Using notes from your reading on errors in reasoning, provide an example of a speaker making a persuasive point based on a fallacy of reasoning. Make sure your initial post uses vocabulary from your reading in supporting your observation. I’ll go first:
Recently, I was looking to purchase a camera as a gift and asked the sales associate if the store carried one that had the features I was seeking. The sales associate led me to a row of cameras and presented two options that were very expensive and beyond my price range. I asked,” Do any of these other cameras have the features I am seeking?” The sales associate said, “Yes, but they do not include additional cool features that you may be interested in having on a camera.” This is an example of a speaker using Either/Or fallacy in persuasion. The sales associate presented the options as being either of the two cameras that the salesperson selected when there were other options clearly available. Remember this example when you are buying an expensive item and the salesperson limits your decision to choosing between two items or plans. There may be more choices available that the salesperson does not mention. Many sales people, especially ones making a commission on the sale, feel this is ethical as long as the options presented meet the needs of the buyer. They do not feel it is their job to sell you something at the cheapest price. This is also important to remember in selecting a topic for your persuasion speech. It is an error in reasoning to suggest that we must either prefer cats or dogs as pets or drink Coke or Pepsi as our beverage of choice. One, these topics are not college worthy of our consideration AND two we know there are other options for pets or beverages beyond the choice provided. In fact, the two options may be non-starters because we are not allowed to own pets where we live or we are not able to drink carbonated beverages due to health concerns.
For full quality points in your initial post, link specific error in reasoning from reading to your example.
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- Authored by: Lee Ann Thomas. Provided by: Clinton Community College. License: CC BY: Attribution