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Educator's Voice

Vol 8, Issue 4
July 11 , 2007

Logical Fallacies: Avoiding the Pitfalls

Those of us who pay attention to the news, especially the political news, notice the many commercial messages that seem to bombard us at every turn, or talk about various concerns and issues with neighbors and coworkers will encounter logical fallacies – it is inevitable. In our role as educators, one potential instructional objective could be to avoid logical fallacies in our presentations and student feedback while pointing out and correcting the use of logical fallacies by our students in their work. In order to deal with “fallacies” in our online course environment, it is appropriate to briefly review what they are and how to identify them.

We would agree, I believe, that we desire logical and factual “arguments” to present a point of view – whether that is our point of view presented to our students or a student point of view presented to us in assignments or to classmates in discussions. On the other hand, we seek to avoid logical fallacies – commonly defined as a “defect in an argument.”  When we encounter logical fallacies, we generally attribute them to either a failure to understand that a fallacy has been used or to a knowing attempt to put forth an illegitimate argument. In our environment it is more likely that we will encounter logical fallacies that are the result of error or sloppiness in presenting an argument whereas in the world of politics, marketing, and the like it is possible that logical fallacies are used with clear intent to obfuscate issues and influence others who unwittingly fall for the false arguments.

Fallacies of Distraction
Logical fallacies tend to distract and divert us to something that does not truly lie at the heart of a valid argument. There are many such fallacies that we may readily recognize.

Appeal to Authority: An appeal to an authority involves a fallacy when the “authority” is not recognized as an expert in the area in question. A good example is the use of well known sports figures and movie stars speaking to issues beyond their expertise. We might encounter this type of fallacy in student work given the typical student use of the Internet and Web sites such as Wikipedia to find materials and quotations.

Attack the Messenger: If it is difficult to attack the argument being made, an alternative mode of attack could be to attack the person presenting the argument. We can encounter this fallacy in political debates, such as the 2008 Presidential campaigns, and campus debates between “conservative” and “liberal” student groups and faculty. The unquestioning use of Internet sources, among other issues, leads students to accept such fallacious arguments and to incorporate them into assignments.

Pose a False Choice: If the argument can be reduced to two options, closing out all other options, the argument may already be won. For example, you reduce the argument to posing an option you support and one you oppose. Or, you reduce the choices to two that you support. In the first example, some of us have been in the situation of, “You either support the faculty motion OR you are with the enemy in administration.” This ignores any possible “middle ground” approaches. In the second example, we might find if someone is opposed to graded discussions in courses, “Should we limit graded activities to exams and quizzes only, or should we allow written assignments as well?”

Use the “Could Be”: If the “could be” argument is used it places everything on a “slippery slope” descending into what could occur, usually in a worst case scenario. For example, “If we allow online courses at our institution, we are on a slippery slope to replacing all classroom-based courses and faculty with a mere computer.” The more heated the debate, and the more divided the participants, the more likely this type of fallacy is to be used.

Argue from Ignorance: In this approach, if the argument can not be assumed or proven true, then it is presumed to be false and vice versa. This fallacy can be seen at play often as school districts and State Departments of Education wrestle with Evolution vs. Creationism in discussing state standards for science textbooks and classroom activities.

Fallacies of Motives and Emotions
Logical fallacies may appeal to emotions or call motives into question. As with the category of fallacies already discussed, here too we can find fallacious arguments made through common error or through intent to mislead.

Appeal to Popularity: An appeal to popularity is often effective in meetings or discussions where the “bandwagon” approach is in play. We see this approach a good deal in political campaigns. In recent discussions with faculty, a popular topic has been how to combat this type of appeal made by a team member to others working on a group project.

Appeal to Pity: An appeal to pity, using the sympathy card, is something we encounter in dealing with student excuses for missed assignments. Here the argument is that something should occur not because of the strength or logic of that presented, but rather due to pity for the plight of the individual or group involved.

Argue the Negative Consequences: An argument can always pose negative consequences– the worst case scenario for any outcome other than the result preferred by the person making the argument. This approach can be seen in student papers dealing with controversial issues where the student has been bombarded with biased information and has not sought out more objective information as a balance.

Use Loaded Language: An argument can always be bolstered by the use of language that is “loaded” with prejudicial phrases – prejudicial from moral, ethical, emotional or other biases. The use of “positive” words will incline the target audience to support your views while the use of “negative” terminology will incline them to oppose the same views that you are opposing.

In Conclusion
Identifying the various logical fallacies that we can encounter in our online environment is the first step to dealing with them in an effective manner. In certain courses, or even on a departmental basis, it might be useful to post the fallacies for students to review and to warn them against the use of fallacious arguments in their work. In other cases, it might be necessary to point out the improper use of such fallacies as we provide feedback to students on their written assignments or discussion participation. Some instructors have found it useful to conduct a “logical fallacy review” of content presentations in their courses. Is that something you might try yourself?

Additional Resources:
http://www.theology.edu/logic/logic23.htm

http://www.nku.edu/~garns/165/ppt3_2.html

— Ken Switzer, Ph.D. 

TIP

Using a Syllabus Quiz

Most instructors find it essential to point out important information on the syllabus to their students. This is easily accomplished in face-to-face classes because students are a captive audience during class times.  However, online instructors often stress because there is no equivalent setting during an online class. Although I’m sure you’re all surprised, we strongly suspect that students don’t always read and scrutinize every document we post for them. How can an online instructor capture a student’s attention and point out the essential information they want to highlight? 

Offering a syllabus quiz is a good solution to this dilemma. A syllabus quiz can be an easy way to encourage your students to read (and pay attention to) the syllabus. It also can effectively highlight much of the information that you would stress by reading the syllabus out loud in class.  Even if the students don’t memorize the information from the syllabus quiz, it still helps to familiarize them with where they would go to get information within the class. 

A syllabus quiz generally occurs during the first few weeks of the course, and can be structured so students can access it one time or many times before submission. It is also an option to allow multiple submission attempts (for example, until the student scores 100%). Syllabus quizzes are generally 10-20 questions, and can have any combination of true/false, multiple choice, or fill in the blank question types.

A syllabus quiz generally covers the important parts of the syllabus that the instructor would like to stress. Some areas that you could cover include: instructor contact information and preferred ways of getting in touch with the instructor, important scheduled dates (exams, assignments, projects), course policies (academic dishonesty or plagiarism, late work, anything unusual), grading (points, grading scale, due dates, assignment directions), and required course materials (books, lab materials, other supplies).

Remember, there are no universal rules for a syllabus quiz – just go with something that makes sense to you given your teaching style and the details of your class. Enjoy!

– Gail E. Krovitz, Ph.D.