Show Notes The Nirvana Fallacy is committed when someone dismisses an argument or an option because it is flawed in some way, even though it may be the best of all available arguments or options. We started out with this clip of Trump lying about the Iran deal: In Mark's British Politics Corner,...
Show Notes The Ad Hominem Circumstantial Fallacy is committed when, instead of addressing someone's argument, you question the reason that they are making the argument, often suggesting that their circumstances mean that they benefit in some way from such an argument. We started out with this tweet from Donald dismissing John Bolton's...
Show Notes The fallacy of the Faulty Analogy is committed when you assume that because two things are alike in one way, then they are alike in all ways. We started out with this clip of Trump comparing running a business to running a country: And we followed that up with this clip...
Show Notes The Texas Sharpshooter Fallacy describes a situation where someone collects or examines a large amount of data without deciding in advance exactly what they're testing, then chooses a sample which provides evidence for their existing opinion. It's based on a story where an inexperienced gunman fires indiscriminately at the...
Show Notes Invincible Ignorance describes a situation where, no matter how much evidence is presented or how clearly they are wrong, a fallacious arguer simply refuses to waver from their original position. We started out with this clip of Trump talking to Hugh Hewitt in 2015: And we followed that up with this...
Show Notes Typically, the burden of proof lies with the person making the claim. The more outrageous the claim, the more the claimant should be expected to provide evidence before anyone is likely to believe him. When the claimant instead challenges others to prove his claim is not true he is Shifting...
Show Notes The Counterfactual fallacy is often committed when someone speculates on the specifics of how things would be different in different circumstances, or in the future if a particular thing happens. Where the arguer purports to have more certainty of the hypothetical situation, or their speculation goes against evidence, they...
Show Notes The Equivocation fallacy relies on using a word with more than one meaning to set up a misleading argument. Often the word will be used in one sense in the premise, and in the other sense in the conclusion, implying that because the word is the same, the meanings...
Show Notes Begging the Question is one of those phrases that has come to mean something different over time. Colloquially, it is used to mean ‘raising the question’, but the original meaning is the one invoked by this fallacy, and it’s fun to point out that people are using the phrase...
Show Notes People often make decisions based on emotion rather than logic, so appealing to that emotion can be a very useful technique when you're trying to persuade someone. However, to be part of an effective logical argument emotion has to be used to back up the argument, rather than form...