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Fallacy on slippery slope

    1. What is Slippery Slope (Ruscio, Chapter 3)? Define, explain and provide one or two real-life examples.

Definition

According to Ruscio (2006), Slippery slope is based on logical-thinking either in one agreement or the initial arguments which results into logical fallacy, leading to an inevitable conclusion which nevertheless was not adopted.

Explanation

Michael (2009) stated that The Slippery Slope is a fallacy in which a person asserts that some event must inevitably continue from another without any argument for the inevitability of the event in question. Majority of the cases has a series of steps or progressions between one issue and the one in question and no reason is given as to why the intervening steps or progressions will simply be bypassed.

This “ argument” refers to when event X has occurred (will or might occur), event Y will definitely inevitably happen. This sort of “ reasoning” is fallacious because there is no reason to believe that one event must inevitably follow from another without an argument for such a claim.

For instance, “ We’ve got to stop them from banning pornography. Once they start banning one form of literature, they will never stop. Next thing you know, they will be burning all the books!” secondly, Once you begin consuming Panadol, it will cause drug addiction.

    1. What is Authority, as related to critical thinking in your text (Ruscio, Chapter 5)? Define, explain and provide one or two real life examples.

Definition

According to Ruscio (2009) array sources of information and statements that is mentioned by a person of higher-authority such as experts or influential people that has the power to affect people thoughts, behaviours and attitudes.

Explanation

Michael (2009) stated that when a person falls prey to this fallacy, one is accepting a claim without having adequate evidence to do so. Specifically, the person is accepting the claim because they erroneously believe that the person making the claim is a legitimate expert and hence, the claim is reasonable to accept. Determining whether or not a person has the needed degree of expertise can often be very difficult. In academic fields (such as philosophy, history, etc.), the person’s formal education, academic performance, publications, membership in professional societies and so forth can all be reliable indicators of expertise. (Michael, 2009) Furthermore, it should not be simply assumed that a person with a degree is an expert. The following examples are:

      1. Tendency to accept all information that is mentioned by the lecturers or people of higher authority than us, without questioning the internal validity of the source.
      2. Afraid to speak up even if we disagree with the statement simply because the person is an expert in that field.
      3. What is Plausibility, as related to critical thinking in your text (Ruscio, chapter 7)? Define, explain and provide one or two real life examples.

Definition

Ruscio (2006) mentioned that plausibility indicates the probability of an argument being genuine by giving a deceptive impression of truth or reliability.

Explanation

Before accepting arguments, answers and agreements, we have to always question the reliability and the legitimacy of their statements. Perhaps, some of the statements were legalized. However, we always have to compare and contrast (e. g. positive versus negative) before deciding to believe or not.

Real-life examples

      1. We should not accept anything that is given to us without questioning how plausible the materials are such as testimonials from celebrities after using a certain type of product.
      2. Theories or research should not be followed blindly without questioning how plausible the results were pertaining to what the researcher wants to discover.
    1. What are association and Correlation as related to critical thinking in your text (Ruscio, Chapter 8)? Define, explain and provide one or two real life examples.

Definition

Correlation- a reciprocal relation between two or more things which statistics representing how closely two variables co-vary; it can vary from -1 (perfect negative correlation) through 0 (no correlation) to +1 (perfect positive correlation); denotes correlated variables increase and decrease in the same manner.

Association relates to the meaning we make of an observed correlation. In critical thinking context, one of the risks to the construction of sound knowledge is assuming causality in the grounds of correlation. This is a common mistake because correlation does not infer causation. (Ruscio, 2006)

Explanation

From my understanding, association is used on an observed correlation. Correlation doesn’t mean cause and effect. It simply means describing the difference in relationship. For instance, when variable x goes up, variable y goes down. A positive correlation implies that correlated variables decrease and increase in the same direction.

Real-life examples

      1. Whenever we read the articles on the newspapers, sometimes we tend to correlate to the theories we learnt and associate the materials that are useful for our research perhaps.
      2. In our everyday lives or conversation, we will always associate and correlate what we know and put them in to good use if we are capable of linking sentences or even ideas to add gist to everything hopefully.
    1. What is Confirmation bias (Ruscio, Chapter 10)? Define, explain and provide one or two real life examples.

Definition

Ruscio (2006) stated that confirmation bias pertains to our inclination to search for proof in order to substantiate our biasness and ideologies while the ignorance of other related proof.

Explanation

According to Michael (2009), when we have decided to label someone or build a hypothesis from the first-impression, we will actively seek things which will confirm our decision or hypothesis. We will also avoid things which will disconfirm our hypothesis. Alternately, is to face the dissonance (e. g. an individual who holds two beliefs that are inconsistent with one another may feel uncomfortable) of being wrong.

We use this approach both for finding our memory and discover things in the external world.

Real-life examples

    1. After having bought a piece of clothing, we will look for the same clothing in a more expensive store to confirm that we have bought a bargain.
    2. Stereotypes: for example, if you believe that Indians are usually rude and impolite, then you will interpret everyday interactions, such as encounters on a crowded train, as being more aggressive in their behaviour than other ethnics.

References

  • Michael. (2009). the Nizkor Project. Retrieved 19 November 2009, from http://www. nizkor. org/features/fallacies/index. html#index
  • Ruscio. (2006). Critical thinking in psychology: Separating sense from nonsense, America: Wadsworth Publishing Company
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