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69-415: Fallacies may be committed intentionally to manipulate or persuade by deception , unintentionally because of human limitations such as carelessness , cognitive or social biases and ignorance , or potentially due to the limitations of language and understanding of language. These delineations include not only the ignorance of the right reasoning standard but also the ignorance of relevant properties of

138-424: A false analogy uses unsound comparisons. The straw man fallacy refers to the refutation of a standpoint in an argument that was never proposed. The fallacy usually occurs in the presentation of an opponent's standpoint as more extreme, distorted, or simplistic than it actually is. Compared to criticizing the opponent's actual standpoint, this allows the arguer to offer a seeming refutation of what is, however, not

207-412: A formal fallacy is a pattern of reasoning rendered invalid by a flaw in its logical structure that can neatly be expressed in a standard logic system, for example propositional logic . It is defined as a deductive argument that is invalid. The argument itself could have true premises , but still have a false conclusion . Thus, a formal fallacy is a fallacy in which deduction goes wrong, and

276-426: A sample that is inadequate (usually because it is atypical or just too small). Stereotypes about people ("frat boys are drunkards", "grad students are nerdy", "women don't enjoy sports", etc.) are common examples of the principle. Hasty generalization often follows a pattern such as: While never a valid logical deduction, if such an inference can be made on statistical grounds, it may nonetheless be convincing. This

345-428: A slippery slope type of argument, it must meet the requirements of that argumentation scheme . A slippery slope argument originates from a conversation or debate in which two actors take turns. It usually originates from one actor giving advice on a decision or act. Along the way, the actor must make additional choices on similar matters through which the actor enters the ‘grey area’ of the slippery slope. At this point,

414-558: A child to be diagnosed with this disorder, the behavior must be consistent for at least 12 months. Factitious disorder is a mental illness in which individuals purposely fake having symptoms of some condition, physically or psychologically. Fabricating illnesses allows individuals to feel a thrill and receive free aid in hospital admissions and treatment. Feelings of persistence, abuse in early childhood, and excessive thoughts were common for these individuals who connected to Borderline Personality Disorder. Histrionic personality disorder

483-776: A conclusion to be true. The term non sequitur denotes a general formal fallacy, often meaning one that does not belong to any named subclass of formal fallacies, like affirming the consequent . An ecological fallacy is committed when one draws an inference from data based on the premise that qualities observed for groups necessarily hold for individuals; for example, "if countries with more Protestants tend to have higher suicide rates, then Protestants must be more likely to commit suicide". Maarten Boudry and others have argued that formal, deductive fallacies rarely occur in real life and that arguments that would be fallacious in formally deductive terms are not necessarily so when context and prior probabilities are taken into account, thus making

552-401: A conviction that makes them sound as though they are proven facts". Informal fallacies, in particular, are frequently found in mass media such as television and newspapers. Understanding fallacies may allow one to recognize them in either one's own or others' writing. Avoiding fallacies may help improve one's ability to produce sound arguments. It can be difficult to evaluate whether an argument

621-474: A fallacy as a sophistical refutation but also supports the view that many of the types of arguments traditionally labeled as fallacies are in fact reasonable techniques of argumentation that can be used, in many cases, to support legitimate goals of dialogue. Hence, under the pragmatic approach, each case needs to be analyzed individually to determine whether the argument is fallacious or reasonable. Psychological manipulation In psychology , manipulation

690-413: A humorous essay teaching students how to be persuasive by means of a whole host of informal and formal fallacies. When someone uses logical fallacies intentionally to mislead in academic, political, or other high-stakes contexts, the breach of trust calls into question the authority and intellectual integrity of that person . According to the pragmatic theory, a fallacy can be either a heuristic error or

759-416: A means to control them, while gaslighting involves manipulators causing their victim to doubt themself and their beliefs through distortion of reality. Another tactic is love-bombing, where manipulators may escalate affection at an unreasonable rate in an attempt to better control their victim through forming trust. Several behavioral red flags can help identify manipulation, including inconsistencies where

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828-469: A mushroom because the mushroom was poisonous could be an example of the post hoc ergo propter hoc fallacy. In contrast to a formal fallacy, an informal fallacy originates from a reasoning error other than a flaw in the logical form of the argument. A deductive argument containing an informal fallacy may be formally valid , but still remain rationally unpersuasive. Nevertheless, informal fallacies apply to both deductive and non-deductive arguments. Though

