Argumentation theory

In this class we have studied various types of fallacies including fallacies of equivocation, fairness slippery slope fallacies, causal slippery slope fallacies, ad hominem fallacies, fallacious appeals to authority in addition to a few others. I will analyze the fallacies I specifically mentioned deeper by first explain them and their differences, give an example and then identify how one can identify them and decide if they are being used in arguments in their everyday life. Fallacies of…

Logical fallacies can often be overlooked or even go unnoticed. In fact prior to this assignment I was unaware such errors could take place. While these logical fallacies may often go past us in our works, the significance in being able to identify and correct these errors of reasoning significantly helps one construct a more logically sound argument. One of the first logical fallacies I found present in my “Week 4 Short Essay” is known as unwarranted generalization. When arguing for a…

Arguments occur every single day. Often times, these arguments can help to improve the world, even though they can be messy at the time. Due to the fact that no two people are completely alike, the arguments that they present can vary greatly in how they are presented. To effectively present their arguments, many songwriters resort to including their arguments in the songs that they compose. John Lennon, one of the founders of The Beetles, was no exception. An example of this is the song…

Ad populum and Ad hominem are two type of fallacies that is best avoided in an argument because they offer no real contribution toward the topic of discussion and at the same time, they can bring down the quality of the argument Ad populum is the assumption that if the majority of people believe in a certain proposition, then that proposition must be true. People has always been vulnerable to the group mentality but nowadays, the usage of ad populum is even more prevalent due to the internet and…

Ms. Huschilt, Thank you for your kind words about the how the tournament ran on Friday. We appreciate people who realize the amount of time Kyle and myself put into this tournament. I will gladly clear up some concerns you had with the tournament and hopefully explain why certain scenarios happened. First of, the culture we try to create and promote at the Richard Peddie Debate tournament is one of active thinking and development of general debate skills. It is not a culture of first place vs…

Glenn Beck has already been established as a man of controversy, and with a book titled Arguing With Idiots, there are sure to be skeptics of the credibility and seriousness of the book. The book could almost be classified as a rant, but it is a well thought out one, and it should have more than enough evidence to prove Beck’s various conservative points. This book seems to be meant as either something for Americans who oppose Glenn Beck and his positions, or a book to confirm conservative…

from various universities, they found that 63% believed that the National Union of Students of the United Kingdom is right to have a “No Platforming” policy. Platforming itself is the act of having a platform for which to freely discus your beliefs, theories, and ideas. There is no limit to what a person with a platform can talk about. Many believe that platforming persecutes others, specifically minorities, by allowing those with abhorrent and discriminatory ideas to spread them. This has…

In “Outliers,” Malcolm Gladwell attempts to prove to his audience that their idea behind how success is attained in the United States is considerably different than what many Americans would like to think. In America many people believe in the concept of a hard-working individual pulling themselves up by their bootstraps and earning their success through dedication and talent. Gladwell attempts to prove while individual efforts are a big role in success, theses outliers would have never been…

Jeffrey Jerome Cohen in his article “Fear of the Monster is Really a Kind of Desire” examines the issue of being with a monster or better be the monster ourselves. The desire it can be either for power, freedom, or even just to be the center of attention. “We distrust and loathe the monster at the same time we envy its freedom, and perhaps its sublime despair” (Cohen, 190). People tend to watch scary movies and read monster stories and feel attracted to one of the monsters and wish to be that…

“Just copy what I say and you’ll win,” my coach said to me. This was a common catchphrase she would tell my partner and me at our speech and debate practices. No matter how much we would tell her that she is wrong, she would sternly reply to just follow what she said. When I started to stop copying what she said I learned to start thinking for myself and saying what I believe. This past summer I qualified to attend the national speech tournament by competing in a local district…