Search Results for: papers/490937

Causal Fallacies

Go May 31, 2004 It is common for arguments to conclude that one thing causes another. But the relation between cause and effect is a complex one.

False Dilemmas and Excluded Possibilities

Go May 31, 2004 Two choices are given when in fact there are three options.

Appeal to Consequence

Go May 31, 2004 Intimidation of the listener with a threat of undesirable consequences.

Equivocation

Go May 31, 2004 The same term is used with two different meanings.

Appeal to Force

Go May 31, 2004 Coercing agreement by forceful or threatening means.

Slippery Slope

Go May 31, 2004 A series of increasingly unacceptable consequences is drawn.

For any of you nostalgic for your days sparring for your high-school debate team, here’s a spirited argument of the point-counterpoint variety that is sure to please. A while back Jonathan Wells, author of The Icons of Evolution, shot off the salvo, “Ten Questions to Ask Your Biology Teacher about Evolution“. The National Center for Science Education has offered its own defense in lieu of your own local “high school biology professor”. And now, to counter that counterpunch, Wells has written “Inherit the Spin” wherein he countenances each of the NCSE’s answers and finds them unsatisfying. With this most recent contribution Wells has elevated the debate considerably and one hopes that the NCSE will return for round four.

Appeal to Authority

Go May 07, 2004 1) The authority is not an expert in the field; 2) experts in the field disagree; 3) the authority wasn't speaking in earnest; 4) or, the authority is misrepresented.

Argument from Ignorance

Go May 01, 2004 Because something is not known to be true, it is assumed to be false.

Atheist Universe

David Mills (Xlibris: Apr 6, 2004)

Go Apr 06, 2004

In this work, essentially an update of Mills’s Atheist Universe: Why God Didn’t Have a Thing To Do with It (2004), he surveys a variety of topics, including intelligent design and the origin of the universe, as well as conducts what appears to be a mock interview with himself. While some of Mills’s arguments are logically sound, his antagonistic way of presenting them grows tiresome. For example, he avers that agnostics choose agnosticism over atheism primarily owing to a lack of “guts,” failing to support that assertion with anything other than his own opinion. In addition, he calls all Christian fundamentalists naive and suggests that all public schools are “miserable.” But perhaps his most egregious mischaracterization is his description of atheism as a positive philosophy. Most scholars would agree that atheism is not a philosophy, but a factual premise based on logical conjecture. In fact, atheism addresses only one question: does God exist? In light of the various philosophical worldviews — e.g., humanism, secular Judaism — by which atheists can choose to live their lives, Mills’s suggestion that atheism per se is a positive philosophy is unsubstantiated. Not recommended. ~ Brad S. Matthies, Butler University

Consider all. Test All. Hold on to the good.