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Logical Fallacies Analysis
Groupthink Fallacy
This psychological trend occurs in a group because of the need to maintain harmony. The search for conformity may result in incorrect decisions based on the level of one’s loyalty to the group. As a junior student, I joined a music club in school. We often attended competition programs with members of other academic institutions, an attribute that brought us substantial fame in the region. Subsequently, we perceived our competitors as enemies and formulated a rule that prohibited any member of our club to converse with our competitors in any scenario. Based on this fallacy, I believe that this decision was in accordance with the loyalty binding the group. We decided to be hostile to our opponents in order to maintain our club, a decision that exemplifies irrationality.
The invasion of Iraq by military troops from the United States and the subsequent murder of Saddam Hussein are illustrations of the groupthink fallacy. After the terrorist attack on September 11, 2001, the federal government of the United States adopted the ideology of promotional headship. Based on the concepts of the groupthink fallacy, the American and Iraq governments engaged in inter-group divergence since they blamed each other for the chaos in their regions.
Argument from Common Practice (Ad Populum)
This is a phenomenon linked to the mindset of an individual with reference to justification of certain events or actions. In such scenarios, individuals attempt to validate their acts by comparing them to similar events within the community. For example, as a teenager, I remember arguing that drinking alcohol is appropriate since a large portion of adolescents in my community engaged in this act. It is obvious that I based my assertions on this fallacy, which indicates that people defend their actions by describing similar incidences.
One of the illustrations in the media that emphasize the existence of this erroneous belief is the prevalence of alcoholism and drug abuse among teenagers. Most adolescents who engage in such destructive habits justify their actions by asserting that a large percentage of their peers are also involved in similar deeds. This misleading notion is responsible for the increase in alcoholism, drug abuse, and addiction among young people in various regions of the world. Such situations illustrate the impact of the fallacies that entail arguments based on common practices.
Appeal to Authority
According to this fallacy, an individual may use respected authorities within the society in order to justify their actions and attain popularity within a certain sub community. Usually, the arguer cites these sources of authority without offering satisfactory evidence to justify the rightness of the individual’s opinions. For example, during a class discussion regarding the moral aspect of abortion, I constantly cited the perception of most religious leaders in my community. I now realize the connection between this fallacy and my argument. It is obvious that my argument appeared weighty due to its relevance to the perceptions of authoritative figures in the society.
The stand by the Pope and other leaders of the Roman Catholic Church on same-sex relationships has attracted the fallacy regarding the appeal to the authorities. Most adherents of this religious conviction oppose homosexuality in the society primarily because of the arguments promoted by these leaders. Accordingly, they do not consider other crucial factors in their assertions. For this reason, it is evident that justifying one’s argument based on stands or perceptions of individuals in various administrative positions is an influential yet mislead notion.