Ready, Set, Stop

Makes Sense: Intelligible, justifiable, or practicable.

Fallacy: The use of invalid or otherwise faulty reasoning in the construction of an argument that may appear to be a well-reasoned argument if unnoticed.

Reason: The power of the mind to think, understand, and form judgments by a process of logic.

Proof: Something which shows that something else is true or correct. An act or process of showing that something is true.

Logic: Reasoning conducted or assessed according to strict principles of validity.

Spoken or presented at “face value,” (very, very subjective system or matrix) a logical fallacy is an argument that may sound convincing or true but is perilous and most often flawed. Logical fallacies are leaps of logic that lead to unsupported, irresponsible, conclusions and outcomes.?There are those times, although rare, where logical fallacies are unintentional, where poor judgment results in poor reasoning which manifests into an incident or belief that should come with a flashing warning, “No Supporting Facts.” However, oftentimes, logical fallacies are committed with malicious intent, or at best, reckless disregard, always resulting in deception. Untruths are distributed and circulated under the auspicious guise of truth, artificially manipulating individual or societal belief systems. With awareness, concern, and responsibility, senders and receivers of communication; individuals, commercial, print, social media, and advertising, have a societal obligation to first assess its validity.?

“Contrariwise, if it was so, it might be; and if it were so, it would be; but as it isn’t, it ain’t. That’s logic.”?- Lewis Carroll

Thoughts, behavior, and actions are directly correlated to your belief system.?Vigilant analysis is necessary. As famous logician, Isaac Watts once said, “Logic helps us to strip off the outward disguise of things, and to behold and judge of them in their own nature.”

Logical fallacies frequently found fueling false beliefs:?

Red Herring: The deliberate attempt to mislead and distract by virtue of an unrelated act. An attempt to change the subject and divert attention elsewhere.

Bandwagon: Basing arguments on the fact that the majority believes it. Just because it’s popular, doesn’t make it so.

Burden of Proof: A claim that a fact is absolutely true only because it has yet to be disproven.?

Either Or: When only two possible options are offered. Disturbingly absent is the broad range of possible alternatives. So bad.

Causality: A relationship between multiple unrelated matters is implied. Cause and pin-the-tail-on the effect.

Generalizations: Deliberate and select small samplings or exceptional cases draw a conclusion or generalize a rule.

Authority: A fact is deemed true because an authority (often biased on unqualified) says so.

The Slippery Slope: An assertion that a relatively small step or initial action will lead to a chain of events resulting in a drastic change or undesirable outcome, with no evidence to support the notion.

Texas Sharpshooter:?Differences in data are ignored, but similarities are overemphasized.