Pseudoscientists, politicians, advertisers, marketers, PR people, as well as ordinary people often use psychological tricks that deliberately mislead others. This psychological treatment is difficult to resist. After all, the methods of manipulation used to fool your head are very numerous and varied.
However, one should not “nod” only at politicians and other professional manipulators. We all willingly fall into such traps and we ourselves often use pseudologic for manipulative purposes, whether intentionally or not – when there are no reliable arguments and we want to back our position with erroneous arguments.
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Straw scarecrow
Misinterpret the arguments of the opponent in order to make it easier to attack.
Oleg supported an increase in subsidies for education and health care. Paul was indignant: “I didn’t think that you hate your country so much that you want to leave it defenseless by cutting the costs of the army”.
Slippery path
To assert that if the event “A” happens, it will entail the event “2” (excluding the intermediate ones), therefore, the event “A” should in no case be allowed.
Nikolai believes that if we allow homosexual couples to marry, the next thing we will face will be marriage with our own parents, cars, and even monkeys.
Special requirements
Suddenly change the rules of the game to create an exception to the rule and show that the requirements are unacceptable.
Sergey demanded to recognize him as a psychic, but when his abilities were tested, they suddenly evaporated. “In order to see my gift, you must first believe in it,” Sergei explained without blinking.
Player error
Expect concrete results from a series of repeated and independent tests. To squander another portion of money and think: “This time you will definitely be lucky!”
The red on the roulette wheel fell out for the sixth time in a row, and therefore Gregory was absolutely sure that black would be next. Because of this thinking, he lost all of his savings.
Black or white
Provide two alternative outcomes as the only possible ones. [Do not forget that in fact there are many more.]
To finally crush the city under him, the mayor told the townspeople: “Either you are with me, or you are against me – on the side of my enemy.”
False reason
Asserting that the alleged communication between processes indicates that one event is the cause of another.
Pirate Roger on the graph shows that the temperature has been increasing over the past several centuries, but at the same time the number of pirates is decreasing. Thus, pirates are the cause of the low temperature, and global warming is a hoax.
Transition to personalities
Pay attention to the personality or character of an opponent in order to win an argument.
“You say that atheists are decent people. But I know that you left your wife and children. ”
Appeal to emotions
Appeal to emotions instead of providing logical arguments.
Yaroslav hated semolina porridge, but his mother forced her to eat, calling her son shameless, because “there are so many children in the world who are dying of hunger.”
And what himself !?
Indicate that the opponent himself is acting contrary to the argument.
Vasya: Smoking is harmful to health, people should not smoke.
Petya: But you yourself smoked a couple of minutes ago. So you can smoke.
Error in error
To insist on the fallacy of the whole judgment just because one of the arguments was wrong.
Katya: You need to eat healthy food, as my doctor said that it is very popular now.
Masha: Fast foods are more popular and advertised on every corner, so you need to eat hamburgers.
An argument for distrust (improbability)
Consider information erroneous due to the fact that it is difficult to understand (due to personal incompetence in the issue under discussion).
Foma drew a fish and a man on paper, and said to Petya with a challenge: “It is nonsense that man descended from a fish in the process of evolution, even if over millions of years!”
Provocative question
Asking a question that makes the person feel uncomfortable answering .
Both Tanya and Lena wanted to meet with Boris. Once, when Boris was near, Tanya loudly asked Lena if she felt better after suffering an unpleasant fungal infection. It is possible that this infection might not have happened.
Opinion of the masses (All in one car)
Support something just because many people think it is right, because “most cannot be wrong.”
“Millions of people agree with his position, so he is right,” Ivan said defending his political idol.
Appeal to authority
Refer to the opinion of an authority figure or authority rather than presenting a real argument.
Unable to refute the theory of evolution with his own arguments, Vova referred to the opinion of one scientist, who also refuted this theory.
Part-whole
It is inept to compare the truth of a statement for the whole and for its parts. “Each grain in the heap weighs almost nothing. Hence, the pile also weighs almost nothing. “
Danil was a smart child, and he knew that everything around him consisted of atoms invisible to the eye. He, too, consisted of atoms and, therefore, considered himself invisible. Unfortunately, he lost at hide and seek.
