help, looking for a terminology

[G_j]

for this type of 'argument'

examples: You oppose the war, so you do not support the troops.
You want prison reform, so you don't care about the 'victims'.
You want to save endangered species, so you care more about 'creatures' than people.

OK, Is there a good terminology for this dishonest method of discussion?

thanks

[phantom power]

1. "false dichotomy" comes to mind.

[ohio_liberal]

4. Yeah.

I'd go with that.

[G_j]

9. good n/t

[Lasher]

14. Ooooooo, that's good, Phantom!

You musta got some book learnin'. I googled your excellent phrase and got this:

http://info-pollution.com/false.htm

Looks like the meaning of this fallacy is about the same as a false dilemma http://www2.sjsu.edu/depts/itl/graphics/adhom/dilemma.html

[G_j]

16. that is good: False Dilemma (Either-Or Fallacy, Black and White Fallacy).

I like that

[Lasher]

2. Lying. (EOM)

[mzteris]

3. Straw man? n/t

[TallahasseeGrannie]

5. Weak?

I don't think it is deductive, inductive or even abductive.

It's just faulty reasoning. Perhaps "generalization?"

[TallahasseeGrannie]

8. Further information

I know that in an acadmic thesis if you prove that 50 people like cheerios, making the leap that therefore everyone likes Cheerios is called generalization.

[RebelOne]

6. My term would be a "fallacy."

American Heritage Dictionary definition: 1. A false notion. 2. A statement or argument that is based on a false or invalid inference. 3. Incorrectness of reasoning or belief; erroneousness. 4. The quality of being deceptive.

[G_j]

13. "based on a false or invalid inference"

well that is certainly accurate

[unpossibles]

7. spurious logic?

not sure. or maybe a false corellation?

Kind of like how ice cream causes drowning because people eat ice cream in summer and also swim in summer, therefore eating ice cream causes drowning.

http://www.burns.com/wcbspurcorl.htm


Also known as "Republithink"

[Burried News]

10. Rovian Twisted

You might look at some of the google hits for "False Syllogism"

PS Very good question by the way.

[meegbear]

11. How about: Negative Conclusion from Affirmative Premisses

http://www.fallacyfiles.org/negfroma.html

The site has an alphabetical listing of "Logical Fallacy" statements.

http://www.fallacyfiles.org/index.html

[Straight Shooter]

12. That type of argument is disingenuous

lacking in frankness, candor, or sincerity; falsely or hypocritically ingenuous; insincere

Someone who offers such stark either/or arguments is merely baiting you. He or she is really not interested in learning anything.

[G_j]

15. disingenuous

yes, and maddening!

a type of 'argument' that seems to be more and more prevalent in America.
particularly frustrating to hear it used by folks on the left, even (gasp!) here at DU.

[EST]

17. Would "dumbernshit" suffice?

When someone just can't seem to get it that the health af endangered species is a nearly direct measurement of the health of our recycling system, mere words seem pretty thin.
When they can't get it that prison reform has a direct reflection on the number of future victims and proper planning demands it, how can you say it any clearer?
Even when you point out that supporting the troops also means not getting them killed, and you get a blank look or a fierce, ignorant limbaughism, no matter what you call it, it still tastes nasty.
Propaganda is the false-to-fact arguments they make.

[Lasher]

18. A List Of Fallacious Arguments

This site defines a number of fallacies used to corrupt fair debate:

http://www.don-lindsay-archive.org/skeptic/arguments.html

[G_j]

19. good find!

thanks! :thumbsup:

[acmejack]

20. non sequitor

A .

on edit, I took so long to post this it has old info now. I was busy reading the list...

[G_j]

21. awesome

very interesting

"A logical fallacy is an error in logical argument which is independent of the truth of the premises. It is a flaw in the structure of an argument as opposed to an error in its premises. When there is a fallacy in an argument it is said to be invalid. The presence of a logical fallacy in an argument does not necessarily imply anything about the argument's premises or its conclusion. Both may actually be true, but the argument is still invalid because the conclusion does not follow from the premises using the inference principles of the argument. By extension, an argument can have a logical fallacy even if the argument is not a purely logical one; for instance an argument that incorrectly applies principles of probability or causality can be said to have a logical fallacy.

Recognizing fallacies in practical arguments may be difficult since arguments are often structured using rhetorical patterns that obscure the logical connections between assertions. As we illustrate with various examples, fallacies may also exploit the emotions or intellectual or psychological weaknesses of the audience. Having the capability to recognize logical fallacies in arguments will hopefully reduce the likelihood of such an occurrence."

snip

[hootinholler]

22. Sophistry

From American Heritage Dictionary:

inflected forms: pl. soph·is·tries
1. Plausible but fallacious argumentation. 2. A plausible but misleading or fallacious argument.

Nice discussion on wikipedia.

Enjoy,
-Hoot

[Bluerthanblue]

23. flawed logic, wrong assumptions, prejudice.....

Opposing war is indeed being supportive of troops-
supporting war almost guarantees that troops will die, or be injured- History has proven that our response to such deaths and injuries has been woefully lacking, hence, desiring war could be desiring the harm of soldiers.

In my own experience with this argument one could say-

Firefighters jobs are to fight fires, so, do we ENCOURAGE fires so that firefighters don't sit idle??? Ask most professional FF's. (i was married to one for 15yrs) The good ones will tell you that when you've seen deadly fires, you learn to hope you NEVER get another call.

The relation of prison reform and compassion for the victims of crime is important. If we can learn how to help offenders- then perhaps the recidivism rate would GO DOWN- hence, sparing the creation of MORE victims- and by doing so, make the loss of the original victims family a part of the solution to societies problems rather than simply a circle of continued violence and loss.