Critical Thinking: A Student’s Introduction

Shark Bình confirmed that he was a single

Chapter 5 man, Phương Oanh was not the “third
woman”, interfering his family, 8/2022. He
Logical Fallacies—I signed “Agreement of divorce” since 2018
Shark Bình said:
"Người ta nói đàn
ông một lần ly
hôn là "báu vật",
còn hai lần là
"rác rưởi“,
12/2022.
In English
People said that
who gets
divorced once
is a "treasure",
but a man who
gets divorced
twice is
"trash".
© 2019 McGraw-Hill Companies. All Rights Reserved.
 Definitions
Which type of
Logical fallacy (or fallacy): fallacy?
An argument that contains a mistake
in reasoning
• Fallacy of relevance: Mistakes in
reasoning that occur because the
premises are logically irrelevant to the
conclusion
• Fallacies of insufficient relevance:
Mistakes in reasoning that occur https://tintuconline.com.vn/
because the premises, though logically sao/nhung-hinh-anh-khien-
relevant to the conclusion, But fail to tran-thanh-bi-nghi-ngo-ve-
gioi-tinh-n-368312.html
provide sufficient evidence to support
the conclusion
This week: Fallacy of relevance
The Concept of Relevance
A statement is relevant to another statement if it
provides at least some reason for thinking that the
second statement is true or false
• A statement can be relevant to another statement even
if the first statement is completely false
• A statement’s relevance to another usually depends on
the context in which the statements are made

Tổng thống Nga Vladimir Putin ngày

20/4/2022 cho biết: "thảm kịch" ở Donbass
"buộc" Nga phải phát động chiến dịch
quân sự đặc biệt ở Ukraine.
https://dantri.com.vn/the-gioi/tong-thong-putin-neu-ly-do-
phat-lenh-mo-chien-dich-quan-su-o-ukraine-
20220420223352444.htm
Types of Relevance, 1
Positive relevance: Statement is positively relevant
to another statement if it counts in favor of that
statement
• Example: All dogs have five legs. Rover is a dog. So
Rover has five legs.

Negative relevance: Statement that counts against

another statement is said to be negatively relevant
• Example: Marty is a high-school senior. So, Marty likely
has a Ph.D.
Types of Relevance, 2
Logical irrelevance: Statement is logically
irrelevant to another statement if it counts
neither for nor against that statement
• Example: The earth revolves around the sun.
Therefore, marijuana should be legalized.
“Nói trật lất à”
11 Fallacies of Relevance
• Personal attack (Ad • Straw man
Hominem) • Red herring
• Attacking the motive • Equivocation
• Look who’s talking (Tu • Begging the question
quoque)
• Two wrongs make a right
• Scare tactics
• Appeal to pity
• Bandwagon argument
Personal Attack (Ad Hominem), 1
This is a fallacy that dismisses an
argument by attacking the person that
made the argument, rather than the
person’s argument or claim

Common pattern
• X is a bad person
• Therefore, X’s argument must be
faulty

https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=0r4JPnmEF2E
Personal Attack (Ad Hominem), 2
Personal attacks are not fallacious when they
appear in arguments that are trying to establish
something about the character of the person
Example 1: Millions of innocent
people died in Hitler’s
ideological purges. Clearly, he
was one of the most brutal
dictators of the twentieth
century
Attacking the Motive, 1
The error of criticizing a person’s motivation for
offering a particular argument or claim, rather than
examining the worth of the argument or claim itself
• Example: A/Prof. Ngoc is a lecturer of Dep. Civil
Engineering. Why is he standing here to talk about start
up? Absolutely, his lectures will be not reliable.
Common pattern
• X is biased (thiên vị) or has questionable motives
• Therefore, X’s argument or claim should be rejected
 Look Who’s Talking (Tu Quoque), 1
Fallacy is committed when an arguer
rejects another person’s argument or
claim because that person fails to
practice what he/she preaches
• Example: I don’t need to stop
smoking just because I am
following HoChiMinh President’
living style. He was heavy smoker,
right?
Common pattern
• X fails to follow his/her own
advice
• Therefore, X’s claim or argument
should be rejected
Look Who’s Talking (Tu Quoque), 2
Arguments are good or bad because of their own
intrinsic strengths or weaknesses and not because
of who offers them
• If an argument is good, it is good no matter who
articulates it
• However, hypocritical behavior (đạo đức giả) can (and
should) be criticized
• Example: I should stop smoking as my doctor told me, but
so should my doctor!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pu8o5M_GVwY
Two Wrongs Make a Right, 1
This fallacy is committed when
one tries to make a wrong
action look right, by comparing
it to another wrong (perhaps
worse) action
• Example: I don’t feel guilty about
corruption; everyone does it

Common forms
• X is common behavior. Therefore,
X is not wrong.
• X is worse than Y. Therefore, Y is
not wrong.
Two Wrongs Make a Right, 2
There are times when an act that would otherwise
be wrong can be justified by citing the wrongful
actions of others

