THANK YOU FOR

ARGUING CHAPTERS 14-16

Tim
Taylor,
Taylor
Sullivan
, Maddie
Kenny,
Rachel
Myers,
and
Camila
Palacios
3rd

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 fi rst 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 specifi c moment is
identical to past moments
False analogy: when one compares two things and
calls them the same
Unit fallacy: one is given a specifi c example, and
ends up losing track of the diff erence 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 specifi c car, and if
you buy that specifi c car, you will become a
NASCAR champion too.
Hasty generalization ex: Since my IPhone

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 fi nds that the proof and
the conclusion work perfectly
together because they are
essentially the same in concept, but
they are written or said diff erently.
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 ones 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 fi ght.
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 shell 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
Dont 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 ones 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 doesnt give your audience
a choice in the matter, and one doesnt
have an argument if they dont 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 fl ips 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 STUPIDITY
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 fi nd
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 fi ghting 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
dont, 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
persuaders, 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 benefi ts from the
choice, and you dont get a straight answer,
dont 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

SOURCES
Heinrichs, Jay. Thank You for Arguing: What Aristotle,
Lincoln,
and Homer Simpson Can Teach Us about the Art of
Persuasion . New York: Three Rivers, 2007. Print.
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Someecards. N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Aug. 2013.
"Englishbiz - GCSE English and English Literature Revision
Guides." Englishbiz - GC SE 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 Articles RSS .
N.p., n.d. Web. 18 Aug. 2013.