Critical thinking concepts and applications

¶ … fallacious?

An argument is fallacious if its internal logic does not follow coherently. For instance, in the statement of deductive logic that all men are immortal, Socrates is a man, therefore Socrates is immortal, the statement is not fallacious in a syllogistic fashion. However, the syllogism rests on an incorrect premise -- men are mortal. Thus, from the standpoint of inductive logic, or observed, empirical evidence, the statement is fallacious.

Why are we subject to fallacious reasoning?

We as human beings are subject to fallacious reasoning because we are swayed, not simply by logic, but by emotions and personal and cultural biases that affect our judgment and our ability to understand fallacies from the point-of-view of a reasoned critical thinker.

Have you ever intentionally used fallacious reasoning? Why?

Although one seldom sets out to use fallacious reasoning in a term paper, in life, it is tempting to use fallacious reasoning to sway individuals for emotional reasons because often fallacies are more effective than logic.

Describe how individual's egos can jeopardize good decision-making. Do you have any experiences of this situation?

To cite an applicable example of both the above question and the dangers of egotism, for instance, one might sway the opinion of an individual with the ad hominem fallacy, or arguing against the individual who makes the argument for something, rather than against the principles themselves. "Oh, don't go there for dinner -- Mr. X loves McDonald's and look what a slob he is. The McDonald's must be why he is overweight, unlike you. If you don't eat McDonald's you'll never be fat" (Blaming the food, rather than the amount of calories overall, from other foods Mr. X eats.)

Describe one or two incidents where improper communication created major problems that required work-around to meet due dates and/or project expectations.

When working in groups, allocating responsibilities must be articulated clearly, otherwise conflicts of leadership and authority invariably result, regarding who is responsible for different facets of the same task.