Fallacies In Writing Essay, Research Paper
When responding to an article, it is logical to assume that
one would like to come off as intelligent and well-spoken.
This is difficult to achieve when fallacies are apparent in
many varying fashions throughout the response. Fallacies
have the effect of weakening a statement by simply making
the writer appear uneducated. In the letter to editor
entitled, Ten Commandments shouldn t be in schools which
appears in The Pantagraph, there are many different examples
of fallacies which assume the undesired responsibility of
enfeebling the opinion of the writer. The basic view of the
writer is clear from the beginning of the response and while
there is nothing noticeably objectionable stated , one
becomes disillusioned by the author because of her literary
lying. The author s credibility is destroyed by the
abundance of fallacies , the first of which is a Straw man.
How would you feel if, in addition to the Ten Commandments,
we posted the Satanic Ten Commandments? The author is
clearly taking her adversary s view and twisting it to the
extreme. Obviously, no self-respecting school is going to
promote the worship of Satan and to suggest such an idea,
even in sarcasm, is foolish. A more appropriate way to
suggest an alternative to the Ten Commandments would be to
propose a different religion such as Judaism post their
beliefs in schools. By doing this, the author conveys her
message of distaste for religion in schools and maintains a
realistic viewpoint. There is no need for this Straw man.
Instead of suggesting a logical choice the author creates
another fallacy, a false dilemma. If you want the Ten
Commandments posted in school, then start your own school.
The author implies that there are only two choices in this
matter, however this is not the truth, there are many
options which can be explored before stating that there are
only two choices. The author never suggests posting many
different religions viewpoints in school or any other
alternative. By implying that only two choices exist the
author is again misleading the reader and damaging her
credibility. Next, the author states that, Atheists make up
8% to 10% of the population but account for only 1% of the
prison population. However true this may be, unfortunately,
it has absolutely no bearing on the topic at hand. This
false use of evidence may be a fact ,but the topic being
discussed is whether or not the Ten Commandments should be
posted in schools. This evidence would only be relevant if
the topic were whether one s religious beliefs influence
criminal activity. The source of this information is also
not quoted. Statistics can be found for anything and 67% of
people know that. If the study was related to the Ten
Commandments, then it would have merit in the article, but
in this response it is simply a fallacy. In an effort to
bestow worth on her opinion, the author borrows a prestige
with the quote, The Founding Fathers objected to the Church
of England. They wanted to ensure that this did not happen
in their fledgling nation. The Founding Fathers desired
separation of the Church and the nation, however this quote
is a far cry from the ideals that motivated the Founding
Fathers of our nation. The Ten Commandments simply being
posted on the wall does not constitute a union of Church and
State. Being presented in that fashion creates a red herring
or a statement used to divert attention from the topic at
hand. Since the author has a distinct lack of evidence , she
constructs a statement that on the surface appears
plausible. However, upon further thought one discovers the
true nature of the claim. The author states that she lives
without God and assumedly without the Ten Commandments in
her life and has no difficulty recognizing the difference
between right and wrong. She continues with I don t need
divine guidance to tell me that killing someone is wrong.
I don t need divine guidance to tell me that stealing is
wrong. My neighbors live in peace and safety and I live
without God. The hasty generalization made is that since
she doesn t believe in God or the Ten Commandments and she
has no problems with morals, then consequently, no one
should require God or religion to live a morally correct
life. The author attempts to create a fact out of her
personal experience. There is no context for her to propose
that God is not needed based strictly on the fact that she
does not worship him. This is her opinion rather than a fact
and should be stated in such a way. One cannot claim to find
mistakes in the author s opinion , however the argument made
is severely weakened by the multiple fallacies contained
throughout the article. The author s credibility is
shattered because of the way the response was written and
unfortunately that makes any point stressed in the article
difficult to accept. Without the abundant fallacies strewn
throughout the response, the author s argument would have
carried significantly more merit. However, the manor in
which this response is written forces the reader to absorb
the fallacies, rather than the message.