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One important group of fallacies is those where the problem in reasoning is one of relevance: the premises of an argument aren't relevant to the truth of the conclusion.
Some types:
Personal attack
An attack on the person offering a claim, rather than the substance of what he or she says.
e.g. 'Don't believe what James says about global warming, he's homosexual'.
Appeal to pity
An attempt to get you to accept a claim out of sympathy for the person offering it.
e.g. 'You should pass my essay because my parents will be angry with me if I fail'.
Appeal to popularity
An attempt to get you to accept a claim on the basis that it is widely thought to be true.
e.g. 'Nearly 90% of Americans believe that astrology is a science, so you should agree'.
Appeal to illegitimate authority
An argument that asks you to accept something asserted by someone who is not an expert in the area in question.
e.g. 'A TV current affairs show last night said that crime rates have dramatically increased in Chadstone - so it must be true!'
Alternatively, asking you to accept the word of a suitably qualified expert in some matter that is widely agreed to be contentious or disputed by other experts in the field.
e.g. 'Sparkle Cola's nutritionists say that teenagers can consume up to 10 cans of soft drink a week without consuming an excessive amount of sugar, so you should agree'.
Let's try a practice exercise...
Sort the white boxes according to the fallacy they present:
Drag this image onto the workspace to proceed. You must be using the inbuilt browser in Rationale 1.3 or later.
After you've finished this exercise drag this thumbnail onto the workspace to see the model answer:
This material has been developed independently of the International Baccalaureate, which in no way endorses it.
© Austhink 2013. Rationale Exercises version 0.1, Jan-13
