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Topic: Fallacies of definition

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	Fallacies
		Definition: Making assumptions about a whole group or range of cases based on a sample that is inadequate (usually because it is atypical or just too small).
		Definition: Assuming that because B comes after A, A caused B. Of course, sometimes one event really does cause another one that comes later--for example, if I register for a class, and my name later appears on the roll, it's true that the first event caused the one that came later.
		Definition: Equivocation is sliding between two or more different meanings of a single word or phrase that is important to the argument.
	www.unc.edu /depts/wcweb/handouts/fallacies.html (3997 words)

	Fallacies
		AMPHIBOLY: A fallacy of syntactical ambiguity deliberately misusing implications.
		This fallacy assumes that we must choose between two opposite extremes instead of allowing for other possibilities, especially for the possibility of choosing an alternative between the extremes.
		The fallacy of questionable cause is committed when, on insufficient evidence, we identify a cause for an occurrence that has taken place or a fact that is true.
	www.coping.org /write/percept/fallacies/content.htm (2144 words)

	Test: Fallacies and Definition
		A definition should state the essential attributes of the species.
		A definition must not be expressed in obscure, or figurative language.
		A definition should not be negative where it can be affirmative.
	philosophy.lander.edu /scireas/definition_test.html (838 words)

	Definition
		In Roman Catholicism, a "dogmatic definition" by a pope or an ecumenical council.
		The sort of definition that philosophers are interested in, insofar as they are interested in definitions at all, is one that identifies the intension, not the extension of the word.
		The definition of a concept, or of (a given sense of) a word or phrase, is a description of its intension--that is, the set of properties that characterizes all and only members of the extension of the word; the extension is all the things that the concept, word, or phrase applies to.
	www.ebroadcast.com.au /lookup/encyclopedia/de/Definition.html (1456 words)

	Definition - Psychology Wiki (Site not responding. Last check: )
		A stipulative definition is the specification of a meaning adopted or assumed specifically for the purposes of argument or discussion in a given context.
		A persuasive definition "is a type of definition in which a term is defined in such a way as to be an argument for a particular position (as opposed to a lexical definition, which aims to be neutral to all usages), and is deceptive in that it has the surface form of a dictionary definition."
		"Definition" is a fixed, static form (a model; an appearance of something as distinguished from the substance of which it is made; something autonomous from its own representation) of some relation(s) that significantly increases the probability of realisation of an intended (premeditated) change of some phenomenon.
	psychology.wikia.com /wiki/Definition (2454 words)

	definition@Everything2.com
		Ex: "A chair is a piece of furniture used to sit on." This definition is too broad because it allows things that shouldn't be included to be included such as a sofa bed, which would fit the definition.
		Ex: "A chair is a piece of furniture with four legs and is made of wood." This definition is too narrow because not all chairs have four legs, or are made of wood, and therefore it includes things that should be excluded.
		A definition is designed to settle a thing in its compass and extent; an explanation is intended to remove some obscurity or misunderstanding, and is therefore more extended and minute; a description enters into striking particulars with a view to interest or impress by graphic effect.
	www.everything2.com /index.pl?node=definition (603 words)

	Atheism: Logic & Fallacies
		This fallacy is the reverse of the Fallacy of Accident.
		This is the converse of the fallacy of Affirmation of the Consequent.
		The fallacy of division is the opposite of the Fallacy of Composition.
	www.infidels.org /library/modern/mathew/logic.html (5866 words)

	Handbook of Fallacies
		This fallacy is especially widespread and devastating in the realm of political discussion, where its use renders impossible the task of discriminating among distinctively different groups of people.
		I often challenge those who commit this fallacy to eliminate from their discussion all general collective terms, and each time they want to use such a term to use instead a precisely delimiting description of the group the term is intended to subsume.
		A similar fallacy is that of equating opposites by substituting nonessentials for their essential characteristics.
	rous.redbarn.org /objectivism/Writing/DavidKing/GuideToObjectivism/FALLACYS.HTM (0 words)

	Introduction to Fallacies (Site not responding. Last check: )
		The fallacies that were well-known to the ancient Greeks and Romans were the fallacies used by politicians and orators.
		FALLACIES themselves are organized according to their classification.
		Click on each fallacy to see an explanation of that fallacy, a couple pithy examples, a discussion of why we sometimes find that fallacy to be persuasive, and in most cases a source indicating who first described and/or named the fallacy.
	www.cuyamaca.net /bruce.thompson/Fallacies/intro_fallacies.asp (852 words)

	[No title]
		Definition: In order to show that a proposition P is unacceptable, a sequence of increasingly unacceptable events is shown to follow from P. A slippery slope is an illegitimate use of the"if-then" operator.
		Definition: A proposition is held to be true because it is widely held to be true or is held to be true by some (usually upper crust) sector of the population.
		Definition: The proper conclusion of an inductive argument is denied despite the evidence to the contrary.
	hhhknights.com /curr/human/1/logic/fallicies.htm (7433 words)

