Logical Fallacy #3

A common logical fallacy is termed Ad Misericordiam, or an “appeal to emotion”. These appeals can be identified by direct pleas to human emotional responses such as fear, guilt, hate, and sympathy. This is arguably one of the most dangerous logical fallacies to fall victim to since it preys on the oftentimes simpler option—to merely feel rather than use of our logic and critical thinking skills. With a strictly emotional basis to an argument, the ability to make an informed decision that considers all possible data and views is nearly impossible. However, it is simple to get worked up over an issue based solely on the emotional weight the topic carries (say for example, the “right” to die or abortion campaigns) which can cloud judgment and decision-making capacity if not immediately recognized as a logical and rhetorical fallacy. It would seem that these rhetorical strategies seem, in many cases, to carry the most debate and controversy because of their very basis in emotion rather than in solidempirical evidence (at least in many cases).

Here is an example below:

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/books/how_salinger_was_scarred_JhMzoy9ELrOiMw2w83UEQI

Critical Reasoning And Public Education

The main critical reasoning strategies that I emphasized in my essay were analyzing the facts and seeing the issue from the perspective of other people. With the issue of public education, it is important to interpret the statistics about who exactly benefits and who is harmed by the lack of education. Poor minorities are typically affected from public education, but wealthy are able to take advantage of the system. The purpose of public education should be to give everyone an equal shot, but wealthier minorities tend to have better grades and test scores than poor minorities. Rather than punishing certain groups and helping others, public education should be replaced by a plan to improve low-income schools. If all the elementary and high schools in the U.S. become more equal, then there will be no need for racial preferences in the college admission system. This will help to both eliminate complaints of reverse discrimination against Whites and Asians, while it will improve the educational situation for poor Blacks and Latinos.