most recent 30 from http://www.skepticexchange.org 2010-09-07T13:04:45Z http://www.skepticexchange.org/feeds/tag/logical-fallacy http://www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.5/rdf http://www.skepticexchange.org/questions/831/is-there-a-convincing-argument-for-free-will Skrivener 2010-05-12T17:34:26Z 2010-07-21T18:35:24Z

<p>It is generally (although not universally) accepted that people have "free will", which I would define (off the cuff) as possessing the ability to make decisions that are not mandated consequences of the immediate preceding physical states of one's body and environment, nor random chance, nor some combination of the two.</p> <p>Interestingly, proponents of free will include many religious people who nevertheless accept that the universe is exactly how it was created to be at any given moment, and populated with individuals who were created to do exactly as they do at any given moment, with an overarching but obscured 'plan' in place that controls or defines all of existence from the very beginning to the very outcome.</p> <p>How would you define "free will"? Are there cogent arguments in favor of free will, or are they all forms of <a href="http://www.skepticexchange.org/questions/4/argument-from-final-consequences-logical-fallacy" rel="nofollow">Arguments from Consequences of Belief</a>? Does a lack of free will imply <a href="http://www.skepticexchange.org/questions/786/what-is-determinism" rel="nofollow">determinism</a>, or vice versa? Does free will require a supernatural mind or soul? Can the presence or absence of free will be tested scientifically, and if so what does the research so far show? What are some of the implications of having, or lacking, free will?</p>

http://www.skepticexchange.org/questions/4/argument-from-final-consequences-logical-fallacy rjstelling 2009-10-15T12:11:27Z 2010-05-19T19:08:36Z

<p>What is a <strong>Argument from final Consequences</strong> logical fallacy? And what are the classic examples?</p>

http://www.skepticexchange.org/questions/88/does-this-logical-fallacy-have-a-name johnfx 2009-11-15T16:41:11Z 2010-04-04T19:37:16Z

<p>Lacking a better name, I call it the "Appeal to hypocrisy fallacy" and see it quite often. </p> <p>Here is a classic example:</p> <blockquote> <p>You support capital punishment/the way, but are against abortion. So clearly your views are contradictory and thus invalid. Thus you morally agree with abortion even if you construe it as killing an individual.</p> </blockquote> <p>The trouble with this argument is that it technically proves BOTH of you wrong, assuming that you hold a contrary view on both sides of the premise.</p> <p>Does this have a formal (and probably Latin) name?</p>

http://www.skepticexchange.org/questions/744/can-you-prove-that-unicorns-exist Richard Craig 2010-03-24T19:01:54Z 2010-03-29T14:29:23Z

<p>We are all intelligent people and it is only a childs game, but I thought I'd ask if anyone would like to join in and provide their 'proof' that the invisible unicorns that live at Camp Quest camps exist?<br /> <a href="http://www.camp-quest.org.uk/frequently-asked-questions/the-invisible-unicorn-challenge/" rel="nofollow">http://www.camp-quest.org.uk/frequently-asked-questions/the-invisible-unicorn-challenge/</a></p> <p>The problem was that last year a nine year old took it very seriously and wrote a page of very well constructed arguments that made it very hard for us to refute (as we don't want to fall back on the 'have faith' position).<br /> 9yr: "If they're invisible and leave no trace then how did anyone find out about them?"<br /> Moi:"They obviously choose to reveal themselves occasionally"<br /> 9yr: "If they're alive then they must eat and leave poo"<br /> Moi:"There are many definitions for what can be described as alive"<br /> etc etc</p>

http://www.skepticexchange.org/questions/634/what-is-your-favourite-logical-fallacy Awalmo 2010-02-28T20:39:11Z 2010-03-14T10:35:24Z

<p>Understanding poor argument and being able to respond to it is so important to skeptical and critical thinking. A big part of this is being aware of logical traps. So, name your favourite logical fallacy; define it; and give an example or examples from actual things you have read, watched, or heard. </p>

http://www.skepticexchange.org/questions/1/ad-hominem-logical-fallacy rjstelling 2009-10-15T12:01:09Z 2010-01-26T14:03:41Z

<p>What is a Ad hominem Logical Fallacy? And what are the classic examples?</p>

http://www.skepticexchange.org/questions/5/false-continuum-logical-fallacy rjstelling 2009-10-15T12:12:55Z 2010-01-21T16:54:05Z

<p>What is a <strong>False Continuum</strong> logical fallacy? And what are the classic examples?</p>

http://www.skepticexchange.org/questions/3/argument-from-authority-logical-fallacy rjstelling 2009-10-15T12:06:53Z 2009-12-24T18:29:21Z

<p>What is a <strong>argument from authority</strong> logical fallacy? And what are the classic examples?</p>

http://www.skepticexchange.org/questions/6/false-dichotomy-logical-fallacy rjstelling 2009-10-15T12:13:48Z 2009-12-15T03:13:08Z

<p>What is a <strong>False Dichotomy</strong> logical fallacy? And what are the classic examples?</p>

http://www.skepticexchange.org/questions/9/special-pleading-logical-fallacy rjstelling 2009-10-15T12:16:29Z 2009-12-12T07:07:30Z

<p>What is a <strong>Special pleading</strong> logical fallacy? And what are the classic examples?</p>

http://www.skepticexchange.org/questions/125/taking-ad-hominem-too-far Jedischooldropout 2009-12-08T21:03:51Z 2009-12-10T06:15:31Z

<p>There is a tendency of people to use 'ad hominem' as a defence, when in fact it isn't an actual ad hominem.</p> <p>Example: "Your 9-11 Truther beliefs are garbage because you are an idiot." IS an ad hominem. but "You are a jerk, and your 9-11 Truther beliefs are garbage." is not an ad hominem.</p> <p>The difference being that being wrong consequent to being what ever the alleged attack is is not using a logical fallacy; whereas being wrong <em>because</em> of the implications of the attack is a logical fallacy.</p> <p>In fact, decrying 'ad hominem' when in fact there is no causal chain between being wrong and the personal attack is in a sense a logical fallacy in it's own right.</p> <p>Is there a name for this? Does it fit cleanly into one of the other common established fallacies? Or is it it's own (or a subset of another) fallacy?</p>

http://www.skepticexchange.org/questions/7/non-sequitur-logical-fallacy rjstelling 2009-10-15T12:14:33Z 2009-12-07T07:57:54Z

<p>What is a <strong>Non-Sequitur</strong> logical fallacy? And what are the classic examples?</p>

http://www.skepticexchange.org/questions/2/ad-ignorantiam-logical-fallacy rjstelling 2009-10-15T12:05:28Z 2009-11-11T01:34:30Z

<p>What is a <strong>Ad ignorantiam</strong> Logical Fallacy? And what are the classic examples?</p>

http://www.skepticexchange.org/questions/8/straw-man-logical-fallacy rjstelling 2009-10-15T12:15:30Z 2009-10-18T14:49:09Z

<p>What is a <strong>Straw Man</strong> logical fallacy? And what are the classic examples?</p>