Informal Fallacies
There are many informal fallacies that can be discussed but I have chosen to speak of Bifurcation, and the Red Herring Fallacy.
Bifurcation is a fallacy in which you are given a situation and a choice to make. It tries to let one feel as though it is either of those options but in reality there could be many more. In a sense it is like not telling the complete truth. You don’t really lie because you didn’t actually give a false choice or statement, but you didn’t really give all of the information you could have.
For example…. (1) Desiree is pregnant and now she is forced to choose to keep it or get an abortion.
This situation would have the Bifurcation fallacy because there is another option not mentioned in this argument. It does not mention that she could also choose to give it up for adoption.
And so you see that this fallacy is practiced very frequently and it is up to one to be aware of your choices and do the research behind them.
The Red Herring Fallacy is when a person deviates from the subject at hand and speaks about something similar but irrelevant. It is more of a debate than an argumentative tactic.
For example… (1) Mom, I know I haven’t cleaned my room yet but nothing I do ever pleases you.
This is a great example of how one can deviate from the topic at hand which in this case is the fact that I haven’t cleaned my room like I was asked.
Work Cited http://www.drury.edu/ess/Logic/Informal/Bifurcation.html http://www.iep.utm.edu/fallacy/#Red%20Herring
Bifurcation is a fallacy in which you are given a situation and a choice to make. It tries to let one feel as though it is either of those options but in reality there could be many more. In a sense it is like not telling the complete truth. You don’t really lie because you didn’t actually give a false choice or statement, but you didn’t really give all of the information you could have.
For example…. (1) Desiree is pregnant and now she is forced to choose to keep it or get an abortion.
This situation would have the Bifurcation fallacy because there is another option not mentioned in this argument. It does not mention that she could also choose to give it up for adoption.
And so you see that this fallacy is practiced very frequently and it is up to one to be aware of your choices and do the research behind them.
The Red Herring Fallacy is when a person deviates from the subject at hand and speaks about something similar but irrelevant. It is more of a debate than an argumentative tactic.
For example… (1) Mom, I know I haven’t cleaned my room yet but nothing I do ever pleases you.
This is a great example of how one can deviate from the topic at hand which in this case is the fact that I haven’t cleaned my room like I was asked.
Work Cited http://www.drury.edu/ess/Logic/Informal/Bifurcation.html http://www.iep.utm.edu/fallacy/#Red%20Herring
Cited: http://www.drury.edu/ess/Logic/Informal/Bifurcation.html http://www.iep.utm.edu/fallacy/#Red%20Herring http://www.olemiss.edu/courses/logic/fallacies.htm