Application & Logic

 Rules are consistent with social norms  someone pays  everything costs  there will be free riders  rules need interpretation (justice)  denial is expected  evidence can lead to truth (Western ideal)  law is socially evolving

Application & Logic

 Rules and social norms cont.

 system must render a decision (no ties)  fact are evidence are the basis of justice  assumptions are irrelevant  evidence is weighted (2 sides tell stories)  cost follows benefit  winning is the goal  protection of individual (U.S. most individual)

Logic of Legal Argument

 Argument- structure of the facts which leads to irrefutable conclusion  Argument is only true when premises are proved  Premises used to frame issue and draw conclusion  Issues can be legal, social, ethical, technical, etc.

Logic cont.

 Issues requires resolution  Premise 1 (requires support)  Premise 2 (requires support  Premise p (requires support)  Irrefutable conclusion- short and clear “guilty”  Proving the premise is the key to winning the argument

Logic fallacies

 Fallacies of relevance  appeal to force  appeal to pity  appeal to people  ad hominen attack  straw man  red herring

Logic fallacies cont.

 Fallacies of weak induction  insufficient support (obvious)  post hoc deduction  appeal to authority  appeal to ignorance  hasty generalization  false causation  slippery slope  weak analogy

Logic fallacies cont.

 Fallacies of construction  begging the question  suppressed evidence (confirmation trap)  circular reasoning  false dichotomy