dowden)

Fallacy of Irrelevant Reasons (from Critical Reasoning: A User's Manual by Jason Southworth and Chris Swoyer)

To review the references for the above activity, see the list below. 

References

Dowden, B. (2020a). Fallacies. In J. Fiser & B. Dowden (Eds.). The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. University of Tennessee at Martin. https://iep.utm.edu/fallacy

Dowden, B. (2020b). Logical reasoning. California State University Sacramento. www.csus.edu/indiv/d/dowdenb/4/logical-reasoning-archives/Logical-Reasoning-2020-05-15.pdf

Southworth, J. & Swoyer, C. (2020). Critical reasoning: A user's manual. Philosophy Open Educational Resources. https://doi.org/10.58809/QGVO1509

Are you feeling puzzled or curious about the fallacies covered in this section? Don't worry, there's plenty of information on this topic. To learn more about exaggerated arguments, see:

"Hasty Generalization" section from Chapter 4: Informal Fallacies by Cassiano Tessa Rodrigues

Slippery Slope (from Wi-Phi)

Hasty GeneralizationSlippery Slope, and False Dilemma from Excelsior University Online Writing Lab)

To access the material used to create this activity, see the reference below:

Reference

Dowden, B. (2020). Fallacies. In J. Fiser & B. Dowden (Eds.). The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy. University of Tennessee at Martin. https://iep.utm.edu/fallacy

If you are still feeling puzzled or curious about the fallacies covered in this section or would like more information and examples of fallacies that attack the character of the people or groups who disagree with the argument, see: 

Ad Hominem and Straw Man Fallacy (from Wi-Phi)

Ad Hominem and Straw Man Fallacy (from Excelsior University Online Writing Lab

"Argument directed to the person" and "The straw man fallacy" section from Chapter 4: Informal Fallacies by Cassiano Tessa Rodrigues

Genetic Fallacy and Caricaturization (from the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

To review the references for the above activity, see the list below. 

References

Dowden, B. (2020). Fallacies. In J. Fieser & B. Dowden (Eds.). The internet encyclopedia of philosophy. University of Tennessee at Martin. https://iep.utm.edu/fallacy

Rodrigues, C.T. (2020). Informal fallacies. In B. Martin (Ed.). Introduction to philosophy: Logic. https://press.rebus.community/intro-to-phil-logic/

If you are still feeling puzzled or curious about the fallacies covered in this section or would like more information on the topic of appealing to emotion, popularity, or authority, see the list below: 

Emotional Appeals (from Bram van Heuveln)

Appeal to the People (from Wi-Phi)

Appeal to the People (from Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

Bandwagon Fallacy (from Excelsior University Online Writing Lab

"Appeal to popular opinion", "Appeal to pity" and "Appeal to authority" section from Chapter 4: Informal Fallacies by Cassiano Tessa Rodrigues.

Finally, to review the references for the above activity, see the list below. 

Reference

Rodrigues, C.T. (2020). Informal fallacies. In B. Martin (Ed.). Introduction to philosophy: Logic. https://press.rebus.community/intro-to-phil-logic/

Review your learning about fallacies