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.