With Good Reason An Introduction to Informal Fallacies

Providing a concise introduction to informal logic, With Good Reason offers comprehensive coverage of informal fallacies along with an abundance of engaging examples of both well-conceived and faulty arguments, helping you gain proficiency in identifing, correcting, and avoiding common errors in argumentation.

S. MORRIS ENGEL (Ph.D., University of Toronto) recently retired as a professor of philosophy at York University in Toronto, Ontario. Previously, he taught at the University of Southern California for twenty-five years. His many publications include The Study of Philosophy, Third Edition (1990) and The Language Trap (1994), as well as Wittgenstein's Doctrine of the Tyranny of Language (1971). Engel is also renowned as a translator of Yiddish, with projects including The Dybbuk (1979) and Kiddush Hashem (1977), Rachmil Bryks's moving account of the Holocaust.

Preface

PART I. ON LOGIC AND LANGUAGE

1. The Nature and Scope of Logic
Logic as Science and Art
Logic as the Study of Argument
Exercises
Arguments and Nonarguments
Exercises
Eliminating Verbiage
A Further Note on Eliminating Verbiage
Exercises
Missing Components
Exercises
Finding the Missing Component Syllogistically
Exercises
Highlighting Suspect Elements
Exercises
Evaluating Arguments: Truth, Validity, and Soundness
Exercises
Deductive and Inductive Arguments
A Final Word on Deduction
Exercises
Logic and Education
Exercises
Summary
Answers to Starred Exercises

2. The Medium of Language
Language and Thought
Signs and Symbols
Exercises
Words and Things
Exercises
The Uses of Language
Exercises
Ambiguity and Vagueness
Exercises
Verbal Disputes
Exercises
Definition
Exercises
The Art of Plain Talk
Exercises
Summary
Answers to Starred Exercises
Suggested Readings for Part One

Part II. Informal Fallacies

3. The Fallacy of Ambiguity
THE FALLACY OF EQUIVOCATION
The Fallacy of Amphiboly
The Fallacy of Accent
The Fallacy of Hypostatization
The Fallacies of Division and Composition
Summary
Exercises
Answers to Starred Exercises

4. Fallacies of Presumption
Overlooking the Facts
The Fallacy of Sweeping
Generalization
The Fallacy of Hasty Generalization
The Fallacy of Bifurcation
Exercises
Evading the Facts
The Fallacy of Begging the Question
The Fallacy of Question-Begging
Epithets
The Fallacy of Complex Question
The Fallacy of Special Pleading
Exercises
Distorting the Facts`
The Fallacy of False Analogy
The Fallacy of False Cause
The Fallacy of Slippery Slope
The Fallacy of Irrelevant Thesis
Exercises
Summary
Answers to Starred Exercises

5. Fallacies of Relevance
The Fallacy of Personal Attack
Genetic Fallacy
Abusive ad Hominem
Circumstantial ad Hominem
Tu Quoque
Poisoning the Well
The Fallacy of Mob Appeal
The Fallacy of Appeal to Pity
The Fallacy of Appeal to Authority
The Authority of the One
The Authority of the Many
The Authority of the Select Few
The Authority of Tradition
The Fallacy of Appeal to Ignorance
The Fallacy of Appeal to Fear
Summary
Exercises
Answers to Starred Exercises
Suggested Readings for Part Two

Appendix: Writing with Clarity and Reason

Glossary

Index