897-407: A nonexistent principle: This is fallacious. Indeed, there is no logical principle that states: An easy way to show the above inference as invalid is by using Venn diagrams . In logical parlance, the inference is invalid, since under at least one interpretation of the predicates it is not validity preserving. People often have difficulty applying the rules of logic. For example, a person may say

966-482: A ploy used intentionally to unfairly win an argument. There are always two parties to an argument containing a fallacy: the perpetrator and the intended victim. The dialogue framework required to support the pragmatic theory of fallacy is built on the presumption that argumentative dialogue has both an adversarial component and a collaborative component. A dialogue has individual goals for each participant as well as shared goals that apply to all participants. A fallacy of

1035-613: A point with the intention to persuade. Examples in the mass media today include but are not limited to propaganda , advertisements , politics , newspaper editorials, and opinion-based news shows. Fallacies are generally classified strictly by either their structure or their content, such as by classifying them as formal fallacies or informal fallacies , respectively. The classification of informal fallacies may be subdivided into categories such as linguistic, relevance through omission, relevance through intrusion, and relevance through presumption. Alternatively, fallacies may be classified by

1104-448: A possibility that low productivity measurements using the tool commit argument from silence fallacies, to the extent that such measurements are supported by the absence of book citation data. Ecological fallacies can be committed when one measures the scholarly productivity of a sub-group of individuals (e.g. "Puerto Rican" faculty) via reference to aggregate data about a larger and different group (e.g., "Hispanic" faculty). Sometimes

1173-402: A proliferation of new metrics for scholarly authority, and there is lively discussion regarding the relative usefulness of such metrics for measuring the value of knowledge production in the context of an "information tsunami". For example, anchoring fallacies can occur when unwarranted weight is given to data generated by metrics that the arguers themselves acknowledge are flawed. For example,

1242-403: A slippery slope to be fallacious: for example, the argument is going too far into the future, it is a too complex argument whose structure is hard to identify, or the argument makes emotional appeals. It may be that a slippery slope is not necessarily fallacious if context is taken into account and there is an effort to assess plausibility. Informally known as the " apples and oranges " fallacy,

1311-667: A speaker or writer uses a fallacy intentionally. In any context, including academic debate, a conversation among friends, political discourse, advertising, or comedic purposes, the arguer may use fallacious reasoning to try to persuade the listener or reader, by means other than offering relevant evidence, that the conclusion is true. Examples of this include the speaker or writer: In humor, errors of reasoning are used for comical purposes. Groucho Marx used fallacies of amphiboly , for instance, to make ironic statements; Gary Larson and Scott Adams employed fallacious reasoning in many of their cartoons. Wes Boyer and Samuel Stoddard have written

1380-415: A true premise, but a false conclusion. "Some of your key evidence is missing, incomplete, or even faked! That proves I'm right!" "The vet can't find any reasonable explanation for why my dog died. See! See! That proves that you poisoned him! There’s no other logical explanation!" In the strictest sense, a logical fallacy is the incorrect application of a valid logical principle or an application of

1449-486: Is a mathematical fallacy , an intentionally invalid mathematical proof with a concealed, or subtle, error. Mathematical fallacies are typically crafted and exhibited for educational purposes, usually taking the form of false proofs of obvious contradictions . Fallacies are types of erroneous reasoning that render arguments logically unsound . According to The New Handbook of Cognitive Therapy Techniques, they include "unsubstantiated assertions that are often delivered with

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1518-480: Is a mathematical fallacy , an intentionally invalid mathematical proof , often with the error subtle and somehow concealed. Mathematical fallacies are typically crafted and exhibited for educational purposes, usually taking the form of spurious proofs of obvious contradictions . A formal fallacy is contrasted with an informal fallacy which may have a valid logical form and yet be unsound because one or more premises are false. A formal fallacy, however, may have

1587-399: Is a flaw in the structure of a deductive argument that renders the argument invalid . The flaw can be expressed in the standard system of logic. Such an argument is always considered to be wrong. The presence of the formal fallacy does not imply anything about the argument's premises or its conclusion. Both may actually be true or may even be more probable as a result of the argument, but

1656-441: Is a personality disorder characterized by dramatic and attention seeking behavior. Individuals with the personality disorder exhibit inappropriate alluring tactics, and irregular emotional patterns. Histrionic symptoms include "seeking reassurance, switching emotional, and feeling uncomfortable." Histrionic and Narcissistic Personality Disorders overlap because decisions are sporadic and unreliable. Narcissistic personality disorder

