Reductio ad absurdum

as experimentation to the natural sciences: a method of inquiry into assertions about their respective domains. In Plato’s Apology, Socrates’ argument uses philosophical tools like constructive horned dilemmas, thought experiments, reductio ad absurdum, and analogy to questionably argue that his death would instantiate a beneficial outcome for himself. While Socrates’ rhetorical flourish precedes his reputation, he fails to consider important alternatives to his argument and roots his ideas heavily in Greek religion, making the argument unconvincing to the contemporary reader who does not share the same set of assumptions. Socrates develops a single argument throughout the excerpt. His singular argument rests upon a constructive horned dilemma. A constructive horned dilemma is a method of argumentation in which the arguer sets up a disjunction of two conditional statements, affirms that the disjunction of the antecedents must be true, and then concludes that the…

footprints but the dragon floats in the air. Next, he tries to detect the fire from the dragon with an infrared sensor, but the dragon produces heatless fire. Lastly, he attempts to spray the dragon with paint, but she’s said to be incorporeal, so the paint doesn’t stick (Sagan). Without actual evidence his theories are worthless. The idea of Reductio ad Absurdum and the Slippery Slope is an argument that carries out until it reaches a conclusion. For example, the theory that eating a spoon of…

Ray Bradbury is known for his memorable science fiction stories. Most of his works contain a message that can be applied to the whole of society. One of the most notable of these is The Pedestrian. This work is a cautionary tale that serves as an extraordinary example of what this world could become. One might argue, however, that this story is appealing to the extremes which is also known as the logical fallacy reductio ad absurdum. This means that the story is too absurd to be of any use. The…

enjoyed the challenge of Further Mathematics, as many skills and disciplines are collated to reach a final and satisfying conclusion. Continuing my studies at Newcastle would give me the opportunity to diversify my knowledge and continue forming a solid foundation for further problem solving in my career. Proof by induction has been one of my favourite topics. Applying this method to matrices enhanced my understanding of several different topics as I linked them together to find a solution.…

The argument from evil argues and targets against a specific type of god which is argued to be all powerful, knowing, and good. The argument states that if such God were to exist, then we would not have evil in the world. Yet, all around us we see evil and therefore God cannot exist. The argument from evil is a reductio ad absurdum argument because we take on the fact that there is evil in the world and because of this, derive the conclusion that an all-pkg God cannot exist. An important thing…

locate information. The only struggle that I encountered was finding the reason for using specifically a Red Herring fish to distract bloodhound dogs. Fish, in general, possess a foul strong smell, but my interest was what made Red Herring’s scent more potent compared to other fish? I was not able to locate any credible source for the main reason why Red Herrings were used. However, it took the group a couple of class meetings to decide on how to display our findings and interaction with the…

important three of these strategies are ethos, pathos, and logos. Although you do not necessarily need to use all three of those strategies to make an effective argument, a writer does need a strong foundation in all three if they wish to write a strong argumentative paper that can be given out to the public (such as a newspaper editorial). In my paper “The Side You Don’t See” I attempted to use all three of these strategies to strengthen my argument, yet, I do believe that I was lacking in…

her open letter . In response to Tyler Perry’s numerous films, Ms. Viera attempts to appeal to the audience by beginning to congratulate Tyler Perry on his success but in doing so she inadvertently commits a fallacy. “Let me begin by congratulating you on your massive success. It is truly commendable to overcome the obstacles you have- molestation, poverty, abuse, and homelessness- to becoming the highest paid man in entertainment.” (1) Viera ineffectively appeals to the reader and…

Questioning



 7) Which of the following are the most common types of doubts people may have about a source?

 A. Status and academic degree

B. Occupation and employer

C. Prominence in the field of study and experience

D. Expertise and accuracy



 8) Which of the following is the most reliable source of information?

 A. Wikipedia®

B. A blog

C. A book recommended by your instructor

D. Britannica Online®



 9) Consider the following exchange: “How do I know God exists?…

fallacy. The analogies used do not have negative differences and strong positive similarities. Premise Four Premise four has misinterpreted the poll results. The information gathered indicates that 81% of respondents do agree on banning the wearing of Burqa in ‘courts’. Harper has used the poll results out of context and has generalised it fallaciously. Advance Australia has argued that the burqa needs to be banned in Australia. To do so they have included numerous language devises as well as…