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Critical Reading: Identifying Logical Fallacies & Evaluating Reasoning

Abstract: This Learning Experience focuses on cultivating critical reading skills by learning and applying knowledge of logical fallacies to assess the logic and validity of an argument. To this end, this learning experience will engage learners in leveraging logical fallacies as a key strategy to evaluate the logical reasoning of arguments. Critical reading is important to our everyday lives as it conditions how we receive and evaluate information, which in turn conditions how we form our beliefs and make important decisions in our life. Developing an understanding of how logical fallacies function provides us with an effective tool with which to evaluate the logic of the information and ideas we are presented with, as well as assess the logic of the information and ideas we present to others.

Audience/Primary Users

The intended learner audience are students at Las Positas College who have taken entry-level English composition. Las Positas College stands at the outskirt of the San Francisco Bay Area, attracting urban students from Bay Area cities and rural students from the Central Valley. Gender demographics at Las Positas consist of 52% female, 46% male, and 2% unknown. Ethic demographics are about 30% Hispanic, 30% Caucasian, 20% Asian, 6% Filipino and Pacific Islander, and 4% Black and African American with 8% of students identifying as multiethnic. 57% of students are 19-21 years old, 23% 22-29 years old, with 10% in their 30s and 10% 40 or older. Student in English 7: Critical Thinking and Writing typically have declared a varied range of majors given that this is a GE course required for students to transfer to a university (not necessarily those whose goal is to earn an Associate degree or Certificate).

Language of Instruction

  • English

Educational Use

Material Type

  • Curriculum / Instruction

  • AA/AS GE. Transfer CSU, UC; CSU GE: A3, C2; IGETC: 1B, 3B; C-ID# ENGL 105.

  • Modules

  • Content pages

  • Discussion boards

  • Instructional Videos

  • Images and Illustrations,

  • Primary Source material

  • Supplementary readings/references

Keywords 

  • Critical Reading

  • Logical Fallacies

  • Argumentation

  • Rhetorical Analysis

Time Required
for Learning Experience

  • Four Weeks

Targeted Skills

Key skills covered in this Learning Experience include:

  • Evaluate the logic of arguments

  • Understand a variety of logical fallacies

  • Identify logical fallacies in written, spoken, and visual texts

  • Explain how logical fallacies function in a variety of contexts

Learning Objectives

By the end of this Learning Experience, the learner should be able to:

  • identify and explain logical fallacies in a variety of contexts

  • evaluate the logic of both sound and faulty arguments

Prior Knowledge

Required Resources

Learners will have successfully completed an entry-level college English course (English 1A) that focuses on critical reading and composition skills before taking the critical thinking course at Las Positas College. They will be able to identify and discuss main themes and arguments of a text and apply reading strategies such as annotation and reflection. They will also have working knowledge of academic research and composing persuasive, analytical, and reflective essays. Students will have also completed modules that covered differentiating between facts and inferences and identifying stated and unstated premises and conclusions in arguments.

This Learning Experience is facilitated entirely online and in asynchronous format through Canvas. It is important to have the required software on your computer for this course and that you know how to access technical support. Chrome is the preferred browser for Canvas. However, make sure you have multiple browsers installed because if something doesn't work in one browser, it should work in the other. (Do not use Internet Explorer with Canvas). In order to view documents and certain multimedia on the Web, you need specific browser plug-ins. The most popular plug-ins are Acrobat Reader and Flash and are typically built into your web browser. The files you submit as assignments in Canvas can be in Microsoft Word, PDF, or Google Docs. You will also need to create presentations and videos, which can be done using Google Slides and YouTube or any other preferable platforms. 

Summative Assessment: Logical Fallacies in Everyday Ongoings

Instructions 

Over the course of a week, pay attention to your everyday interactions, those with friends, family, and co-workers as well as those with the daily media you come in contact with, such as social media, news or entertainment websites, music videos, movies or shows on Netflix or other sources, and even the material and images you encounter at school and in the contexts of other places you navigate. Take note of the arguments you encounter, any underlying assumptions those arguments rest on, and any logical fallacies that are reflected in their reasoning.  

 

Part 1 

Capture the highlights of your observations in a multimedia presentation. Illustrate the context(s) and argument(s) of note and explain the assumptions and fallacies you identified. You should provide both visual representations as well as explanatory text, either written or audio. This may come in the form of a narrated presentation or video or a written text with embedded images, videos, or illustrations of some sort.  

 

Part 2 

Compose a reflection of your experience observing your everyday ongoings through the lens of logical fallacies. Below is a guiding prompt:

 

To what extent do logical fallacies pervade the everyday thinking you are exposed to and how has this experience of identifying them made you rethink how you consume media, how you communicate with others, or other ways in which you perceive and navigate the contexts of your everyday life?  

 

This portion of your project should be written (800+ words).  

 

This assignment is due at the end of the fourth week of this unit.  Please include a list of citations for any sources you used for this project.  

 

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Learning Goals

  • to obtain working knowledge of logical fallacies

 

Reading/Viewing Materials

  1. Sofocleous, Angelos (February 2, 2018). An introduction to logic and logical fallacies. The Bubble. https://www.thebubble.org.uk/culture/philosophy-religion/introduction-logic-logical-fallacies/. 

  2. Arnall, Clay (November 24, 2020). 14 logical fallacies in 14 minutes. [Video] YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4QepFGJj74o.

  3. 8 Critical thinking fallacies you’re likely falling for on social media. (July 2, 2020). Zarvana. https://www.zarvana.com/8-critical-thinking-fallacies-youre-likely-falling-for-on-social-media/. 

