Hey there!
Previously on this blog we talked about logical fallacies. We talked about what they mean, and how understanding them can help maneuver our conversations and debates in a more constructive manner.
So this article and the next one will serve as a continuation of different types of logical fallacies along with a brief explanation or example. This is in hopes of creating more productive settings for meetings and discussions in the workplace, as well as in our daily lives.
Strawman
This is one of, if not the, most famous and common of them all.
This is how it happens. You’re in an argument with someone and you want to explain their view, which is opposing to yours, to a third party. You then mischaracterise, misrepresent or misinterpret their argument either knowingly or accidentally, in a way that wholly undermines the opponent’s argument to discredit it. This is called strawmaning.
Not only does it completely alter and ruin the conversation, it discredits you personally infant of other parties because it either shows you weren’t paying attention to the other point of debate, misunderstood or worse, acted out of malice to discredit the other person. It’s dangerous and quite common in many areas. You will see in politics more often than elsewhere but even on a day to day basis, it’s quite common.
Example: Samy wants to prioritize working with refugees. He clearly doesn’t care about the impoverished people in our own country.
Tu Quoque
Again, a hugely popular type of logical fallacy.
This is quite simple. Basically, it’s responding to criticism with criticism. When attacked or criticized, instead of actually responding and logically trying to dispute the claim, you simply attack the person who criticized you by claiming that they did the same thing they’re criticizing you for, meaning they’re a hypocrite.
This is intended once again to discredit the claim from the beginning. Since it can be quite difficult to escape a hypocrite tag once earned, the argument usually ends in favor of the person who called out the other as a hypocrite. This is however unfair since it stills avoids actually discussing whatever was claimed, so look out for this one
Example: “Youssef, you insulted me, you should apologize.” “Well, Ahmed, you did the same thing last month”.
Personal Incredulity
This one can be quite frustrating.
When someone tries to explain something to you that you don’t like as a premise, so you ask them to go into details. When they do, you don’t understand what they’re saying, so you undermine the whole explanation by insinuating or claiming it to be untrue.
It’s that simple, I didn’t get it, it can’t be right. Sadly, we and others do this more often than we’d care to admit, so it’s important to be vigilant not only for when others do this, but also ourselves.
Example: Light exists as both electromagnetic waves, and photons at the same time? That’s not right, how can it be two things at once. You’re wrong.
Next time, we’ll discuss more types of logical fallacies. Until then, take care, and look out for those fallacies.
