Ethics

Ethics Study Guide • Logical fallacy: An error of reasoning, which is the opposite of a sound argument. When someone adopts a position, or tries to persuade someone else to adopt a position, based on a faulty piece of reasoning, he/she commits a fallacy. Some common fallacies include: o Slippery slope: Asserting that if we allow A to happen, then Z will consequently happen too, therefore A should not happen. o Straw man: Misrepresenting someone’s argument to make it easier to attack. o False dilemma: Two alternative states are presented as the only possibilities, when other possibilities exist. (Also known as “black-or-white” or “either/or” fallacy.) o Appeal to nature: Making the argument that because something is “natural” it is therefore valid, justified, inevitable, or ideal, or alternatively, because something is “unnatural” it is harmful of undesirable. (Also known as “Naturalistic” fallacy.) o Ad Hominem: Attacking your opponent’s character or personal traits instead of engaging with their argument. o Bandwagon: Appealing to the popularity or the fact that many people do something as a form of validation for it. o Other types of fallacies include: False cause, special pleading, begging the question, appeal to authority, appeal to emotion, poisoning the well, genetic fallacy, confusing cause and effect, burden of proof, biased sample, hasty generalization, guilt by association, etc.

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