 

Discussion board activity: Introduction to Logical Fallacies

  • Prompt: Select three logical fallacies from those that you have been introduced to, describe how each fallacy functions, and include an example of each. Your examples should be original, meaning that you should make them up on your own or relate those you happened upon in your everyday interactions and media consumption.

  • Reply to at least two of your peers by examining how the examples reflect the definition of the respected fallacy, offering a different perspective or interpretation if applicable, and adding on an additional original example of one of the three fallacies presented by your peer.

 

Assignment: Your Top 10 Fallacies (Due at the end of Week 2)

 

Prompt: Select what you feel to be your top ten fallacies. You can have your own rationale for selecting them; for instance, they can be selected because of prevalence, interest or intrigue, importance or a mix of all three. Create an infographic that illustrates your Top 10 logical fallacies by offering  brief definitions and example of each. 

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Week 1

Week 2

Learning Goal

  • to identify and discuss logical fallacies in written texts

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Reading/Viewing Materials

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Discussion activity: Annotating for logical fallacies using Hypothesis

 

Prompt: Read the selection of short articles and annotate them in Hypothesis together with your group. The goal of your annotations is to identify and discuss the arguments, assumptions, and logical fallacies in each text and engage in a dialogue with your peers by responding to their annotations. You will likely find that the authors both make logical fallacies and point out fallacies as well; and you will also likely realize that your perspective will differ at times as to the name of the fallacy being identified. All this should be discussed as you annotate the articles and engage with the annotations of your peers. 

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Assignment: Top Ten Fallacies due

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Week 3

Learning Goals

  • to identify and discuss logical fallacies in audio/visual texts

  • to identify how logical fallacies function in everyday contexts

Reading/Viewing Material

 

Discussion Board Activity

  • Prompt: This discussion board is designed for you to share your initial observations for your "Logical Fallacies in Everyday Ongoings" project. Please post your reflections on two or three contexts of your everyday life in which you identified logical fallacies. Some examples of context are social interactions at home, work, school, or elsewhere; social media scrolling; media from which you regularly consume news, politics, and global events; settings in which you conduct your consumerist activities such as at department stores or online shopping websites; in short, the categories that define the places--physical or virtual--you engage with during your weekly activities. Describe your context(s) and illustrate how one or more logical fallacies are functioning in that context. Please embed any relevant images, videos, or links. 

  • Reply to at least two of your peers by offering your reflections on the contexts your peers described by offering, for example, insight into how the examples accurately illustrate the identified fallacies or if other fallacies should be considered; any connections to your own experience or the contexts in which you navigate that offer alternative perspectives; or other valuable reflections that promote interesting and productive discussion. 

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Assignment: Logical Fallacies in Debate

 

Prompt: Watch the 2022 Georgia Gubernatorial Debate. You do not have to watch all of it; you can use the "Points of Interest" list to watch the parts of the debate focused on issues you are interested in. As you watch, identify at least three logical fallacies. Create a short video in which you explain the three fallacies you identified. You should include the short clips of the debate that the fallacies occur in and explain each one in turn. 

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Week 4

Learning Goal 

  • to illustrate how logical fallacies function in everyday contexts

  • to reflect on the pervasiveness of logical fallacies in our everyday contexts

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Reading/Viewing Material:

  • ​No reading material for this week 

 

​Discussion Board Activity

  • Post your "Logical fallacies in Debate" video

  • Reply to at least two of your peers, offering insight and perspective to the fallacies illustrated. 

 

Summative Assessment due: Logical Fallacies in Everyday Ongoings

Key Terms and Concepts

  • Argumentation: a form of persuasion that relies on logical reasoning to convince an audience.

  • Conclusion: the key assertion that the other assertions support.

  • Fact: information that can be verified.

  • Inference: a conclusion based on the facts.

  • Logical Fallacies: faulty logic or errors in reasoning.

    • Ad Hominum: Attacking personal characteristics instead of thier argument; refuting arguments based on association with a particular group

    • Ad Populum ("Argument to the People"): appealing to popular assent, often by arousing emotions in place of building argument

    • Appeal to biased authority: basing your argument on evidence from an authority that benefits personally, professionally, or financially from it

    • Appeal to improper authority: basing your argument on evidence from an authority not in the field of topic

    • Appeal to tradition: asserting that a premise must be true because people have always believed it or done it.

    • Begging the question: passing off as true what needs to be proven

    • Circular reasoning: when the premise and the conclusion, though worded differently, mean the same thing

    • Either/Or Fallacy: also called false dilemma; setting up a faulty two choice option

    • Equivocation: using different definitions of the same word or phrase

    • False Analogy: Comparing things that are not comparable

    • False Cause: setting up a faulty cause/effect relationship

    • Hasty Generalization: jumping to conclusions; the conclusion needs more premises to be logical

    • Loaded question: phrasing a question or statement in such a way as to imply another unproven statement is true without evidence or discussion

    • Misleading Statistic: statistics that leave out contextual information and draw hasty conclusions

    • Non Sequitur: literally means "it does not follow"; the conclusion does not follow from the premises

    • Red Herring: a diversion tactic; switching the argument focus or topic instead of addressing it directly

    • Slippery Slope: assuming a faulty chain reaction of events; a domino effect

    • Stacking the Deck: only including evidence that supports the author's point while ignoring evidence to that disproves it

    • Strawman: misrepresenting another's argument so that it is easier to refute

  • Premises: reasons that support the conclusion.

Supplementary Resources

William, Owen M. Master List of Logical Fallacies (N.d.), University of Texas, https://utminers.utep.edu/omwilliamson/ENGL1311/fallacies.htm.

References

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