entry4- Trần Thị Tuyết Ngân

Analyzing arguments

Item 1:

          “Stop wasting my time in this store! Either decide you can afford the stereo, or go without music in your room”

Source: http://www.education.com/study-help/article/errors-deductive-reasoning/

Structure:

Premise 1: Either decide you can afford the stereo, or go without music in your room

Premise 2: You don’t want buy the stereo.

Conclusion: so go without music in your room

à Error: not all the options are covered in premise 1

Analysis:

Type of fallacy: false dilemma

This statement is false because there are not only two choices besides just buying the expensive stereo and going without music. There are many other options, for example, you could buy a cheaper stereo or you could borrow a stereo from your friends or someone else and have music in your room without making a purchase. There are many options beside ‘either decide you can afford the stereo, or go without music in your room’ in the argument.

  Item 2:

Source: http://www.justjared.com/2008/10/28/taylor-swift-got-milk/

Analysis:

Type of fallacy: fallacy of relevance – appeal to authority

This picture shows that Taylor Swift (a famous singer) is used to affirm a milk product while she is not really experts in that field. She is promoting milk. The poster writes “Some studies suggest that teens who choose milk instead of sugary drinks tend to be leaner, and the protein helps build muscle”. Without facts and data she has no authority to endorse milk like a nutritionist.

Item 3:

          “My roommate said her philosophy class was hard, and the one I’m in is hard, too. All philosophy classes must be hard!”

Source: http://writingcenter.unc.edu/handouts/fallacies

Structure:

 Premise 1: My roommate said her philosophy class was hard.

Premise 2: Another roommate said her philosophy class is hard, too.

Conclusion: All philosophy classes must be hard.

 Analysis:

Type of fallacy: Hasty generalization

In this statement, the writer gave a conclusion very hastily is that ‘All philosophy classes must be hard’. She paid attention to two people’s experiences, only based on the opinions or experiences of just a few people, in this case, not enough on which to base a conclusion.