	The Nature of Fallacies
		Fallacy: a type of mistake in argumentation that might appear to be correct, but which proves upon examination not to be so.
		Informal Fallacy: those dependent upon language-- i.e., a fallacy that arises from the content of an argument (the what is said, not the how it is said).
		Formal Fallacy: those outside the content of language--i.e., a fallacy that arises from an error in the form of an argument; it is (usually) independent of content.
	philosophy.lander.edu /logic/nature_fall.html (518 words)

	Fallacies [Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy]
		It is the converse of the composition fallacy.
		Guilt by association is a version of the ad hominem fallacy in which a person is said to be guilty of error because of the group he or she associates with.
		This fallacy is a kind of non sequitur in which the premises are wholly irrelevant to drawing the conclusion.
	www.iep.utm.edu /f/fallacy.htm (13670 words)

	Academic Centers
		An understanding of logical fallacy is important to the academic writer for two reasons. First, during the research phase of the writing project, the writer will read and critically evaluate a variety of resource documents.
		The mark of a good definition lies in its capability to enable a reader to identify instances of the word or concept without additional help.
		Thus, an author commits a fallacy when he or she treats a statistical generalization as though it were always true.
	www.sinclair.edu /centers/wc/LogicalFallacy/index.cfm (925 words)

	Public Goods Fallacies - False Justifications For Government
		Keynesians take the fallacy one step further: when faced with sufficient evidence (which they will never be honest enough to be the first to bring forward), they will not deny that the way their equations are utter nonsense when applied to meaningful, understandable, quantities.
		The Moral Fallacy supposes that man is too evil (or too ``something´´) to govern himself regarding some ``public goods´´ that must thus be confided to the government — but the government itself is made of men who are not less evil (or less ``something´´) than the rest of mankind.
		This fallacy once again supposes that government is moved by an external force outside of the public, whereby statesmen and their henchmen would be more altruistic and less egoistic than the citizens.
	fare.tunes.org /liberty/public_goods_fallacies.html (5414 words)

	What is a Fallacy? (Site not responding. Last check: )
		A fallacy is a general type of appeal (or category of argument) that resembles good reasoning, but that we should not find to be persuasive.
		However, there is a growing movement among modern students of fallacy to consider fallacies, not as errors in a single argument, but as illegitimate moves in the broader context of a dialectical discussion.
		In this extended sense, it would be true to say that all arguments, both fallacious and non-fallacious, are valid (for their type), simply because any utterance that failed to be valid would fail to qualify as an argument of the specified type.
	www.cuyamaca.edu /bruce.thompson/Fallacies/discussion.asp (1842 words)

	MDPME: Beliefs & Fallacies - Page 2 (Site not responding. Last check: )
		Fallacy of Exclusion: denying the logical conclusion to an inductive argument by excluding evidence from consideration.
		Fallacy of Four Terms: mimicking syllogistic logic, but with more than the standard three terms (premises and conclusion may still be true despite the logical error).
		Fallacy of Exclusive Premises: when both the major and minor premises are exclusive (negative statements).
	www.mdpme.com /FALLACY2.HTM (750 words)

	Informal Fallacies
		These fallacies occur because the author mistakenly assumes that the whole is nothing more than the sum of its parts.
		The definition is more difficult to understand than the word or concept being defined.
		The fallacies in this section are all cases where a word or phrase is used unclearly.
	www.hebrew4christians.com /Clear_Thinking/Informal_Fallacies/Informal_Fallacies.html (1564 words)

	The Meaninglessness of external Causes
		To use the defined as part of its own definition (by the vice of its inclusion in the definer) is the very definition of a tautology, the gravest of logical fallacies.
		Other people attach the same endowments of meaning and definition to human society, to Mankind, to a given culture or civilization, to specific human institutions (the Church, the State, the Army), or to an ideology.
		To base one's notions of meaningfulness and definition on any of them would be a rather risky act, at least philosophically.
	samvak.tripod.com /external.html (0 words)

	Logical Fallacies with References
		Definition: In order to show that a proposition P is unacceptable, a sequence of increasingly unacceptable events is shown to follow from P. A slippery slope is an illegitimate use of the “if-then” operator.
		Definition: The truth of the conclusion is assumed by the premises.
		Definition: The conclusion of a standard form categorical syllogism is affirmative, but at least one of the premises is negative.
	www.mnforsustain.org /student_logical_fallacies_with_references.htm (9628 words)

	Fallacies, errors and tricks
		Fallacies may be accidental, because someone is careless or does not recognize the error, or done purposely to try to mislead.
		Note that just because a fallacy has been committed it does not necessarily follow that the conclusion is wrong (see the fallacy fallacy).
		Other types of faulty reasoning do not fit the strict definition of a fallacy, but still need to be watched for.
	www.info-pollution.com /fallacies.htm (491 words)

