We, Filipinos are prominent users of fallacies. Some of you may don't even know what does fallacy means. But trust me, we always use this in our daily conversation especially when we are having an argument with others.
Fallacies are mistakes that could be found in someone’s (or yours!) argument that make it invalid. It is the lack of factual proofs to support a claim. These are often used in social media and personal interactions every day. Well-presented fallacies may even be misinterpreted as factual if the person lacks the ability to spot them. It is important to correct these fallacies to maintain a healthy and objective discourse and to prevent the spread of false information. Let us all be responsible for our opinions!
A fallacy is invalid and wrong reasoning that is added to an argument to make it look better. Some people do it intentionally to deceive others and show that they really make sense. While others do it unintentionally due to carelessness and ignorance.
These are the top 5 fallacies that some of us are already using (and most probably we are unaware of it.)
Ad hominem
The most common fallacy we encounter. It is the use of personal attacks to prove one's point.
For example:
His views are like that because he's a Gemini.
She's in favor of abortion because she's an Atheist.
We are punished by God because you're gay.
Either or fallacy/ False Dichotomy
Assuming that they are two options to choose from.
For example:
It's either you're for the Manila Bay 2020 or you don't want the City of Manila to be clean.
It's either you're a Dilawan or terrorist if you are showing disapproval to the government.
Hasty generalization
The use of non-factual generalization to support one's statement.
For example:
Since you're a critic of the administration, you must be biased to the other party.
My boyfriend cheated on me and that makes all men trash.
Red herring
It is used to shift away from the main to avoid addressing the main issue.
For example:
The PhilHealth corruption is tragic but, how about the corruption in the past administration.
The COVID-19 response of the Duterte administration is not that good but, what if this pandemic happened during Aquino administration?
Straw man
It's distorting, mischaracterizing the argument to make it easier to defeat.
For example:
Person 1: McDonalds has contributed significantly to obesity in the U.S.
Person 2: So you're suggesting that we should take down the business just so people won't get obese? How about I just throw away my gym membership and start protesting for McDonalds to shut down.
Person 1: Duterte is not a good president and Robredo is more suitable for his position.
Person 2: So you're saying that we should remove Duterte and let Robredo sit? How about initiating a new people power and let Robredo be the president?
I believe that avoiding these fallacies will help us to have a more fruitful and healthier public discussion. We should acquire and learn this stuff as it gave us an ability to think critically and analyze certain arguments that are thrown by other people.
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😂😂😂😂 oh dear, very filipino indeed. Mygosh i hate those fallacies being used in arguments with me. It's like they can't even think of a good enough comeback so they'll stoop that low