Stephen's Guide to the Logical Fallacies


"It may be fun, but it is not very useful. Nor is it very enlightened.

"The names of the fallacies are for identification purposes only. They are not supposed to be flung around like argumentative broadswords. It is not sufficient to state that an opponent has committed such-and-such a fallacy. And it is not very polite.

"This Guide is intended to help you in your own thinking, not to help you demolish someone else's argument. When you are establishing your own ideas and beliefs, evaluate them in the light of the fallacies described here.

"When evaluating the ideas and arguments proposed to you by others, keep in mind that you need to prove that the others' reasoning is fallacious. That is why there is a proof section in the description of each fallacy. The proof section is intended to give you a mechanism for showing that the reasoning is flawed. Apply the methodology described in the proof section to the passage in question. Construct your own argument. Use this argument —not the name of the fallacy —to respond."



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