PERSONS: LOGICAL AND A SEEMINGLY FALLACIOUS

 

PERSONS: LOGICAL AND  A SEEMINGLY FALLACIOUS

(MYKE IAN A. HECHANOVA)

Logic is the foundation of the certainty of all the knowledge we acquire.

                                                                        -Leonhard Euler

Most logical fallacies can be spotted by thinking critically. Make sure to ask questions. Is logic at work here? Or is it simply rhetoric? Does their proof actually lead to the conclusion they are proposing? By applying critical thinking, you will be able to detect logical fallacies in the world around you and prevent yourself from using them as well. Philosophy does not adhere to faulty reasoning.

 Learning about arguments and strong reasoning will not only make you a better philosopher. But it will also set you up to be a more persuasive person—someone whom people will listen to and someone who is convincing. These skills are beneficial no matter what you want to do in your life. Thus, you have to know how to argue properly and logically.

Understanding is possible between a logical person and a ‘seemingly fallacious person’. A premise that I would like to talk about. In this matter I will show how these two entity differs from each other. Who among the two is critical in terms of thinking?

There is no fallacious person, because first and foremost, a person who is logical would not tell the mistake of the person, but could validate a misleading, deceptive, illogical, and erroneous arguments. It is a false reasoning in which has the appearance of truth (Timbreza, 1992).  If a person who is logical will always tend to what is not good, not beautiful, and not true, but solely to the error?  Is that what logical person or logic used?

Well, an authentic individual who uses logic will make give sense to everything. Let us say, what a particular person uttered to me is life changing, but it doesn’t makes sense for you. In other words, subjectivity of the utterances mattered to a specific person. To explain further, it is then essential to turn my reflection paper into discussing the fallacies and to find its relevance in the common events in our daily life. Below are the most used fallacies that are worth pondering on.

Argumentum ad hominem (argument to the man). Instead of attacking the argument claimed by an utterer, the person speaking is the one that is being attacked. This is evident more on to the field of politics especially to presidential or senate debate. We are able to watch to the television or social media context. Why is this so? It is the aspiring candidates’ tactics to poison the mindset of their supporters. It could degrade the person’s dignity just to win the argument and put at stake its refutation for the sake of refutation. The improper used of this argument made me realized to be conscious enough of every words that I must tell. It will cost an individual’s  self-respect towards the eyes of others.

Argumentum ad misericordiam, translated as appeal to pity or argument to pity. It is considered as fallacious, and it arises when an appeal to evidence is replaced by an appeal to pity. As what I have understood, it emphasizes the importance of reason over feelings or emotions. With this, I am reminded to my formation in pastoral dimension. As a seminarian, I have been able to witness many cases that sympathy prevails rather than what is right, factual, or evident. For an instance, a person who is physically able to work would ask for a financial assistance for they have nothing to eat anymore. This situation brought dilemma to me, would I follow the rules of logic than to follow the teachings of the church which is to become kind, compassionate, and merciful to others? A question that would require a profound discernment.

Argumentum ad populum translated as argument to the people. An argument fallacious because the decision is reliant to the majority. It is like saying: this is right because this is what the majority adheres. With this, I am reminded to the famous dictum “Vox populi vox Dei” the voice of the people is the voice of God. Because promptly speaking, not all the time that the majority should be followed. Not all the time that the judgment of the people are always righteous. Further, my reflection brought me to recall the recent national election. What happened, for me, is an interplay between what is popular and what is reasonable. Many voters decided to vote for a certain candidate because of the popularity that the candidate has.

Logic has rules to follow and so, humans as rational being. Some people are still unaware of it. Some willfully ignore it in order to benefit themselves at the detriment of everyone else. They play with it to the expense of their own sake. In other words, the genuine logical person will have a strong yearning for goodness, beauty, and truth. Not solely for the person who committed mistake. Thus, not all rational being are logical.