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Critical Thinking Tutorial: Fallacious Reasoning

This tutorial will empower you with valuable critical thinking skills that are essential for your university education.

Fallacies

Some people mistakenly believe that logical reasoning is infallible or that it guarantees the absolute truth. However, logical reasoning is a tool that helps evaluate the validity of arguments and draw reasonable conclusions. It is still subject to limitations, biases, and the availability of accurate information. In this section, you will explore some common fallacies (errors in reasoning) that lead to incorrect or invalid conclusions, undermining the logic of an argument.

This video discusses the types of fallacies to avoid when constructing logical arguments. Examples include:

  1. False Dichotomy: Presenting only two options while ignoring others to narrow the argument in one person's favor.
  2. Appeal to Emotion: Using emotion-based language to persuade others of a belief or position.
  3. Equivocation: Presenting an argument in an ambiguous, double-sided way to mislead.
  4. Bandwagon Appeal: Presenting the thoughts of a group to persuade others to think the same way based on peer pressure.
  5. False Analogy: Comparing two unalike things based on a trivial similarity to prove a point.

Listen carefully to the definitions of each fallacy and the examples provided, then attempt the drag and drop activity that follows.


Source: Logical Fallacies by Mometrix Academy on YouTube

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