The SEVEN Deadly Sins

This weeks reading in Heinrich's was really interesting because it could be applied to everyday situations we encounter. We are fooled by these fallacies all the time.
One thing I like about Heinrich's is that he keeps it simple. An important point he made was to simply remember that each fallacy boils down to three things: bad proofs, wrong number of choices, or a disconnect between the proof and the conclusion.
So although the seven deadly sins helped me to identify just how I was being "fooled" , these three factors of identify fallacies made it even easier. In each situation just analyze if its a bad proof, the wrong number of choices, or a disconnect between the proof and the conclusion.

1. The False comparison- When Heinrich's talks about the Fallacy of Antecedent I immediately thought of my Dad. This is the attitude my Dad has about basically everything. "It never happened before so it never will happen." He is one of the most trusting people I have ever met, and whenever I question him about, simple things like locking the door, or wearing a seat belt, he'll say things like "Its never been a problem in the past, why would I need to now?"
It bothers me SO bad! Its funny because Heinrichs goes on to say that people see this in another way as "That's a long time to tease fate." This is what I try to tell my Dad ALL the time! I am always saying "Dad you can only be lucky for so long"


2. The Bad example- A disconnect between the examples and the choice. I have been around this fallacy A LOT! I dealt with it all the time in high school. Many times when your parents come up with a reason you can't do something it is completely irrelevant or unlikely that the situation would ever occur.
For example: me: "Mom can I go to a movie tonight?"
Mom: "No! The movie theatre is so dangerous people get shot there all the time!"
When really she just saw this happen one time on the news about a different movie theater in our ares! The connection between the choice and the given evidence don't match up!


3. Ignorance as Proof- if we can't prove it, then it must not exist.
I have also dealt with this fallacy! Growing up, my mom was one of the moms that NEVER let me miss school unless I had at least a 100 degree fever or was throwing up. Everytime I would say "Mom I don't think I can go to school today, I'm sick." She would say: "well you don't look sick." Then she would take my temperature and if it was normal she would say "and the thermometer says your fine. Kelsey you are perfectly well to go to school" Even though I really did feel ill, the evidence wasn't there to prove it, therefore I was lying and was in her eyes, perfectly fine.


4. The Tautology- Repeating the same thing in different words.
I don't understand this Fallacy as much. I think the basic premise of it is that people confuse other people by simply restating the same message in more difficult and complicated terms.


5. The False Choice- Mashing two or more questions into one, so that your answer proves more than one conclusion.
The False Dilemma is also a common problem: given two choices and one conclusion when really the dilemma involves much more than just the given choices.
The Complex Cause: Only one casue gets the blame for something that has many causes.
The example I thought of while reading this actually made me feel a little bit guilty. I thought of all the times I have scolded my dog and sent him outside as punishment when he goes to the bathroom inside the house. The reason I feel guilty about this is because this is actually a complex cause. My dog would never normally go to the bathroom inside the house, but when WE forget to let him out, he has no other choice!
He gets all the blame, but its our fault too!

6. The Red Herring- It switches issues in mid-argument to throw the audience off the scent.
Many times people use this in an argument that they are losing in order to try and win a different argument.

7. The Wrong ending- If we allow this reasonable thing, it'll inevitably lead to an extreme version of it.
The example I thought of while reading this section is the legal drinking age. I think a reasonable legal drinking age would be 18, but our government believes if they allow this to be legalized that all 18 years old we become drunken alcoholics.