Burden of proof
To say that the correctness / falsity of the statement should be proved by the one who doubts, and not by the one who claims.
Kolya: I have an invisible creature living at home, fulfilling wishes!
Sasha: Prove it.
Kolya: Prove that he doesn’t exist!
Sasha: Um … well, like …
Kolya: Yeah, you can’t! Bot you merged!
No true Scotsman
Turn the opponent’s argument into a “specific case”, without reference to any objective rules.
Alice: No true Scotsman would add sugar to oatmeal.
Bob: My uncle is Scottish and he loves oatmeal with sugar! Alice: Well, actually no true Scotsman adds sugar to oatmeal.
Ambiguity
Use double meaning in speech to distort facts.
“We found out that the murder weapon was a bow.
– Do you think he was killed with a vegetable?
Genetic logical error
Consider something good or bad based on its origin.
On the evening news, journalists accused the mayor of bribery and corruption. In response to this, he wrote on his personal blog that the media cannot be trusted in anything, because everyone knows that they are corrupt.
Vicious circle
The presence of a conclusion among the reasons.
“There is a God because it is written in the Bible. The Bible is true because it is the Word of God. ”
An appeal to nature
To prove that everything that is natural is not ugly, and moreover, it is useful, justified, inevitable, correct or ideal.
“Predators devour each other – this is the law of nature. People in society do the same.
This is the law of nature. ” Social Darwinism.
A case from one’s life
Use personal experience or a known case as an argument in a dispute, especially to refute statistics.
“What are you telling me about the dangers of smoking?” – argued 15-year-old Pasha. “My great-grandfather smoked two packs a day and lived to be 97 years old.”
Unfortunately, at 22, Pasha was diagnosed with serious lung problems.
Texas sniper bug
Juggle facts to justify the event (like a cunning Texan who first shoots at anbar,
and then, in the place where the most holes have accumulated, he draws a target, declaring his “accuracy”).
Producers of the super-sweet fizzy have published a promotional article stating that the healthiest people live in the top five consumer countries of their products. Hence, their drink is healthy.
Golden mean
Insist that “a bad peace is better than a good war” in a dispute and accept a compromise position as true.
Katya: vaccinations cause autism in children!
Masha: it’s not like that. The case with autism has not been proven.
Kolya: Let’s agree that vaccinations can cause “a little” autism.
Contradiction
Defend mutually exclusive provisions. (Also “Inconsistency”, “Mutually exclusive paragraphs.”)
“We support the right of people to self-determination and secession, but whoever calls for separatism will go to jail!”
“You can’t kill anyone! Let’s hang the criminal. ”
An appeal to tradition
Believe something true (or better) because of its tradition.
“Women have to stay at home because women have always been at home.”
“People have to work and earn money, because their ancestors always did it.”
Entity multiplication
Use unnecessary add-ons that do not affect the result in any way (and without which you can explain something).
Oleg: People depend on the environment in which they grow up, inventing social rules and meanings for themselves.
Kolya: NO! Everything that is good in the world was helped by Zeus, and everything that is bad is the intrigues of Hades (or they do not hear the voice of Zeus).
The Social Failure Argument
Attack an opponent because he does not have a social status, which, according to the attacker, gives this opponent any right to have a criticized position.
“How can you prove anything if you have neither a wife nor children? You still live with your parents! ”
The argument for:
• assertion
• confidence
To prove the correctness of an opinion only by asserting its correctness. [Circular reasoning]
Position yourself as the beacon of true knowledge.
“I’m telling you, it’s true.
– Why is it true?
– Yes, drown that this is true and nothing else! I know what I am saying!
– How do you know?
– I will drown that I am 100% sure that I am right!
Anonymous authority
To give information convincing, referring to some unknown scientists or authorities without specifics (names, titles of works and other details).
“Based on years of research, British scientists have established that dementia can only be cured by prayer or ignoring scientific knowledge.”
One and only proof
Reject all circumstantial evidence in favor of an unsupported assumption.
– There are many circumstantial evidence that tells us that the suspect did commit a crime.
“Until you show me a photo of a smoking gun in his hand, I won’t admit it.
– But this photo may not exist …
– So the suspect is innocent!