“A lie repeated
many times
becomes the
truth”
Lời nói dối lặp
đi lặp lại nhiều
lần sẽ trở thành
sự thực”
 Scare Tactics, 1
This fallacy is committed when an arguer threatens
harm (physical or nonphysical) to a reader or
listener if he or she does not accept the argument’s
conclusion
• The threat is irrelevant to the truth of the conclusion

https://vtv.vn/the-gioi/
donald-trump-doa-bo-tu-
ba-clinton-neu-tro-thanh-
tong-thong-
20161010171718292.ht
m
Scare Tactics, 2
Not all threats involve fallacies
• Example: You shouldn’t pass this Mid exam. If
you do, it will make me disappointed.
This is an advice
Appeal to Pity, 1 (Kêu gọi sự thương hại)
Bị cáo Đinh La Thăng: 'Tôi thành tâm mong
Occurs when an vong linh của bố tha lỗi cho tôi'
arguer
inappropriately
attempts to evoke
feelings of pity or
compassion from his
listeners or readers

https://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=27DOmfMYJ4I
 (Encouraging mans)
Appeal to Pity, 2
Such arguments are not
always fallacious
• If feelings are legitimately
a motivating factor for an
action, then bringing out
those feelings are
appropriate for persuasion
• Example: Everyone is
counting on you. Make
them proud! Play like the
champions you are!
 Bandwagon Argument, 1
An argument that plays on a Multi level selling
person’s desire to be popular,
accepted, or valued
• Example: All the really cool
kids at East Jefferson High
School smoke cigarettes.
Therefore, you should, too.

Common form
• Everybody (or a selective
group of people) believes or
does X Ponzi scam: Longer-term investment
• Therefore, you should scam model, possibly decades old.
believe or do X, too This game is named after Charles
Ponzi, an Italian who immigrated to
America. In the early 1920s, he made
great promise. He assures you that he
will double the amount in 90 days.
Bandwagon Argument, 2
Not all appeals to popular beliefs or practices are
fallacious
• Example: All camels are safe after drinking the water
from that ponds. Therefore, the water probably is safe to
drink.
 Straw Man, 1

Fallacy is committed when an arguer distorts (bóp

méo) an opponent’s argument or claim to make it
weak (like a straw man) in turn making it easier to
attack
Common pattern
• X’s view is false or unjustified [but where X’s
view has been unfairly characterized or
misrepresented]
• Therefore, X’s view should be rejected
 Straw Man, example

https://bigthink.com/personal-growth/six- https://www.youtube.com/
logical-fallacies-youll-hear-this-election- watch?v=1RPp2ib9AtM
season-and-how-to-beat-them/

© 2019 McGraw-Hill Companies. All Rights Reserved. 5-21

Red Herring, 1
The fallacy is committed when an arguer tries to
sidetrack his audience by raising an irrelevant issue
and then claims that the original issue has
effectively been settled by the irrelevant diversion
• Example: Trump calls NY lawsuit a politically motivated
witch hunt
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RTPQkXExUmQ
Red Herring, 2
It is not a fallacy simply to change the subject or
evade an issue
• Example
• Q: Congressman, now that you have been convicted of
bribery and extortion, isn’t it high time that you resigned
from office?
• A: How about those Yankees! A ten-game lead at the All-
Star break!
• Since such arguments don’t attempt to settle the original
argument, no fallacy is committed
Equivocation, 1
Committed when a key word is used in two or more
senses in the same argument
• The apparent success of the argument depends on the
shift in meaning
• Example: (1) Any law can be repealed. (2) The law of
gravity is a law. (3) Therefore, the law of gravity can be
repealed.
Equivocation, 2
Common pattern
• All A’s are B’s
• C is an A
• Therefore, C is a B
The fallacy becomes apparent when the meaning of
the word “law” is clarified in the previous example
• Example:
(1) All laws regulating human conduct are things that can be
repealed.
(2) The law of gravity is an observed uniformity of nature.
(3) Therefore, the law of gravity can be repealed.
Begging the Question, 1
Fallacy is committed when an arguer states or
assumes as a premise the very thing he or she is
trying to prove as a conclusion
• Example 1: Capital punishment is wrong because it is
ethically impermissible to inflict death as punishment for
a crime
• The conclusion is just a restatement of the premise
Begging the Question, 2
• Example 2: Everything the Bible says is true. The Bible
says that whatever it says is true. Therefore, whatever
the Bible says is true.
• This is an example of circular reasoning

https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=rTIKWURvbQ4
https://www.phunuonline.com.vn/pgs-ts-phan-thi-hong-xuan-de-
xuat-moi-nha-trang-bi-mot-lu-nuoc-de-chong-ngap-a122348.html

https://www.baogiaothong.vn/video-toan-van-bai-phat-
bieu-dung-lu-hung-nuoc-chong-ngap-gay-tranh-cai- 2 - 28
d427214.html
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=6amGjYLdTzs

Group discussion about this

drama:
Article: mistake?
PGS.TS: What type of fallacy?
What do you think about her
statement?

“Giải pháp dùng lu chống ngập của tôi đưa ra không sai
nhưng cách nói quá dân dã đã làm một số người hiểu sai và
chế giễu. Tôi cảm thấy rất buồn” - bà Hồng Xuân chia sẻ.

2 - 29
https://www.youtube.com/watch?
v=6amGjYLdTzs

2 - 30