Английский язык для специальных и академических целей: Международные отношения и зарубежное регионоведение. Часть 1 - [23]

Another problem with arguments from analogy is that you get totally different analogies from different points of view.

Three engineering students are discussing what sort of God must have designed the human body. The first says, “God must be a mechanical engineer. Look at all the joints.”

The second says. “I think God must be an electrical engineer. The nervous system has thousands of electrical connections.”

The third says, “Actually, God is a civil engineer. Who else would run a toxic waste pipeline through a recreational area?”

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TASK 2

Read another extract from this book; focus on logical fallacies.

The “Post Ergo Propter Hoc” Fallacy /“After this, therefore because of this”/

The phrase describes the error of assuming that because one thing follows another, that thing was caused by the other. For obvious reasons, this false logic is popular in sociopolitical discourse, such as “Most people hooked on heroin started with marijuana.” True, but even more started with milk. Post hoc makes life more entertaining in some cultures: “the sun rises when the rooster crows, so the rooster's crowing makes the sun rise.” Thanks, rooster! Or take our colleague:

Every morning she steps out onto her front stoop and exclaims, “Let this house be safe from tigers!” then she goes inside.

Finally we said to her, “What's that all about? There isn't a tiger within a thousand miles from here.”

And she said, “You see? It works!”

In general we are deceived by this fallacy because we fail to see there's another cause at work.

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Circular Argument

Circular argument is an argument in which the evidence for a proposition contains the proposition itself. [ ]

It was autumn, and the Indians on the reservation asked their new chief if it was going to be a cold winter. Raised in the ways of the modern world, the chief had never been taught the old secrets and had no way of knowing whether the winter would be cold or mild. To be on the safe side, he advised the tribe to collect wood and be prepared for a cold winter. A few days later, as a practical afterthought, he called the national Weather Service and asked whether they were forecasting a cold winter. The meteorologist replied that, indeed, he thought the winter would be quite cold. The chief advised the tribe to stock even more wood.

A couple of weeks later the chief checked in again with the Weather Service. “Does it still look like a cold winter?” asked the chief.

Unit I. UK: from Empire to Democracy

Unit I. UK: from Empire to Democracy

“It sure does,” replied the meteorologist. “It looks like a very cold winter.” The chief advised the tribe to gather every scrap of wood they could find.

A couple of weeks later, the chief called the Weather Service again and asked how the winter was looking at that point. The meteorologists said, “We're now forecasting that it will be one of the coldest winters on record!” “Really!” said the chief. “How can you be so sure?”

The meteorologist replied, “The Indians are collecting wood like crazy!”

The chief's evidence for the need to stock more wood turns out to be that he was stocking more wood. Fortunately, he was using a circular saw.

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Argument from Respect for Authority Fallacy

The argument from respect for authority is one of our boss's favorite arguments. Citing authority to support your argument is no logical fallacy in and of itself; expert opinion is legitimate evidence alongside other evidence. What is fallacy is using respect for authority as the sole confirmation of your position, despite convincing evidence to the contrary.

Ted meets his friend Al and exclaims, “Al! I heard you died!”

“Hardly,” says Al, laughing, “As you can see I am very much alive.”

“Impossible,” says Ted. “The man who told me is much more reliable than you.”

What is always at play with arguments from authority is whom one accepts as a legitimate authority.

A man walks into a pet shop and asks to see the parrots.

The shop owner shows him the two beautiful ones out on the floor. “This one is $5,000 and the other is $10,000,” he says.

“Wow!” says the man. “What does the $5,000 one do?”

“This parrot can sing every aria Mozart wrote,” says the store owner.

“And the other?”

... “He sings entire Wagner's Ring cycle. There is another one out back for $30,000.”

“Holy moley1! What does he do?”

“Nothing that I've heard. But the other two call him ‘Maestro'”

/from Plato and a Platypus² Walk into a Bar. Understanding philosophy through jokes' by Thomas Cathcart and Daniel Klein. Penguin Books. London. 2008/

Expression of surprise утконос

TASK 3

Make a list of logical tools to be applied and of logical fallacies to be avoided.

Logical tools (1)	Logical fallacies (2)

TASK 4

Read the sentences below and check them against the list above. Point out logical tools and logical fallacies.

1. Monarchy is the best form of government for Great Britain because Great Britain has always been a monarchy.

2. Monarchy is one of the oldest forms of government, which has become obsolete in most European countries. However, the British monarchy has survived and continually kept its position. Hence, the British monarchy has a greater capacity for adjustment.