Poisoning the source
To distract attention from the argument with negative information about its source. This creates the illusion that the argument itself has been refuted.
– And now I give the floor to my opponent, by the way, previously convicted.
“ Um … the accusations were actually false …
– And today he did not transfer grandmother across the road!
The enemy of my enemy
Support someone who opposes the same people.
Petya: walking at a construction site is dangerous!
Kolya: nothing is dangerous! Seryozha, tell me.
Seryozha agrees with Kolya, because recently Petya took the girl away from him.
Overgeneralization
Make generalized conclusions based on particular cases or facts.
Sveta: Oleg did not congratulate me on March 8! Olya: Yes, all men are goats!
Oleg: And all the women are fools!
After that = because of this
If one event happened earlier than the other, then the first necessarily caused the second.
Ivan Vasilievich was in the elevator for the first time. When the doors closed, he got scared and crossed them. As soon as the elevator arrived, the doors opened.
– This is what the life-giving cross does! – summed up Ivan Vasilievich.
An appeal to power
Threatening an opponent with physical harm.
“Our country must arm itself in such a way that they would fear us, and then the world will recognize that we are right!”
“I’m right! If you think not, then you will be in trouble! ”
Two evils make good
To consider bad deeds to be right, because other people did so, and to argue that one evil can compensate for another evil. False justice. Eye for an eye.
“If I ever felt bad, then it should be just as bad for others.”
“America invaded foreign countries, why can’t we?”
Wishful thinking
Desire thinking: something exists or is true only because the approver wants it.
– After death, good people will go to heaven.
– Why is this so?
– Because I’m good and really want to get there.
Form over content
Provide an argument with a focus on visual appeal rather than validity or effectiveness.
“This guy is clearly right.
– Why?
– He has a very pleasant voice, he dresses stylishly, is photogenic and speaks well. You can trust him.
Reverse Gate Syndrome
Arbitrarily change the requirements for the criteria of proof as soon as the initial ones were met.
– Look, I’m a well-aimed shooter – hit the bull’s-eye, standing a hundred meters from the target, as you asked.
– Oh, well, I really meant another place on the windy side …
Ridiculed or accused of being boring
Calling an argument or a person funny or boring without refuting the argument itself.
– Your article contains a number of gross errors, such as “rumors” and “hasty conclusions.” Moreover, it is based on corrupted data.
“You’re so funny, and you sound like a nerd. You are always such a bore in life .
The Argument for Ignorance + God of White Spots
- Anything is (not) true because there is no evidence that it is (not) wrong.
- To attribute a divine (otherworldly) origin to phenomena that still have no scientific explanation.
- No one has proven that Zeus does not exist – therefore, he is.
- I don’t know how a person could have appeared in the process of evolution, which means that he was created by Zeus!
- [I don’t know => So I know]
Associative error
To argue that the properties of one thing are inherent in another only because they have a common quality.
- Nuclear weapons, which can destroy civilization, use the energy from the fission of the atom.
- Nuclear power uses energy from the fission of an atom.
- Consequently, nuclear power is bad.
Galileo’s trick
To argue that an idea rejected (and especially persecuted) by some community is necessarily true.
“They made fun of Galileo, but he was right. They make fun of me, so I am also right. ” [Galileo was right for very different reasons]
False analogy
Create erroneous analogies or metaphors in order to shift the conclusions built in them to the original problem.
“Cabbage doesn’t understand that there is a goat. The goat does not understand that man exists. In the same way, a man, like a cabbage or a goat, cannot understand Zeus. ”
An argument to the consequences
If something leads to (un) favorable consequences, then it is (not) true.
“If the defendant is found not guilty, then this may induce others to commit similar crimes, because they will not be afraid of punishment!”
Observer error
Make a false conclusion due to the inevitable subjectivity of the observer (or blindly adjust it to fit your belief).
– All railway crossings are permanently closed, and the traffic lights on them are red.
– Why?
– Because I always see it when I ride the train!
Reduction to absurdity
Deliberately exaggerate arguments to the point that they seem absurd. Sometimes this is true, but more often it is wrong.
– To reduce the prevalence of obesity among schoolchildren, we should not give them sweet desserts.
– Do you want our children to starve?
