Often people use common fallacies to convince people that an argument or conclusion is true even though there is no sound logic or reasoning behind them. A wide range of speakers and authors use fallacies including advertising, television presenters, and your friendly next-door neighbor. People may be conscious of their erroneous arguments or not. In this article, we will explore what are fallacies in speech and understand how we can identify them.
What Is Fallacy Of Speech?
Fallacies are something we should watch out for when giving a speech in front of an audience, but we also want to avoid them when doing so. A fallacy is a mistake in logic. A fallacy is a compelling argument that contains logical errors or makes shoddy use of the available evidence.
What is Reasoning?
The word reasoning refers to the process of how we can make sense with logic. To make this workable, we take advantage of the knowledge and information, and most importantly, ideas work really well when it comes to reasoning. In this process, we usually get the reasons without being aware of them. This benefits us in such a way that it makes us more aware of how we can think and empower our thoughts.
Types Of Reasoning In Speech
While studying fallacies, there are three major types of reasons. One should experiment with these to get the best assumption in the first place. This will definitely help overcome fallacies in speech.
Inductive Reasoning
The most common type of logical reasoning is inductive reasoning, which draws conclusions by citing examples. Inductive reasoning initially appeals to beginners because it sounds simple, yet it can be challenging to use effectively. Contrary to deductive reasoning, inductive reasoning does not produce correct or incorrect conclusions. Conclusions are “more likely” or “less likely” because they are generalized based on observations or examples. This kind of argument can be valid and persuasive even though it isn’t conclusive.
Deductive Reasoning
Deductive reasoning develops details from what is already known. It was the preferred method of argumentation utilized by early scholars in the field like Aristotle. Deductive reasoning is a type of logic that is frequently taught using syllogisms. A syllogism is a type of deductive argument in which the major and minor premises support the conclusion. The major and minor premises can be used to infer the conclusion of a sound argument. “All humans are mortal” is a well-known syllogism example.
Causal Reasoning
The goal of causal reasoning is to prove that there is a connection between a cause and an effect. Speakers use causal reasoning when they try to support a certain course of action based on possible positive or negative consequences that might result. The following illustration demonstrates this kind of reasoning: Eating more locally-produced food will improve your health and the local economy. Although the “if/then” relationship that causal reasoning sets up can be convincing, the reasoning isn’t necessarily sound. Speakers more frequently build up a correlation than a true cause-and-effect relationship, which indicates there is a relationship between two items but there are other contextual variables.
Fallacies of Reasoning
Fallacies are errors in an argument’s logic or reasoning. It’s vital to remember that just because an argument contains a fallacy doesn’t imply it can’t be persuasive. In fact, a lot of individuals are duped by flawed arguments because they fail to recognize the mistake in the reasoning. Fallacies are frequently the last-ditch effort of presenters who are ill-informed or unprepared and feel they have nothing else to offer. Studying persuasive speech, which has an impact on our personal, political, and professional lives, has several advantages, including helping us become more critical consumers of messages that are intended to persuade.
Hasty generalization, false cause, false authority, false analogy, false dilemma, bandwagon, ad hominem, slippery slope, red herring, and appeal to radiation are all considered fallacies of reasoning.
What Are The Consequences Of Using Fallacies In Your Speech
If you use fallacies in your speech, it will damage your credibility. It appears as though you are concealing better options or don’t fully understand the situation. Using fallacies gives the impression that you as a speaker have a personal agenda and are trying to sell something to yourself.
The Ending Note
Fallacy is an illogical step in the development of an argument. An argument is essentially a conclusion or assertion that has the support of presumptions or justifications. Because it makes a claim and provides evidence to support it, the statement “Blue is a negative color because it is associated to sadness” is an example of an argument.
Common thinking flaws called fallacies will impeach the logic of your argument. Fallacies can be irrelevant or invalid arguments and you can easily identify them due to the lack of supporting data. Avoid using these typical fallacies in your own arguments, and keep an eye out for them in others’ arguments.
FAQs
What fallacies are commonly used in arguments?
Three categories are useful for grouping the common fallacies: Formal Fallacies, Relevance Fallacies, and Fallacies of Unacceptable Premises.
- Relevance fallacies
- Who are you to speak to?
- The fallacy of the red herring.
- The strawman argument.
- The “At the Person” or Ad Hominem Fallacy.
- Ineffective appeal to authority
How do you identify a fallacy?
Anything that fails to comply with reason when you choose to scrutiny it lies in the radius of a fallacy.
What is the most common fallacy?
One of the most prevalent logical fallacies is ad hominem. Any argument that focuses on the source rather than the argument is an ad hominem. This can take many different forms, such as calling someone names or insulting them, attacking their character, questioning their motivations, or labeling them as hypocrites.
Why should a speaker Avoid using fallacies?
You should avoid using fallacies in your arguments as they undermine both your credibility and the validity of your message. However, you could unintentionally utilize fallacies if you don’t know what fallacious arguments are beforehand and pay close attention to the specifics of your argument.