A fallacy occurs when individual reasoning is based on a problematic assumption. An example of a fallacious argument from the text is, “Everyone takes out a loan to buy a car, so you should too” (De Anza College). The persuasive strategy was found in a conversation intended to convince someone to take a loan for a new car.
Arguing that someone should take a lone because everyone does is an appeal without critical thinking or logic. The argument is flawed because the fact that everyone is taking a loan does not make it correct or reasonable, depending on the purpose. Others may lack a source of income to service the loan or have alternative car purchasing options. For instance, if every one of your friends has a gun, would you buy one? In summary, the argument must be tailored to be compelling with logic and validation to make sense.
Fallacious persuasive strategies can easily invalidate an argument and make people look deceptive, incompetent, or unreliable. A logical fallacy, for example, is any reasoning error that invalidates an argument. It can involve distorting or manipulating facts, joining false conclusions, or distracting others from the main issue. In theory, logical fallacy may appear easy to spot, but this is not always true. Sometimes, fallacious persuasive strategies are used intentionally to try and win a debate by using a certain level of confidence.
If the speaker sounds like they know what they are talking about, the audience will likely believe them, even if their stance does not make complete logical sense. An example in daily life is begging the question, a type of circular argument where someone includes the conclusion as part of their argument (De Anza College). For example, someone says ghosts exist in the house because they saw one in their closet yesterday. Rather than accepting ghosts exist from the statement, the speaker should be using evidence and reason to prove they exist. Most fallacious arguments can be spotted by thinking critically and asking whether logic or proof exists around the argument.
Work Cited
De Anza College. “17.7: Persuasive Strategies.” Social Sci LibreTexts, Web.