In week 1, I asked the class to reflect on the barriers to critical thinking and analyze which ones they have committed. Much like critical thinking barriers, it is almost impossible to avoid fallacies when your argument becomes long enough. To that end, please respond to the following:
1: Think about a disagreement (in person, over the phone, or heck, on the internet) that you’ve had with someone where a fallacy occurred: What was the fallacy? Who committed it? What effect did it have on the argument?
2: Fallacies are sometimes described as ‘faulty reasoning shortcuts’. When you’re pressed (or stressed) in an argument, which fallacy do you tend to fall back on, knowingly or unknowingly?
Remember: Your textbook, as well as this week’s handouts, have specific terminology related to logical fallacies. However, you are welcome to draw upon larger lists, such as the “Master Fallacy List (Links to an external site.)” found in this week’s additional resources, or by clicking on the hyperlinked text earlier in this sentence.
