The Art of Logical Thinking; Or, The Laws of ReasoningAtkinson, William Walker
Philosophy
The Art of Logical Thinking; Or, The Laws of Reasoning
Atkinson, William Walker
Logic; Reasoning
Jevons says: "The most frequent way, perhaps, in which we commit this
kind of fallacy is to employ names which imply that we disapprove of
something, and then argue that because it is such and such, it must be
condemned. When two sportsmen fall out in some manner relating to the
subject of game, one will, in all probability, argue that the act of the
other was 'unsportsmanlike,' and therefore should not have been done.
Here is to all appearance a correct syllogism:
"No unsportsmanlike act should be done; John Robinson's act was
unsportsmanlike: Therefore, John Robinson's act should not have been
done.
"This is quite correct in form; but it is evidently the mere semblance
of an argument. 'Unsportsmanlike' means _what a sportsman should not
do_. The point to be argued was whether the act fell within the
customary definition of _what was unsportsmanlike_."
Arising from "Begging the Question," and in fact a class of the latter,
is what is called "Reasoning in a Circle." In this form of fallacy one
assumes as proof of a proposition the proposition itself; or, uses the
conclusion to prove the premise. For instance: "This man is a rascal
because he is a rogue; and he is a rogue because he is a rascal." Or,
"It is warm because it is summer; and it is summer because it is warm."
Or "He never drinks to excess, because he is never intemperate in
drinking."
Brooks says: "Thus to argue that a party is good because it advocates
good measures, and that certain measures are good because they are
advocated by so excellent a party, is to reason in a circle. So when
persons argue that their church is the true one, because it was
established by God, and then argue that since it is the true church it
must have been founded by God, they fall into this fallacy. To argue
that 'the will is determined by the strongest motive' and to define the
strongest motive as 'that which influences the will,' is to revolve in a
circle of thought and prove nothing. Plato commits this error when he
argues the immortality of the soul from its simplicity, and afterwards
attempts to prove its simplicity from its immortality." It needs care to
avoid this error, for it is surprising how easily one falls into it.
Hyslop says: "The fallacy of Reasoning in a Circle occurs mostly in
long arguments where it can be committed without ready detection....
When it occurs in a long discourse it may be committed without easy
discovery. It is likely to be occasioned by the use of synonyms which
are taken to express more than the conception involved when they do
not." What is called a Vicious Circle is caused when the conclusion of
one syllogism is used for a proposition in another syllogism, which in
its turn comes to be used as a basis for the first or _original
syllogism_.
_Fallacious Conclusion_ is in effect _an unwarranted or irrelevant
assumption of a logical conclusion_. There are many forms of this
fallacy among which are the following:
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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