Transcript Thank You For Arguing Chapter 14-16

THANK YOU FOR ARGUING
CHAPTERS 14-16
Tim Taylor,
Taylor
Sullivan,
Maddie
Kenny,
Rachel
Myers, and
Camila
Palacios
3rd Period
CHAPTER 14
Spot Fallacies
THE SEVEN DEADLY SINS
The False Comparison
The Bad Example
Ignorance as Proof
Tautology
The False Choice
The Red Herring
The Wrong Ending
FIRST DEADLY SIN: THE FALSE COMPARISON
The false comparison occurs when one
compares two things to each other, and
because they are similar, one is led to believe
that they are the same. Some examples of the
first sin include: the all natural fallacy, the
appeal to popularity, reductio absurdum,
fallacy of antecedent, false analogy, and the
unit fallacy.
THE FALSE COMPARISON EXAMPLES
 All natural fallacy: makes one believe that because a
certain thing is good for them, everything with that
certain thing in it is good for them
 Appeal to popularity: if one person is doing a certain
thing, you should too
 Reductio absurdum: falsely compares a choice that
one person has made with another ridiculous choice
 Fallacy of antecedent: the false comparison of time;
when one believes that a specific moment is
identical to past moments
 False analogy: when one compares two things and
calls them the same
 Unit fallacy: one is given a specific example, and
ends up losing track of the difference between a
piece of the pie and the whole pie
SECOND DEADLY SIN: THE BAD EXAMPLE
Another deadly sin includes the bad example. There
are many examples that fail to prove the conclusion,
but misinterpreting the evidence and hasty
generalization are two important points. Hasty
generalization is when one gives too few examples to
prove the point. Misinterpreting the evidence is when
the examples fail to support the conclusion.
Misinterpreting the evidence ex: The fastest driver in
NASCAR drives a specific car, and if you buy that
specific car, you will become a NASCAR champion too.
Hasty generalization ex: Since my IPhone didn’t
break when I ran it over with the car, then nobody's
will break.
THE BAD EXAMPLE
THIRD DEADLY SIN: IGNORANCE AS PROOF
Ignorance as proof occurs when one
argues that just because their theory has
never been disproved, it must be true.
Example: I have never seen a tiger, so
they must not exist.
FOURTH DEADLY SIN: THE TAUTOLOGY
One encounters the tautology when one
finds that the proof and the conclusion
work perfectly together because they are
essentially the same in concept, but they
are written or said differently.
Rachel has the highest grade in the class
because she is the smartest person in
the class.
FIFTH DEADLY SIN: THE FALSE CHOICE
 A false choice gives options, but they minimize one’s
choices to a smaller number than what is actually
available.
 A person limits your choices to push you in the
direction of their choice, an example of this is the
false dilemma. People can do this with proof as well,
which is called a complex cause. In the complex
cause, there are multiple reasons for why something
happens, but only a single reason gets the spotlight.
SIXTH DEADLY SIN: THE RED HERRING
 The red herring is when someone changes the
subject in the middle of the argument to throw
the audience off.
 Another version of this, the straw man tactic,
switches the argument to an easier one to fight.
 Example:
Mom: “Why haven't you cleaned your room?”
You: “Well, at least I mowed the lawn.”
SEVENTH DEADLY SIN: THE WRONG ENDING
 The seventh deadly sin continues the problem of the
proof and choices not connecting. This sin is called
the wrong ending, and unlike some of the others,
there is no problem with the proof at all; the issue
lies solely with the conclusion. The slippery slope is
one part of this fallacy. It explains that a single
choice could lead to an unfortunate series of events.
 Example: Your teacher explains that if she lets you
get water, then she’ll have to let everyone else get
water.
CHAPTER 15
Call a
Foul
THE SEVEN “OUT-OF-BOUNDS”
Switching away from future tense
Humiliation
Threats
Inappropriate language/signs
Stupidity
Inflexible insistence
Innuendo
OUT-OF-BOUNDS #1 – SWITCHING AWAY
FROM THE FUTURE TENSE
The persuader should “instantly switch to the
future tense,” and if their opponent refuses to
switch, call the foul (Heinrichs, 163).
Remaining in the future tense allows one to
easily make a choice about the future. In
comparison, lingering in the present or past
tense during an argument could end in
disaster.
OUT-OF-BOUNDS #2 – HUMILIATION
Don’t look like a fool just for the sake of
“embarrass[ing your] victim,” and gaining
points (Heinrichs, 167).
Humiliation rarely leads to a decision due to
the fact that one’s goal isn't to try to win the
argument, but only to make fun of their
opponent.
