CHAPTER 4
Fallacies:
Errors of Language and Logic
If indeed, the search for truth is difficult, as we have seen in
the discussion of epistemology and logic, then an understanding
of fallacies is an indispensable help in the process. A fallacy is
an unintentional misuse of words or the reasoning process which
causes misunderstanding, confusion, or false conclusions. We
will not, in fact, study all the fallacies that it is necessary to
recognize in order to reason correctly; rather we will study some
of the more common errors, learn to recognize them, and
hopefully develop an attitude toward listening which is more
thoughtful, perceptive and helpful to understanding.
Linguistic fallacies are errors in the use of words. They are
more common in the spoken word in the English language due
to the nature of the language itself. Red or read?— the past tense
of r-e-a-d is pronounced r-e-d. In context it should not pose too
many problems, but this is a simple example of some more
complex problems that arise when words are misunderstood
because of misuse. We shall study six linguistic fallacies, all
dealing with the misuse of words.
Non-linguistic fallacies are errors in the use of logic. Errone
ous reasoning causes these fallacies. If a person reasons, “Every
time it rains the grass gets wet,” and one day sees that the grass
is wet and says, “the grass is wet, it must have rained,” he has just
committed a logical fallacy, a nonlinguistic fallacy, an error in
reasoning. This, too, is a simple example of a logical fallacy, but
most fallacies are more subtle and occur often in argumentation.
We shall study eight nonlinguistic fallacies.
A sophism is an intentional fallacy, a deliberate misuse of
words or logic with the intention of deceiving the listener.
Aristotle called the Sophist one who “gives the semblance of of
wisdom without the reality.” The purpose of studying fallacies
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