1725-511: Is a popular and widely used psychological measure of manipulative and deceptive behavior. The emotional manipulation scale is a ten-item questionnaire developed in 2006 through factor analysis , primarily to measure one's tendency to use emotions to their advantage in controlling others. At the time of publication, emotional intelligence assessments did not specifically examine manipulative behavior and were instead predominantly focussed on Big Five personality trait assessment. The "Managing

1794-519: Is an error in what the arguer is talking about, while a verbal fallacy is an error in how the arguer is talking. Verbal fallacies are those in which a conclusion is obtained by improper or ambiguous use of words. An example of a language dependent fallacy is given as a debate as to who in humanity are learners: the wise or the ignorant. A language-independent fallacy is, for example: Indian logicians took great pains to identify fallacies in arguments. An influential collection of texts on logic and reason,

1863-408: Is because with enough empirical evidence, the generalization is no longer a hasty one. The fallacies of relevance are a broad class of informal fallacies, generically represented by missing the point : presenting an argument that may be sound but fails to address the issue in question. An argument from silence is a faulty conclusion that is drawn based on the absence of evidence rather than on

1932-495: Is characterized by a belief of superiority, exhibitionism, self-centeredness and a lack of empathy. Individuals with NPD can be charming but also show exploitive behaviors in the interpersonal domain. They are motivated by success, beauty, and may have feelings of entitlement. Those with this disorder often engage in assertive self enhancement and antagonistic self-protection. All of these factors can lead an individual with narcissistic personality disorder to manipulate others. Under

2001-516: Is defined as an action designed to influence or control another person, usually in an underhanded or unfair manner which facilitates one's personal aims. Methods someone may use to manipulate another person may include seduction, suggestion, coercion , and blackmail to induce submission. Manipulation is generally considered a dishonest form of social influence as it is used at the expense of others. Barring mental disabilities, humans are inherently capable of manipulative and deceptive behavior, with

2070-420: Is fallacious, as arguments exist along a continuum of soundness and an argument that has several stages or parts might have some sound sections and some fallacious ones. Moreover, whether a specific argument is fallacious often depends on the content rather than the form of the argument. An example is a probabilistically valid instance of the formally invalid argument form of denying the antecedent or affirming

2139-417: Is independent of any particular conjunction of meaningful propositions. Logical form alone can guarantee that, given true premises, a true conclusion must follow. However, formal logic makes no such guarantee if any premise is false; the conclusion can be either true or false. Any formal error or logical fallacy similarly invalidates the deductive guarantee. Both the argument and all its premises must be true for

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2208-496: Is no longer a logical process. This may not affect the truth of the conclusion, since validity and truth are separate in formal logic. While a logical argument is a non sequitur if, and only if, it is invalid, the term "non sequitur" typically refers to those types of invalid arguments which do not constitute formal fallacies covered by particular terms (e.g., affirming the consequent ). In other words, in practice, "non sequitur" refers to an unnamed formal fallacy. A special case

2277-423: Is plausible because few people are aware of any instances of beaked creatures besides birds—but this premise is not the one that was given. In this way, the deductive fallacy is formed by points that may individually appear logical, but when placed together are shown to be incorrect. In everyday speech, a non sequitur is a statement in which the final part is totally unrelated to the first part, for example: Life

2346-575: Is premise- and inference-based ambiguity. The Greek philosopher Aristotle (384–322 BC) was the first to systematize logical errors into a list to make it easier to refute an opponent's thesis and thus win an argument. Aristotle's Sophistical Refutations ( De Sophisticis Elenchis ) identifies thirteen fallacies. He divided them up into two major types: linguistic fallacies and non-linguistic fallacies, some of which depend on language and others that do not. These fallacies are called verbal fallacies and material fallacies, respectively. A material fallacy

2415-512: Is specifically included, and whether one is referring to the general population or in clinical contexts. Antisocial personality disorder features deceit and manipulation of others as an explicit criterion. This runs the gamut of deception, from lying and superficial displays of charisma to frequent use of aliases and disguises, and criminal fraudulence. The Alternative Model of Personality Disorders (AMPD) in Section III of DSM-5 requires

2484-428: Is the ability to move others to a desired action, usually within the context of a specific goal. Persuasion often attempts to influence a person's beliefs, religion, motivations, or behavior. Influence and persuasion are neither positive nor negative, unlike manipulation which is strictly negative. While the motivations for manipulation are mostly self-serving, certain styles of social influence can be intended to be to

