Logical Fallacies: What Are They and How Do We Keep Them Out of Our Writing?

Though it is one of my favorite Engaged Writing topics, logical fallacies are pitfalls I must scrupulously watch for in my own writing. Becoming familiar with logical fallacies not only helps writers create accurate and professional articles, but also assists in sorting through the rhetoric we are all exposed to daily. I try to use this knowledge while reading, watching commercials or the news, listening to politicians, teachers, religious leaders and even during some discussions with friends and family. The greater my skill at spotting logical fallacies, the quicker I will be able to see through the smokescreen to the underlying truths.

What are Logical Fallacies?

One dictionary definition of fallacy is: deceptive, misleading, false notions or beliefs, unsound arguments, erroneousness, logically unsound. For logical, the definition is: reasoning, logical thinking, to be expected, reasonable, of or pertaining to logic.

When we put those two together, we realize that with logical fallacies we are looking at methods of reasoning that are deceptive, misleading or unsound.

Logical fallacies are statements that sound true. They may even be true. However, a logical fallacy uses assumptions, misdirection and generalizations instead of true, sound reasoning and legitimate facts to persuade us. It is the error writers often fall into when they do not have enough facts to support their side of an argument. These can be unintentional or deliberate, as a logical fallacy is also the tool of propaganda.

The Utah Valley State College Writing Center provides a wonderful PDF handout of twenty logical fallacies often found in writing. I have included this and other links I urge you to read at the end of this article. For now, I'll take a look at a few of the more common tactics and give you some examples of each scenario. Some may seem controversial; however, these examples should clearly show you what to look for in a logical fallacy. Again, the question is not whether they are true, or false. What we are looking at is the logic. Are the statements an unsound and illogical means of persuasion and if so, why?.

Logical Fallacy Examples

Red Herring - The Red Herring fallacies all use misdirection. Instead of actually validating and discussing a topic, the writer offers the red herring instead. They will either completely change the subject or offer "as proof" something that only remotely relates to the topic at hand. There are several variations using this tool of misdirection.

Appeal to Emotion:

A very common tactic, particularly with controversial subjects. Instead of discussing the reasons behind an issue, the writer incites fear, pride, pity, jealousy or some other strong emotion. The writer may very well be speaking the truth as they believe it to be true, but writers should not use this in professional papers. Convince by fact-not by tugging the emotional chain.

Example: "So many children are suffering because people won't bother to write their leaders and demand change."

Within that one statement, we are not given facts on what our leaders are doing to alleviate suffering, or given facts on how the children are suffering or the actual reasons for their suffering. We are made to feel guilty if we have not personally participated in the writer's chosen course of action. Is it true? It could be. However, the reader is not given the facts to make up his mind, only the guilt trip.

Attacking the Person:

In my opinion, this Red Herring can be particularly insidious or cowardly. Here the writer ignores the issue entirely, diverting the discussion by choosing instead, to launch a personal attack on the person or the group making the opposing argument.

Example: "I heard that Sharon is being considered as our book club treasurer. Anne tried to convince me how well she would do but you know that last month Anne's husband caught her cheating on him."

In this case, Sharon's accounting skills have been ignored entirely and the focus is brought to bear on a direct personal attack against Sharon's supporter, Anne. In opposition, anyone who wishes Sharon to be the treasurer, must now either ignore the slur against Anne, or defend Anne's character assassination instead of Sharon's accounting skills. Is it true that Anne cheated on her husband? Possibly, but it is totally irrelevant to the discussion of Sharon's accounting skills.

Ignoring the Issue:

This Red Herring is sometimes very difficult to spot. Here, the writer often poses a valid concern or statement, but on a completely different topic. Another misdirection tactic, the issue being debated is totally ignored in favor of a new issue now being offered instead.

Example: "The federal deficit is at an all time high but illegal aliens still storm across our borders."

In this statement, no discussion or reasoning is given for the deficit or how illegal aliens affect our federal deficit. Instead, the writer diverts the attention of the reader to the issue of illegal immigrants. Is one, the other, or both statements true? Possibly, but the one is only connected to the other via the connection of the writer's sentence and not offered as reasonable logic.

Straw Man:

This is very similar to Ignoring the Issue and is another you really have to pay attention to catch. With the straw man, minor issues are brought up, diverting the attention from the larger, major issue. The minor issues are generally related to the main subject, easily creating the diversion.

Example: "The majority of scientists agree that global warming is a real and dangerous problem with man-made accelerations, but the temperatures in Florida this winter have been below normal so I certainly don't believe them."

