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A fallacy is the use of invalid or otherwise faulty reasoning in the construction of an argument [1] [2] that may appear to be well-reasoned if unnoticed. The term was introduced in the Western intellectual tradition by the Aristotelian De Sophisticis Elenchis .
Double counting – counting events or occurrences more than once in probabilistic reasoning, which leads to the sum of the probabilities of all cases exceeding unity. Equivocation – using a term with more than one meaning in a statement without specifying which meaning is intended. [21]
In logic and philosophy, a formal fallacy [a] is a pattern of reasoning rendered invalid by a flaw in its logical structure that can neatly be expressed in a standard logic system, for example propositional logic. [2] It is defined as a deductive argument that is invalid. The argument itself could have true premises, but still have a false ...
In everyday reasoning, the fallacy of four terms occurs most frequently by equivocation: using the same word or phrase but with a different meaning each time, creating a fourth term even though only three distinct words are used. The resulting argument sounds like the (valid) first example above, but is in fact structured like the invalid ...
The above reasoning is inconsistent (not truth-preserving). The consistent conclusion should be (). The following similar argument is valid: X is Z; Y is not Z; Therefore, X is not Y; This is valid because being something is different from knowing (or believing, etc.) something. The valid and invalid inferences can be compared when looking at ...
Logic is the formal science of using reason and is considered a branch of both philosophy and mathematics and to a lesser extent computer science.Logic investigates and classifies the structure of statements and arguments, both through the study of formal systems of inference and the study of arguments in natural language.
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Part of understanding fallacies involves going beyond logic to empirical psychology in order to explain why there is a tendency to commit or fall for the fallacy in question. [ 9 ] [ 1 ] In the case of the false dilemma , the tendency to simplify reality by ordering it through either-or-statements may play an important role.