2553-470: Is unique in the grouping as "borderline" manipulation is characterized as unintentional and dysfunctional manipulation. Marsha M. Linehan has stated that people with borderline personality disorder often exhibit behaviors which are not truly manipulative, but are erroneously interpreted as such. According to Linehan, these behaviors often appear as unthinking manifestations of intense pain, and are often not deliberate as to be considered truly manipulative. In

2622-484: The Nyāya Sūtras , attributed to Aksapada Gautama , variously estimated to have been composed between the 6th century BCE and the 2nd century CE, lists in its theory of inference five such reasons used in an argument that was further developed by later logicians. English scholar and theologian Richard Whately (1787–1863) defines a fallacy broadly as, "any argument, or apparent argument, which professes to be decisive of

2691-478: The DSM-V , manipulation was removed as a defining characteristic of borderline personality disorder. Conduct disorder is the appearance of antisocial behavior occurring in children and adolescents. Individuals with this disorder are characterized by a lack of empathy, a low sense of guilt, and shallow emotionality. Aggression and violence are two factors that characterize individuals with this disorder. In order for

2760-613: The ICD-11 's dimensional model of personality pathology, deceitful, manipulative and exploitative behaviors are cardinal expressions of the lack of empathy domain of the Dissociality trait. Many have proposed ways for potential victims to identify manipulation attempts and take action to prevent victimization. Manipulation can be identified through several established tactics and behavioral signs. Guilt tripping occurs when manipulators can evoke unjustified guilt in their victims as

2829-491: The context . For instance, the soundness of legal arguments depends on the context in which they are made. Fallacies are commonly divided into "formal" and "informal". A formal fallacy is a flaw in the structure of a deductive argument that renders the argument invalid, while an informal fallacy originates in an error in reasoning other than an improper logical form . Arguments containing informal fallacies may be formally valid , but still fallacious. A special case

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2898-428: The pragma-dialectical theory , for instance, an argument is regarded as an interactive protocol between individuals who attempt to resolve their disagreement on the merits of a case. The protocol consists of normative rules of interaction , and violations of these rules are considered fallacies because they frustrate the attempt at resolving the disagreement. Fallacies are used in place of valid reasoning to communicate

2967-483: The Emotions of Others Scale" (MEOS) was developed in 2013 through factor analysis to measure the ability to change emotions of others. The survey questions measure six categories: mood (or emotional state ) enhancement, mood worsening, concealing emotions, capacity for inauthenticity, poor emotion skills, and using diversion to enhance mood. The enhancement, worsening and diversion categories have been used to identify

3036-833: The ability and willingness of manipulative behavior. The MEOS has also been used for assessing emotional intelligence, and has been compared to the HEXACO model of personality structure , for which the capacity for inauthenticity category in the MEOS was found to correspond to low honesty-humility scores on the HEXACO. Manipulative tendencies may derive from cluster B personality disorders such as narcissistic personality disorder , antisocial personality disorder , and borderline personality disorder . Manipulative behavior has also been related with one's level of emotional intelligence . Discussion of manipulation may vary depending on which behavior

3105-425: The absence of sufficient evidence, drawing conclusions based on induction is unwarranted and fallacious. With the backing of sufficient amounts of the right type of empirical evidence , however, the conclusions may become warranted and convincing (at which point the arguments are no longer considered fallacious). Hasty generalization is described as making assumptions about a whole group or range of cases based on

3174-465: The actor potentially loses control over the direction of the arguments, thus leading to a ‘fatal’ outcome. Such an argument is built up according to the following argumentation scheme: initial premise, sequential premise, indeterminacy premise, control premise, loss of control premise, catastrophic outcome premise, and conclusion. Slippery slope arguments may be defeated by asking critical questions or giving counterarguments. There are several reasons for

3243-581: The actual standpoint. Such an argument involves two arguers, with one criticizing the other's perspective. The reason for the straw man argument to be fallacious originates from the problem of how to deal with natural discourse. The opponent's argument is not reflected by the arguments that are proposed by the speaker. Some of the fallacies described above may be committed in the context of measurement. Where mathematical fallacies are subtle mistakes in reasoning leading to invalid mathematical proofs, measurement fallacies are unwarranted inferential leaps involved in

