Fallacies – Part 2
WE CONTINUE our two-part journey into the world of fallacies. Last week, we looked at fallacies affecting content and logic (logos). This week, we will look at fallacies which involve the emotional appeals (ethos) and fallacies which involve credibility (pathos) as presented by McDermott (2008) in CAPE Communication Studies.
FALLACIES INVOLVING EMOTIONAL PERSUASION (PATHOS)
1. BANDWAGON APPEAL
The writer/speaker attempts to validate a point by suggesting or giving the impression that everyone believes in it; the idea is acceptable and sound because it enjoys widespread currency.
Example: Don’t tell me you don’t have a pair of the new low-rider jeans. Everybody who is anybody is wearing them now. I have three pairs, my dear.
2. SNOB APPEAL
The writer/speaker attempts to convince the audience that by accepting a claim or undertaking an action s/he will be higher or better than others around. This is to pander to people’s sense of pride and desire to be considered better than others.
Example: A man of your position and good looks could never want to drive a Corolla when a BMW will put you in the right circle, where you belong.
3. ARGUMENT AD POPULUM (‘TO THE PEOPLE’)
The writer/speaker links the claim or argument to certain words or objects that are known to have a strong emotional reaction with the audience. In so doing, he/she hopes to influence the audience’s opinions and actions.
Example: If you are a God-fearing and patriotic Grenadian, you cannot support that party with a clear conscience.
4. PITY APPEAL
The writer/speaker tries to deflect attention from the relevant issues in the argument by inciting pity for him/herself.
Example: I deserve to keep my job. I need to have a job to support my wife and nine children. It’s not my fault that the company is overstaffed. They say they are losing money. I don’t know about that. I have school fees to pay and food to put on the table.
FALLACIES INVOLVING CREDIBILITY (ETHOS)
1. APPEAL TO AUTHORITY
This is reference to expert knowledge to support an argument without sufficient acknowledgement that an authority on one subject may be unreliable on another, and that a man who is usually unreliable may occasionally be right. In addition, an expert’s authority becomes suspect in a case where he/she has personal reasons for not telling the truth.
Example: I am a parent for 10 years now and, believe me, I know when children are lying.
2. ARGUMENT AD HOMINEN (‘TO THE MAN’)
The writer/speaker attacks the opponent’s character rather than the opponent’s argument. This is an attempt to discredit the speaker and, by so doing, deflect attention from the argument.
Example: Be honest with me, how can I take Constable Ralph’s instructions seriously when he looks and talks like Charlie Chaplin?
Another very common fallacy which affects reasoning is the Hasty Generalization. This occurs when the writer/speaker draws a conclusion based on insufficient evidence.
Example: My chain was stolen by a Jamaican; therefore, all Jamaicans are thieves.
A misuse of statistics occurs when a statistical argument asserts a falsehood. In some cases, the misuse may be accidental. In others, it is purposeful and for the gain of the
perpetrator. When the statistical reason involved is false or misapplied, this constitutes a statistical fallacy.
Sometimes writers or speakers deliberately use techniques that mask their meanings and which are meant to affect the readers’/listeners’ ability to critically analyse the message. Three common examples of this form of manipulation are:
1. VAGUENESS
A writer/speaker uses terms which have not been defined in such a way as to give the impression that they have universally acceptable meanings.
Example: As leader of this gang, I will do my patriotic and humane duty in providing for the needs of my followers.
2. EQUIVOCATION
Words can reasonably have two or more distinct interpretations. Hence, a writer/speaker may start using a word in one sense and then shift to another interpretation in the same argument/discussion.
Example: To be in the right class means social mobility. Monique is in the right class for her age. Therefore, Monique is socially mobile.
3. OBSCURATION
This is the use of technical or specialised jargon to obscure or hide the meaning of a message.
Example: The present programme of rationalisation and termination within the health sector is an undeniable consequence of the structural adjustment imperatives dictated by the effects of globalisation.
There is another way of saying that the firing of doctors and nurses is a result of external economic forces.