red herring fallacy examples in commercials

Senator Lamar Alexander’s answer: Video games are a bigger problem than guns because video games affect people. The question: Can you envision a way of supporting the universal background checks bill? In this video clip, notice how Senator Ted Lamar (R) distracts from the issue of background checks with the topic of video games. It may be true that there are too many issues on the ballot, but that doesn’t make the school choice something we should vote for or not. But we also urge you to note that there are so many issues on this ballot that the whole thing is getting ridiculous.” The argument at hand is whether or not to vote for school choice but the speaker distracts us by bringing up the point that there are too many issues on the ballot. Take this example, “We admit that voting to support school choice is a popular measure. It seeks to “win” an argument by diversion. Why is this a problem? It is a problem because it sidetracks the argument at hand. Sometimes it happens when the speaker changes the subject and sometimes it happens when the speaker brings up irrelevant information to the topic. When the opponents’ dogs encounter the fishy smell, it distracts them from their mission of fox chasing.Ī red herring fallacy occurs when a speaker distracts listeners with sensational, irrelevant material. If they are ahead in the chase, they can stop and drag the fish across the fox’s scent and make the trail go a different direction. Riders sometimes keep a fish, –a red herring–in their saddlebags. In foxhunting, riders on horses follow their dogs who are chasing a fox. Red HerringĪ red herring fallacy gets its name from the sport of fox hunting. Instead of overwhelming you with the large list, I decided to share with you the most common ones that occur in persuasive and political types of speeches.

James Shannon, the youngest college president in the US. The venerable tradition of respectful argumentation, based on evidence, conducted with courtesy, and leading to the greater exposition of truth is a precious part of our heritage in this land of freedom.

They keep us from having a good discussion of the topic at hand.They deceive us into believing bad conclusions.I had someone ask me, “What’s wrong with fallacies, everyone uses them in fact, it seems to help politicians get elected?” Let me tell you what is wrong with fallacies. My goal here is to teach you to identify some of the most common fallacies and to make you a human fallacy detector. By becoming aware of the most common fallacies, you can avoid them in your own speech and detect them when others use them. To be more specific, a fallacy is an “argument” in which the premises given for the conclusion do not provide the needed degree of support. Lynn Meade Learning to detect fallacies helps you fine tune your bs meter.Ī fallacy is an error in reasoning. 38 Fallacies–Warning! Deceptive, Hateful Speech Coming Your Way

Red herring fallacy examples in commercials