Ethcial, Pathetic, and Logical Fallacies

The method by which we reason through complex ideas, through the use of language, is truly a remarkable craft. The arrangement of symbols to not only make meaning but to affect a particular rhetorical appeal is key in understanding how language works and in using it deliberately, responsibly, ethically, and effectively.

As we have discussed in class, what will be appropriate and effective in one situation may be inappropriate and counterproductive in another (i.e. in each case), which is one reason why understanding patterns and structures of logical proofs (pistis) is so important in the effective use of language. A well-crafted argument considers not just the kairos (the opportune or appropriate moment in which one situates and advances a claim), but also the method by which an argument is structured and supported. Once understood as a craft, Aristotle's classification of pisteis (proofs) as entechnic (artistic) and atechnic (non-artistic) becomes clearer: we use the materials and data available (atechnic pistis) to craft (entechnic pistis) an appeal.

When inadvertent, fallacies hinder the efficacy of language and compromise its ability to achieve its objectives; when used delberately, fallacies apply rhetorical mechanisms without consideration for ethics to achive an objective through unfair, unprincipled, or inaccurate means (as with propaganda, for example). While the compendium of specific logical, pathetic, and ethical fallacies is vast, they all turn on the same basic structures of reasoning: deductive (i.e. syllogistic and enthymematic) and inductive (i.e. probabilistic).

[Please refer to your class notes for specific examples and definitions of structures of reasoning and logical, ethical, and pathetic fallacies.]

Given the power--and often the consequences--of language, taking time to parse the logical structures of an argument, be it one you are crafting and andvancing or one you are receiving, may be one of the most valuable practices you can adopt.