Fallacies of Relevance

Informal Fallacies

Assessing the legitimacy of arguments embedded in ordinary language is rather like diagnosing a patient without visible symptoms. Nevertheless, as a creature with the ability to reason I shall attempt just such a feat, at least in part. The informal fallacies considered here are patterns of reasoning that are obviously incorrect. The fallacies of relevance, for example, clearly fail to provide adequate reason for believing the truth of their conclusions. Although they are often used in attempts to persuade people by non-logical means, only the unwary, the predisposed, and the gullible are apt to be fooled by their illegitimate appeals.

Appeal to Force

In the appeal to force, someone in a position of power threatens to bring down unfortunate consequences upon anyone who dares to disagree with a proffered proposition.

Appeal to Pity

Turning this on its head, an appeal to pity tries to win acceptance by pointing out the unfortunate consequences that will otherwise fall upon the speaker and others, for whom we would then feel sorry.

Appeal to Emotion

In a more general fashion, the appeal to emotion relies upon emotively charged language to arouse strong feelings that may lead an audience or individual to accept its conclusion.

Appeal to Authority

Each of the next two fallacies involve the mistaken supposition that there is some connection between the truth of a proposition and some feature of the person who asserts or denies it. In an appeal to authority, the opinion of someone famous or accomplished in another area of expertise is supposed to guarantee the truth of a conclusion.

Appeal to Ignorance

An appeal to ignorance proposes that we accept the truth of a proposition unless an opponent can prove otherwise.

Irrelevant Conclusion

Finally, the fallacy of the irrelevant conclusion tries to establish the truth of a proposition by offering an argument that actually provides support for an entirely different conclusion.

Although clearly fallacious, the procedures listed here may succeed in distracting the unsuspected victim from the point that is really at issue. Knowledge is power, use it.