3312-438: The argument defeasible and/or inductive. Boudry coined the term fallacy fork . For a given fallacy, one must either characterize it by means of a deductive argumentation scheme , which rarely applies (the first prong of the fork), or one must relax definitions and add nuance to take the actual intent and context of the argument into account (the other prong of the fork). To argue, for example, that one became nauseated after eating

3381-765: The benefit of others. Manipulation can be defined as the use of strategies to further personal driven goals at the expense of others and is usually considered antisocial behavior. Pro-social behavior is a voluntary act intended to help or benefit another individual or group of individuals and is an important part of empathy . Different measures of manipulativeness focus on different aspects or expressions of manipulation and tend to paint slightly different pictures of its predictors. Features such as low empathy, high narcissism, use of self-serving rationalizations, and an interpersonal style marked by high agency (dominance) and low communion (i.e. cold-heartedness) are consistent across measures. Manipulative behaviors typically exploit

3450-542: The case of sheer quantity metrics based on the premise "more is better" or, in the case of developmental assessment in the field of psychology, "higher is better". A false analogy occurs when claims are supported by unsound comparisons between data points. For example, the Scopus and Web of Science bibliographic databases have difficulty distinguishing between citations of scholarly work that are arms-length endorsements, ceremonial citations, or negative citations (indicating

3519-510: The citing author withholds endorsement of the cited work). Hence, measurement-based value claims premised on the uniform quality of all citations may be questioned on false analogy grounds. As another example, consider the Faculty Scholarly Productivity Index of Academic Analytics. This tool purports to measure overall faculty productivity, yet it does not capture data based on citations in books. This creates

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3588-484: The consequent . Thus, "fallacious arguments usually have the deceptive appearance of being good arguments, because for most fallacious instances of an argument form, a similar but non-fallacious instance can be found". Evaluating an instance of an argument as fallacious is therefore often a matter of evaluating the context of the argument. Recognizing fallacies in everyday arguments may be difficult since arguments are often embedded in rhetorical patterns that obscure

3657-470: The deductive argument is still invalid because the conclusion does not follow from the premises in the manner described. Even non-deductive arguments can be said to be fallacious: for example, an inductive argument that incorrectly applies principles of probability or causality . But "since deductive arguments depend on formal properties and inductive arguments don't, formal fallacies apply only to deductive arguments". A logical form such as " A and B "

3726-489: The extrapolation of raw data to a measurement-based value claim. The ancient Greek Sophist Protagoras was one of the first thinkers to propose that humans can generate reliable measurements through his "human-measure" principle and the practice of dissoi logoi (arguing multiple sides of an issue). This history helps explain why measurement fallacies are informed by informal logic and argumentation theory . The increasing availability and circulation of big data are driving

3795-440: The first event caused the one that came later. But sometimes two events that seem related in time are not really related as cause and event. That is, temporal correlation does not necessarily entail causation . For example, if one eats a sandwich and then gets food poisoning, that does not necessarily mean the sandwich caused the food poisoning. Something else eaten earlier might have caused the food poisoning. For an argument to be

3864-459: The following syllogism is valid, when in fact it is not: "That creature" may well be a bird, but the conclusion does not follow from the premises. Certain other animals also have beaks, for example: an octopus and a squid both have beaks, some turtles and cetaceans have beaks. Errors of this type occur because people reverse a premise. In this case, "All birds have beaks" is converted to "All beaked animals are birds." The reversed premise

3933-432: The following vulnerabilities: Harriet B. Braiker identified the following ways that manipulators control their victims: According to Braiker, manipulators exploit the following vulnerabilities (buttons) that may exist in victims: Manipulators can have various possible motivations, including but not limited to: According to psychology author George K. Simon , successful psychological manipulation primarily involves

4002-436: The form of the argument may be relevant, fallacies of this type are "types of mistakes in reasoning that arise from the mishandling of the content of the propositions constituting the argument". A special subclass of the informal fallacies is the set of faulty generalizations , also known as inductive fallacies. Here, the most important issue concerns inductive strength or methodology (for example, statistical inference ). In

4071-575: The limitations of the journal impact factor (JIF) are well documented, and even JIF pioneer Eugene Garfield notes that, "while citation data create new tools for analyses of research performance, it should be stressed that they supplement rather than replace other quantitative and qualitative indicators". To the extent that arguers jettison the acknowledged limitations of JIF-generated data in evaluative judgments or leave behind Garfield's "supplement rather than replace" caveat, they commit anchoring fallacies. A naturalistic fallacy can occur, for example, in

