Wednesday, February 23, 2005

identifying fallacies

I was hesitant before writing this, but I decided to do it anyway. Having been going over examples in class, identifying these fallacies is a lot harder than I expected. Maybe its just me, but I feel like some are confusing. If anyone has any quick pointers to make it easier to understand I am all ears.

5 Comments:

At 7:55 PM, Keith B said...

I don't really have any pointers, but I feel your pain. Going to class, I was confident about what I knew. Leaving, well... no. So basically I'm just glad that I'm not the only one. Odds are, a majority of the class is feeling the same. Maybe we should post some of our own arguements and try to pick them apart?

 
At 8:05 PM, Miguel said...

Those are very fair criticisms. But I need to hear them, since otherwise I assume everyone understands and then move on to another example and/or subject. So, please, next time in class I ask "did everyone get that?" and you didn't, be sure to stop me. If you have a question, odds are at least five other people do, too.

I've also recently posted a link to some other fallacy overviews that might be helpful. I do also recommend Keith's suggestion of finding some fallacies and posting them here (on the class website) to see if you've identified them correctly.

I check this website daily, and get email notifications when any new post/comment is made. I'll keep checking it during spring break, as well.

 
At 12:12 AM, Katherine said...

I feel the same way! It's not so much that I don't understand the fallacies, but more that I feel that some of the examples we went over can be interpreted in many ways. Once the correct answers are explained I fully understand why that answer is right. I guess it just really takes practice!

 
At 1:43 AM, Miguel said...

Actually, some of the examples *could* (some, but not all) be interpreted in different ways. That's why I don't just ask for what fallacy students think an example demonstrates, but ask for reasons "why".

On the quiz, don't just name a fallacy; you should also explain you think so (in a few words). If you get the "wrong" answer, but your explanation is convincing, I'll give credit.

But I will try very hard to come up w/ very clear examples. But sometimes people can argue about fallacies. So it's not a black-white world. It's mostly shades of grey. Is comparing Iraq to Vietnam a false analogy? Depends on the argument made for/against that position.

The most difficult thing students face in 105 is this: It's not a class in which there are always "correct" answers. That's very scary for some students. But, hopefully, by the end of the semester, you'll all develop enough confindence in your ability to reason that you can enter discussions w/ confidence, whatever the topic is.

 
At 2:39 PM, Timoshenko said...

The fallacies did seem confusing in the beggining, and after working on the paper and attempting to apply them, the situation improved a little. Nonetheless, some of these fallacies are really hard to plot, especially when having similar ones like hasty conclusion and sweeping generalization, where things get tricky.

 

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