	Fallacies
		For example, one fallacy is called "sweeping generalization." Someone may argue: "That is the richest sorority on campus; so Sue, who belongs to that sorority must be one of the richest women on campus." Well, Sue may be one of the richest; or she may be one of the poorest.
		Denial of the antecedent: "A implies B, A is false, therefore B is false" This is the converse of the fallacy of affirmation of the consequent.
		Fallacy of composition: the idea that a property shared by a number of individual items, is also shared by a collection of those items; or that a property of the parts of an object, must also be a property of the whole thing.
	webspace.ship.edu /cgboer/fallacies.html (4863 words)

	Logical Fallacies by Type (Site not responding. Last check: )
		In order to understand what a fallacy is, one must understand what an argument is. Very briefly, an argument consists of one or more premises and one conclusion.
		To be more specific, a fallacy is an "argument" in which the premises given for the conclusion do not provide the needed degree of support.
		A deductive fallacy is a deductive argument that is invalid (it is such that it could have all true premises and still have a false conclusion).
	www.brightok.net /~kellimcb/logfall.htm (1134 words)

	The Fallacies by Ron Liebermann
		The fallacies may be thought of as an organized system of anti-logic; they are an evil mirror-image of the truth.
		Fallacy of Exclusion: Evidence that would change the outcome of an inductive argument is excluded from consideration: Iraq has an arsenal of weaponry that must be destroyed.
		Circular Definition: The definition includes the term being defined as part of the definition: America is a democracy, because the American people believe in democracy.
	www.lewrockwell.com /orig2/liebermann4.html (1210 words)

	ENG722, Week 8
		In many cases the definition of a term is deliberately slanted and its meaning is obscured, lessened, and devolved to mislead a particular audience at a particular time -- which is both unethical and unacceptable.
		In part, that is the nature of rhetorical fallacies: people assign meaning to words, phrases, and causes to build a consensus that suits their immediate needs, primarily based on flawed logic and fallacious reasoning.
		The definition should not repeat the term to be defined or use synonymous or derivative terms.
	personal.bgsu.edu /~pcesari/bib.html (1927 words)

	OWL at Purdue University: Printable Handouts: Fallacies (Site not responding. Last check: )
		It can be used against you in an argument, but if you are familiar with them, you will be able to refute the fallacious argument.
		Fallacies of relevance occur when the premises of an argument are irrelevant to the conclusion.
		Fallacies of ambiguity occur when ambiguous, changeable wording in the propositions can lead to there being more than one meaning in an argument.
	owl.english.purdue.edu /handouts/print/general/gl_fallacies.html (396 words)

	ESGS Logical Fallacies
		Most fallacies can be avoided with some knowledge of science and epistemology that the practice of general semantics helps to convey.
		The force of the fallacy lies in the impression created that some veiled claim is true, although no relevant evidence is presented to support such a view.
		Fallacy Fallacy (ad logicam): arguing that a proposition is false because it has been presented as the conclusion of a fallacious argument.
	esgs.free.fr /uk/logic.htm (1906 words)

	The Logical Fallacies: Fallacies of Definition
		The purpose of a definition is to state exactly what a word means.
		If the definition is successful, then the reader should be able go out into the world and select every apple which exists, and only apples.
		Circular Definition (The definition includes the term being defined as a part of the definition)
	onegoodmove.org /fallacy/define_index.htm (0 words)

	South African Free and Critical Thinkers Association
		There are a number of pitfalls to avoid when constructing a deductive argument; they are known as fallacies.
		A fallacy is a technical flaw which makes an argument unsound or invalid.
		Note that fallacious arguments often appear valid and convincing and only with close inspection does the logical flaw become apparent.
	www.geocities.com /safacta/fallacies.html (2766 words)

	Logical fallacies
		A logical fallacy is a false argument that depends on emotional manipulation, contorted logic, or leaps of faith.
		When in the hands of clever arguers, these logical fallacies may end up convincing unsuspecting listeners or readers that a shallow or weak argument is valid.
		Still, it is a good idea to recognize and avoid logical fallacies in arguments because, once discovered, these fallacies destroy both your argument and your credibility.
	webs.anokaramsey.edu /beste/English1121/Research/fallacies.htm (440 words)

	dKosopedia:Stub - dKosopedia
		You may also contribute with knowledge you have acquired from other sources, but it is useful to conduct a small amount of research beforehand, in order to make sure that your version of the facts is correct.
		Since at times definitions are impossible, you should write a clear and informative description of the subject.
		State, for example, what a person is famous for, where a place is located and what it is known for, the basic details of an event and when it happened.
	www.dkosopedia.com /wiki/dKosopedia:Stub (668 words)

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