4140-438: The logical connections between statements. Informal fallacies may also exploit the emotional , intellectual, or psychological weaknesses of the audience. Recognizing fallacies can develop reasoning skills to expose the weaker links between premises and conclusions to better discern between what appears to be true and what is true. Argumentation theory provides a different approach to understanding and classifying fallacies. In

4209-430: The main differences being of specific personality characteristics or disorders. Manipulation differs from general influence and persuasion . Manipulation, unlike persuasion, typically involves exploiting the vulnerabilities of an individual. Non-manipulative influence is generally perceived to be harmless and it is not seen as unduly coercive to the individual's right of acceptance or rejection of influence. Persuasion

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4278-1226: The manipulator's actions and words do not align, excessive flattery that manifests as unwarranted praise and excessive compliments, and isolation attempts where the manipulator tries to separate the victim from friends and family. The establishment of healthy boundaries requires two primary components: verbal communication for boundary definition and respect parameters, and assertiveness training for non-aggressive position maintenance. Emotional awareness monitoring consists of systematic self-reflection procedures and mindfulness exercise implementation for emotion recognition and processing. Building self-esteem involves practicing self-compassion during challenging times and using positive affirmations to boost confidence. Seeking support can include professional therapy and engaging supportive social networks to manage manipulative influences. Learning about manipulation involves studying related methodologies and participating in educational workshops to develop protective skills. When manipulation escalates to harassment or abuse, legal consultation may become necessary for pursuing appropriate protective measures. Books Academic papers Formal fallacy In logic and philosophy ,

4347-480: The manipulator: Techniques of manipulators may include: Kantor advises in his 2006 book The Psychopathology of Everyday Life: How Antisocial Personality Disorder Affects All of Us that vulnerability to psychopathic manipulators involves being too: Manipulativeness is a primary feature found in the Machiavellianism construct. The MACH-IV , conceptualized by Richard Christie and Florence Geis,

4416-557: The material group. Other famous methods of classifying fallacies are those of Francis Bacon and J. S. Mill . Bacon ( Novum Organum , Aph. 33, 38 sqq.) divided fallacies into four Idola (Idols, i.e. False Appearances), which summarize the various kinds of mistakes to which the human intellect is prone. J. S. Mill discussed the subject in book five of his Logic, and Jeremy Bentham 's Book of Fallacies (1824) contains valuable remarks. A formal fallacy, deductive fallacy, logical fallacy or non sequitur ( Latin for "it does not follow")

4485-562: The matter at hand, while in reality it is not". Whately divided fallacies into two groups: logical and material . According to Whately, logical fallacies are arguments where the conclusion does not follow from the premises. Material fallacies are not logical errors because the conclusion follows from the premises. He then divided the logical group into two groups: purely logical and semi-logical. The semi-logical group included all of Aristotle's sophisms except ignoratio elenchi , petitio principii , and non causa pro causa , which are in

4554-451: The presence of evidence. The post hoc fallacy assumes that because B comes after A, A caused B. It gets its name from the Latin phrase " post hoc, ergo propter hoc ", which translates as "after this, therefore because of this". Sometimes one event really does cause another one that comes later—for example, if one registers for a class and their name later appears on the roll, it's true that

4623-490: The presence of manipulative behaviour for a diagnosis of ASPD, with two symptoms (deceitfulness and manipulativeness) reflecting such tendencies out of the seven listed, with six being required for diagnosis (the others are impulsivity, irresponsibility, risk-taking, callousness and hostility). The related syndrome of psychopathy also features pathological lying and manipulation for personal gain, as well as superficial charm, as cardinal features. Borderline personality disorder

4692-430: The process by which they occur, such as material fallacies (content), verbal fallacies (linguistic), and formal fallacies (error in inference). In turn, material fallacies may be placed into the more general category of informal fallacies. Verbal fallacies may be placed in either formal or informal classifications: Compare equivocation , which is a word- or phrase-based ambiguity , to the fallacy of composition , which

4761-533: The second kind is seen as more than simply a violation of the rule of reasonable dialogue. It is also a deceptive tactic of argumentation based on sleight-of-hand. Aristotle explicitly compared contentious reasoning to unfair fighting in athletic contests. But the roots of the pragmatic theory go back even further in history, to the Sophists. The pragmatic theory finds its roots in the Aristotelian conception of

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