Fallacy can be described as mistake of argument. It happens when an argument is not supported by a sound though process or reasoning. Despite the fault of reasoning, many people can still fall into fallacy trap. It is dangerous for party who comes up with the argument or the one who receives the argument. When you have a logical fallacy in your argument, it will be difficult to convince people of the cause that you want to support. Meanwhile as a recipient, the logical fallacy will make you easily swayed by unfounded information. It will be troublesome when you are making important decisions in life.
In this world
we tend to have someone whom we regard highly. They can be social media influencers, musicians, or even just seniors that you adore. Sometimes when such esteemed person provides an argument, you will immediately agree just because you trust and respect the person. Instead of looking at the content of the argument, you are looking at the person who states it even if the argument can be false.
There is a logical fallacy named ad hominem. This is a situation when barrier between the idea and the person becomes blurry. An example of this fallacy is when someone targets someone’s characteristics instead of their idea during an argument. The argument turns to be directed to the person and it becomes an invalid argument considering the situation. It is in fact easy to spot the flaw in ad hominem fallacy. Unfortunately, in the heat of the moment, people tend to fail to notice such thing.
You might have been in a situation when a debate does not go further or seem stuck. The debaters often opt to restate the argument instead of developing it into cohesive idea to appeal to the audience. A good debater will be able to do such circular reasoning in a way that it does not seem like the argument is repetitive. In the end, you will find that the problem discussed does not see satisfying conclusion. This fallacy often happens in public forums and it is very counterproductive.
Sometimes
a person can be tempted to use their personal story as something to back up their argument. This effort makes an interesting story but perhaps not quite a logical argument. Argument that is developed based on only one case might not be too compelling. There is a high chance that the case is an anomaly. The anecdotal evidence will be easily disintegrated when someone else can provide more solid proofs against that evidence.
Another common fallacy is the one that appeals to emotion. Such method is often used in various facets of life including political campaigns and advertisements. When an argument is tailored to be able to move audience’s emotion, then the content is no longer thoroughly dissected. People will believe the argument and even act on it regardless its logical validity.
From the explanations above, it is important for us to be alert when encountering new information. We have to make it a habit to dissect news that comes in our way.
