Philosophy Stack Exchange
Philosophy Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [argumentation]

The construction, deconstruction and presentation of arguments for a position;

Questions with this tag involves "how an argument for a position is structured" in place of, or in addition to, aspects of "what the position is".

This should also cover "how to construct effective arguments" types of question.

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Is 'guns don't kill people, people kill people' a good argument?

I'm hearing the argument X doesn't do Y people do Y in quite a few guises. For instance in it's original form guns don't kill people; people kill people Presumably, therefore guns are OK cars don't kill people; people kill people Again, the…
Crab Bucket
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What fallacy in Pascal's Wager allows replacing God with the devil?

I wanted to know the name of the fallacy or fallacies the Pascal's Wager in the sense that it can be applied to motivate one's belief in many things. A similar argument to the original Wager can be used to say that it is prudent is to believe in the…
Barinder Singh
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Why doesn't philosophy have higher standards for its arguments?

Mathematical systems are an excellent model for organizing and conducting thought: In the mathematics community, any argument in support of a conjecture, that deviates from "sound argument" never flies except by mistake. Why don't we do the same…
QWERTY_dw
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Why does Dawkins think it is wrong to posit that a paragon of 100% morals could theoretically exist?

Let’s move on down Aquinas’s list. 4. The Argument from Degree We notice that things in the world differ. There are degrees of, say, goodness or perfection. But we judge these degrees only by comparison with a maximum. Humans can be both…
user8572
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Does hypocrisy invalidate an argument?

I was listening to a political podcast and David Poltz (one of the presenters) said of an argument that he was unconcerned whether the argument was hypocritical. I found that attitude jarring, counter-intuitive but very interesting. The contention…
Crab Bucket
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What fallacy dismisses problems by presenting "bigger" problems?

Wasn't really sure how to phrase this, but I'm thinking of an instance in which someone diminishes a problem by presenting one of larger scope - as a rather shoddy example, "x political problem in America doesn't matter because half the world's…
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How is gun violence comparable to drunk driving?

I just read "Is 'guns don't kill people people kill people' a good argument?" and it reminds me of another argument. I would like your opinion on whether or not it is a good argument. Gun Control is like trying to reduce drunk driving by making it…
Malachi
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What is this logical fallacy? (Nothing new under the sun?)

It has been two decades since I took a reason and argument course in college. I am rusty on my command of logical fallacies. With that preface, I have been trying to locate a logical fallacy that describes an obfuscation/neutralization strategy I…
user50027
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Is it a fallacy to say that a sane person cannot apply rational thought to the motivations of the insane?

A common argument in today's news is that: Someone commits a heinous crime by shooting a bunch of people. Anyone who commits a heinous crime must be insane. Sane people cannot apply rational thought to explain what motivates the insane. Therefore,…
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What fallacy is this? “This happened, therefore there must be good reasons for it”

What fallacy is it when someone says "this is true/it happened, therefore there are good reasons for it"? For example: We drive on the left (or right, depending on country) side of the road, therefore there must be a good reason for it. Assume,…
David Balažic
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Is it fallacious to argue that something is correct, of good quality, or acceptable because a community of experts has established it as such?

Earlier today, I asked a programming question on a forum. I phrased the question as "What is the best way to do x?" Someone responded with something to the effect of, "the best way is usually with a tool that is widely used and accepted by…
AffableAmbler
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Is there a name for this fallacy when someone says something is good by only pointing out the good things?

A person says that a politician "Jane Doe" is good because he increased the education budget. (but in reality, Jane doe is also corrupt & racist, whose bad policies lead to the downfall of the economy of the country) A person says that the…
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Is reductio ad absurdum a fallacy?

If Miles told Frank: “Copying a DVD is stealing” And Frank's response to Miles: “if copying a DVD is stealing, then, by that logic, taking a photo of someone is kidnapping” And Miles Response is: “They are not comparable” Is Miles right. Or is…
Jesse Kapahua
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What fallacy is assuming something is the case because of past events

I'm sure this is a simple question. What I am referring to is disbelieving someone on Day 20 because they have lied every day previous to Day 20. Another example is the boy who cried wolf. The 50th time he cries "Wolf!" nobody believes him. As a…
Zebrafish
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Is there a point to arguing about the meaning of words?

Firstly, I should mention that I am not sure, whether this the right place to ask such a question, but I am trying it anyway. Furthermore, one could say I come from a mathematics background and I am not familiar with common terminology in philosophy…
Stefan Perko
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