Here, the main issue is never touched. The facts the scientists present are ignored, the man-made is not touched upon, and the word global is dropped. Instead, the writer discusses the local temperatures of one spot for one season, easily bringing the reader's attention away from the bigger picture. Is it true? Possibly, but the reader is never given the supporting facts on the main topic.

The examples above all use misdirection. There are a few others I'd like to bring to your attention. They use tactics other than misdirection, and I find them common and often elusive.

Over Simplification

False Dilemma:

This logical fallacy uses simplification to distort the discussion. A complex scenario is reduced to an either/or scenario, giving the reader the idea that the topic has no other conclusions.

"Either you support the war, or you are against our troops."

Is this statement true? Possibly, for some people, but certainly not for all. This statement takes the complex and often heart wrenching discussions of war and reducing it to an either/or scenario. For this, I will use the example given on the handout, as it gives the clearest example I can think of.

"America - Love it or leave it"

Obviously, this is oversimplifying. Someone can be a citizen of a country, love the country and still not like policies of something that is happening within the country. There are more than the two options available as it is a complex situation.

Appeal to Popular:

Though this is similar to the Red Herring's Appeal to Emotion, this tactic simplifies the argument by using crowd appeal as it's reasoning instead of the complex issues. The tactic plays on our very real desire to be part of the crowd. The reasoning for the view given is justified by the simple call, "Everybody is doing it." You would think we'd move past those childish statements as we edge into adulthood, but unfortunately, I even find this sneaking its way into my own writing, on occasion.

"But Mom, all the seniors will be going!"

I don't think this needs further explanation, do you?

Begging the Question:

This is also common, yet a hard one to spot, and is also a bit difficult to explain. In order to make it clear, I'm going to use an example some of you may find very controversial but stay with me here. It shows the definite sides to this fallacy extremely well.

"In order to go to heaven, you must become a Christian."

Take a good look at that sentence structure. If you were to diagram it, it would sound like this: Phrase A = true, therefore phrase B = true.

However, what if not everyone believed Phrase A? The writer assumes that the reader will agree with Phrase A (In order to go to heaven) as the determining part of their argument. Now, if you believe phrase A to be true, then you probably would not easily spot this as a logical fallacy. But what if you didn't believe phrase A?

Phrase A is only true to those who believe in the writer's own version of a Christian heaven. If they do believe it, then they can easily be persuaded that phrase B is also true. However, if they do not, then phrase B (you must become a Christian) would be invalid to them and an unconvincing argument.

This is both the problem and the effectiveness of Begging the Question. It begs you to believe the first part so you'll find then agree with the second part. It may be very real and valid to the writer but it asks the reader to agree based on the writer's "assumption" the reader will agree to the first phrase.

There are many more Logical Fallacies and when you really start to study them, you will begin to notice how often they appear in the information you are given daily. Please take the time to look over the links below and familiarize yourself with them. Try to keep them out of your writing. Argue your points with sound judgment and realistic facts and you will have a stronger and much more convincing article.

References and Links:

Types of Writing Logical Fallacies
< http://www.uvsc.edu/owl/info/pdf/content_organization/fallacies.pdf> Accessed 09/17/2008

LEO: Literacy Education Online: Logical Fallacies
< http://leo.stcloudstate.edu/acadwrite/logic.html> Accessed: 09/17/2008

Logical Fallacies in the selling of Digital Technologies
< http://iron.lcc.gatech.edu/~gtg191v/logicallist.html> Accessed: 09/17/2008

fallacy. Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/fallacy (accessed: September 17, 2008).

logical. Dictionary.com. Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1). Random House, Inc. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/logical (accessed: September 17, 2008)
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Writing Exercise for Logical Fallacies:

1 Read over the links provided above, particularly the "Types of Writing Logical Fallacies". Print that one out, if possible, for your own future reference.

2. Using any of the Logical Fallacies in this paper or the the linked examples, look around you for examples of your own. The example you use can be of your own making or one you notice on TV, in print or in other articles here on this site. In an approximately 100-word paragraph, give the example and then an explanation of "why" it is a logical fallacy.

3. Watch the political speeches of your political candidates and see if you can spot the logical fallacies. After you make a list of them, go to Factcheck.org and see if you can find the underlying truth to their statements.

Other articles in the Engaged Writing series:

Breaking the Writer's Block: Sparking Ideas
Writing for Your Readers: Academic or Informal Papers
For or Against: Writing an Effective Argumentative Essay
The Ethnography: What it is and How to Write It