Digg

The Digg Crew wants to hear your thoughts!
Please take our short survey about Digg and potential feature ideas.

The Fundamentals of Logic: For Everyday Arguments

writeidea.org — Every argue with someone and know their argument was not logical, but could not explain why? Here are five common logical fallacies. Next time you ’re having an argument and you hear one of these used…just pipe up “you just committed the fallacy of….”

Bury

mejaredme 136 days ago

217 diggs
digg it

33 Comments
Who Dugg It?

ColonelTribune, on 07/10/2008, -1/+35There's almost no better feeling than to win an argument using logic. It's a lost skill, I think.
- DerangedPenguin, on 07/10/2008, -1/+16Unless of course the person you are trying to argue with logically is a complete moron. At which point Smith & Wesson or Colt maybe able to settle the argument once and for all... Except then you have to argue before twelve people and a judge why you are innocent of shooting someone in the head.
  - xtinamo, on 07/11/2008, -0/+2That is why it is necessary to also learn ninja skills so you get the ***** out of there in a hurry.
- vault, on 07/11/2008, -1/+6Yes, but a lot of the things people argue here aren't really serious enough to warrant anything but an ad hom. Say you're arguing with a white rapper who thinks 9/11 was an inside job. Is that really the sort of mentality you want to dignify with a thought?
- JanTik, on 07/11/2008, -0/+2The human brain has a lot more going for it (and against it, depending upon your perspective) than just logic. Research has shown that emotion plays a critical role in sound judgment – having too much or too little emotion clouds the mind and colors our decision making.
  
  http://ase.tufts.edu/cogstud/papers/damasio.htm
  This is not to say that logic is in abundant supply - too often it is sadly lacking. Bur rather than make a big deal about how we can beat our opponents over the head with our arguments, maybe we should make an effort in our schools to teach everyone the basics of how our brains selectively deal with facts, and how to use this knowledge to come to better conclusions.
fulibs, on 07/10/2008, -1/+29It is such a lost skill that many people fail to recognize it when it slaps them in the face.
- SuperWinner, on 07/11/2008, -2/+7Even the logic of clicking the reply button is becoming a lost skill.
- leogodin217, on 07/11/2008, -0/+8I can't stand debating someone who has no logic skills. They will spout a bunch of "facts" and say, "See I proved it to you". The only thing is their facts don't prove anything.
GoogleRonPaul, on 07/10/2008, -2/+19I'm 41 years old and I just discovered that they (big brother) quit teaching logic a long time ago. I know now that not teaching logic was intentional to keep us from discovering how badly they were robbing and enslaving us. This is certainly a subject that needs to be recovered.
- DerangedPenguin, on 07/10/2008, -1/+10The plan was to create a "species" of people who are intellectual slaves willing to blindly follow orders and perform verbatim repeat backs. Change, Hope, Bush Lied, People Died (in spite of Canada receiving 550 tonnes of Iraqi Yellowcake on July Fourth) The plan seems to be going nicely.
  
  I was not a big fan Ron Paul's defense plate form, however that was an issue that could have been worked through during the campaign. I wish he had stayed a Libertarian. Faced with a choice of Barack Hussein Obamamessiah or John McCain (I would gladly sit down and have a beer with McCain) As a registered Libertarian I am going to vote for Bob Barr
michael43, on 07/10/2008, -0/+25Every member of digg should be required to read this article. It would make the debates so much more ..ummm...logical?
- DerangedPenguin, on 07/10/2008, -0/+14I agree!
- flip2trip, on 07/10/2008, -0/+14People on digg actually READ the articles?
  - KJeffV, on 07/11/2008, -0/+7Of course, there's the read and UNDERSTAND issue....
JagPop, on 07/11/2008, -1/+10The best rule I ever learned about face-to-face arguing was:
"He who writes the rules wins."
- KJeffV, on 07/11/2008, -0/+2And don't forget: "He who PAYS the writer of the rules holds the 'ultimate purse strings'."
jjvors, on 07/11/2008, -0/+8Logic is still taught--in programming classes, in Boolean algebra, and in critical thinking classes. If you want a compendium of logical fallacies, try this site: http://www.fallacyfiles.org/taxonomy.html
- opiniastrous, on 07/11/2008, -1/+5Cheers jjvors,
  
  This article is pretty average in terms of quality and scope, so it's good to see some more of them.
  