OUT-OF-BOUNDS #3 – THREATS
 The threat is a “sword-rattling extreme,” and a
tremendous argument stopper (Heinrichs, 168).
 The threat is the worst of all rhetorical fouls
because it doesn’t give your audience a choice in
the matter, and one doesn’t have an argument if
they don’t have choices. Threatening your
opponent with words or signals could turn out to
be a bad conclusion for both you and your
opponent.
OUT-OF-BOUNDS #4 – INAPPROPRIATE
LANGUAGE/SIGNS
When your opponent flips you the bird, or uses
obscene language, “consider not rebutting at
all” because that would suggest that not only
your opponent, but also you have committed a
foul (Heinrichs, 169).
Inappropriate language and foul gestures are
a form of threat, just milder. If your opponent
tries to use this out-of-bounds, call the foul.
OUT-OF-BOUNDS #5 – STUPIDIT Y
“Debat[ing] with a moron” is not only foolish,
but will also make a fool out of oneself
(Heinrichs, 169).
The rhetorical foul of stupidity forbids one to
reach a successful conclusion because the
arguer fails to recognize his own stupidity. If
you are to find yourself in a situation with the
words “no” and “yes” going back and forth a
million times, call the foul.
OUT OF BOUNDS #6 – INFLEXIBLE
INSISTENCE
Be sure to call the foul if someone believes
there is “a right way and a wrong way,” and
then tells you your way is wrong (Heinrichs,
165).
Refusing to hear the other side and sticking to
your guns most of the time preludes a
rhetorical foul.
OUT-OF-BOUNDS #7 – INNUENDO
Innuendo is an “insidious” kind of humiliation
constituting an “insulting hint”, and ends up
turning an encouraging comment into a slam
(Heinrichs, 167).
Innuendo is a particularly harmful kind of
rhetoric, and if one objects to it, it can make a
fool out of themselves.
NEVER ARGUE THE INARGUABLE
Stay away from fighting and distracting, and
remain “intent on real persuasion” in order to
avoid arguing the inarguable (Heinrichs, 158).
Avoid anything that keeps one from reaching a
satisfactory conclusion; otherwise known as
the inarguable.
FALLACY OF POWER
 The fallacy of power suggests that one believes a
certain thing is the correct thing just because the
man in charge says it is.
 An example one can use to explain the fallacy of
power is as follows:
Sister: “But my boss told me that it is a good
idea to send Charlie to private school!”
Brother: “Well, your boss may have money to
send his kid to private school, but you don’t, and
public school is just as good anyways.”
CHAPTER 16
Know
Whom
to Trust
“LIAR DETECTORS”
The disinterest disconnect:
If there is a gap in your interests and the
persuader’s, you must take their information
cautiously.
(Remember, disinterest is independence from
certain interests)
Rhetorical virtue:
How a persuader presents himself to be
honorable during the argument.
DISINTEREST DISCONNECT
 Does the persuader put your needs before their own?
Do they squish their own need with yours? This would
constitute a disconnect between the audience and
persuader.
 If you ask who actually benefits from the choice, and
you don’t get a straight answer, don’t trust the
persuader.
RHETORICAL VIRTUE
 The persuader may not necessarily be a righteous
person, but he must convince the audience he is.
 A virtuous persuader will be genuinely concerned with
the choice you make.
 Choosing a middle ground is one of the most virtuous
traits.
 A good persuader will find the median choice between
your extreme values.
 Ex: You are buying a car. Your budget is $50,000$60,000. A virtuous salesman will find you a car you
love for $55,000.
 Tip: An extremist will actually define a
middle choice as extreme.
SOURCES
 Heinrichs, Jay. Thank You for Arguing: What Aristotle, Lincoln,
and Homer Simpson Can Teach Us about the Ar t of
Persuasion. New York: Three Rivers, 2007. Print.
 "Free Ecards, Funny Ecards, Greeting Cards, Birthday Ecards,
Birthday Cards, Valentine's Day Ecards, Flirting Ecards,
Dating Ecards, Friendship Ecards, Wedding Ecards,
Anniversary Ecards and More at Someecards.com."
Someecards. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Aug. 2013.
 "Englishbiz - GCSE English and English Literature Revision
Guides." Englishbiz - GCSE English and English Literature
Revision Guides. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Aug. 2013.
 "Amy Sangster | Home." Amy Sangster. N.p., n.d. Web. 18
Aug. 2013.
 "Animation Insider- Animation Interviews and Articles."
Animation Insider Animation Interviews and Ar ticles RSS .
N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Aug. 2013.