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When it is implied that your friends and/or family won't like you,
unless you believe or act certain ways, that is emotional blackmail, not
logical reasoning. Cults, religions and social cliques use this powerful
method when they threaten excommunication, damnation, and
rejection.
By the same token, it may become clear to you that your
company, lover, friend, family and so on may be real pleased if you
think or act in a certain way. This is a powerful payoff, but that does
not make the argument logical or reasonable. In the same way, many
want to buy and wear what is "really in" this spring. To buy something
just because millions of others have done so is called the fallacy of the
appeal to the many.
An appeal to pity may be relevant at some times (Ethiopians are
starving) but not at others (give me a good evaluation because I need
the job). A good job evaluation must be based on my performance,
not my needs.
i. Irrelevant or circular reasoning --we often pretend to give
valid reasons but instead give false logic. Moslems believe their holy
book, the Koran, is infallible. Why? "Because it was written by God's
prophet, Muhammad." How do you know Muhammad is God's prophet
and wrote the book? "Because the Koran says so." That's circular and
isn't too far from the child who says, "I want a bike because I need
one." Or, from saying, "Clay knows a lot about self-helping because he
has written a book about it." Or, from, "Man is made in God's image.
God is white. Therefore, blacks are not human."
To argue that grades should be eliminated because evaluations
ought not exist is "begging the question," it gives no reasons.
Likewise, "I avoid flying because I'm afraid," and "I'm neurotic
because I'm filled with anxiety" are incomplete statements. Why is the
person afraid? ...what causes the anxiety?
To argue that people should help each other because people should
always do what feels good is illogical--feeling good is not necessarily
relevant to the issue of doing good unto others, helping others
frequently involves making sacrifices, not having fun.
j. Explaining by naming --by merely naming a possible cause we
may pretend to have explained an event. Of course, we haven't but
many psychological explanations are of this sort. Examples: Ask a
student why he/she isn't studying more and he/she may say, "I'm not
interested" or "I'm lazy." These comments do clarify the situation a
little but the real answers involve "Why are you disinterested? ...lazy?"
How often have you heard: "He did it because he is under stress...
hostile... bisexual... introverted... neurotic... self-centered"? True
understanding involves much more of an explanation than just a
name.