  I submitted some others as well. Wikipedia's got a pretty good explanation of logical fallacies and a massive list too.
  
  http://digg.com/educational/Logical_Fallacies_Lear ...
  - exgop, on 07/11/2008, -2/+4Wikipedia sucks. They can take credit for dumbing down America
  - KJeffV, on 07/11/2008, -0/+2Speaking of Weakie, if you want some real bore-ass stuff, take a look at WIKINOMICS—How Mass Collaboration Changes Everything, by Don Tapscott & Tony Williams. Very "Thom Friedman" in nature & scope—very "we are the world," as it were—this fairly new tome has, of course, a couple good points but is so boring I'm using it to put myself to sleep every night. I've been "reading" it f/over a week, and I'm only on pg 34!
- TruthTeller50, on 07/12/2008, -0/+2Computational linguistics requires logic sets as well.
exgop, on 07/11/2008, -3/+13Logic in political debate no longer works. If logic shows your ideological opponent to be wrong they will resort to some of these tactics. Please add more if you think of any.

Liberals: start personal attacks, try to change the focus of your logic, or get other liberal politicians to outlaw your logic( Fairness Doctrine)

Conservatives: will either agree, but if so pig headed will twist their own logic to make themselves feel superior.

Moderates: Shrink in the corner because they do not know how to take a stand on anything

Communist: They just kill you.
- jsd8cc, on 07/11/2008, -0/+6That's because politics is based on emotion, not intellect.
  
  Bring up the following topics to someone and see how long it takes for their face to turn red:
  Abortion
  Iraq
  Stem Cells
  Waterboarding
  Gun Control
  Illegal immigration
  Republicans (to Democrats)
  Democrats (to Republicans)
  Republicans and Democrats (to libertarians)
  
  The internet has brought in a whole new level of emotion via anonymity. Just peruse the comments on sites like the Huffington Post, Hot Air, Dailykos, etc. and you can see how anonymity breeds disinhibition.
greenwald, on 07/11/2008, -1/+1#10 - The Fallacy of the Phallus AKA the Shower vs Grower dichotomy
geoken, on 07/11/2008, -1/+3This article doesn't promote logic. It provides such specifc fallacies that it takes away the need to use logic to identify a fallacy.

Logic, in the context of a conversation, is the ability to take abstract sentences or statements and break them down into the various well known syllogisms. Providing lists of fallacies only abstract that process.
LdsAskMormon, on 07/11/2008, -0/+2Taken at face values these may seem logical, but in reality they are weapons of spin. Interesting, but should be read more than once to understand the false pattern in laying these out. Major spin! lol
TruthTeller50, on 07/12/2008, -1/+2Logic is subject to language, not reality. These are useful but, as LdsAskMormon points out, http://www.fallacyfiles.org/taxonomy.html uses a false taxonomy - formal, informal, and loaded question.

An example of poisoning the well:

. . . particularly useful in dealing with (inferior group) . . . .

Or fake precision:

. . . 99% of (group) say/like/think . . .

And exgop, I am with you. Here's a needed update:

Liberals/Conservatives:

- start personal attacks (ad hominem)
- try to change the focus of your logic
- get other liberal politicians to outlaw your logic in public
- get other conservatives to tacitly outlaw your logic in private
Login or register to add a comment

Create a new account or login to join in the conversation on Digg. You'll also be able to Digg stories to help promote things you like.

The Fundamentals of Logic: For Everyday Arguments

Login or register to add a comment