{"id":644,"date":"2017-08-03T17:44:59","date_gmt":"2017-08-03T17:44:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/olemiss-writing100\/?post_type=chapter&#038;p=644"},"modified":"2024-04-24T22:21:18","modified_gmt":"2024-04-24T22:21:18","slug":"manipulative-appeals-to-logos","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-writingskillslab-2\/chapter\/manipulative-appeals-to-logos\/","title":{"raw":"Manipulative Appeals to Logos","rendered":"Manipulative Appeals to Logos"},"content":{"raw":"<div class=\"textbox learning-objectives\">\r\n<h3>Learning Objectives<\/h3>\r\n<ul>\r\n \t<li>Recognize appeals to logos<\/li>\r\n \t<li>Evaluate appeals to logos<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n<\/div>\r\nDiagramming an argument can help you determine if an appeal to logos is manipulative. Are the premises true? Does the conclusion follow logically from the premises? Is there sufficient, typical, accurate, and relevant evidence to support inductive reasoning? Is the speaker or author attempting to divert your attention from the real issues? These are some of the elements you might consider while evaluating an argument for the use of logos.\r\n\r\nPay particular attention to numbers, statistics, findings, and quotes used to support an argument. Be critical of the source and do your own investigation of the \u201cfacts.\u201d Maybe you\u2019ve heard or read that half of all marriages in America will end in divorce. It is so often discussed that we assume it must be true. Careful research will show that the original marriage study was flawed, and divorce rates in America have steadily declined since 1985 (Peck, 1993). If there is no scientific evidence, why do we continue to believe it? Part of the reason might be that it supports our idea of the dissolution of the American family.\r\n<div class=\"textbox tryit\">\r\n<h3>practice<\/h3>\r\nStudy the mapped visualization of crime in the U.S. below and answer the questions about how it appeals to logos.\r\n\r\n<img class=\"aligncenter wp-image-645 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2097\/2017\/08\/03172446\/crimes_committed-1024x685.png\" alt=\"map of US showing number of crimes per state\" width=\"1024\" height=\"685\" \/>\r\n\r\nhttps:\/\/assess.lumenlearning.com\/practice\/4a943f60-e5d9-417a-b336-34415ac9400b\r\n\r\n<\/div>\r\nThe misrepresentation of information or data is often accompanied by logical fallacies. Below are some fallacies that misuse appeals to logos or attempt to manipulate the logic of an argument:\r\n<table>\r\n<tbody>\r\n<tr style=\"height: 15px;\">\r\n<td style=\"height: 15px;\"><strong>Fallacy<\/strong><\/td>\r\n<td style=\"height: 15px;\"><strong>Description<\/strong><\/td>\r\n<td style=\"height: 15px;\"><strong>Example<\/strong><\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr style=\"height: 47px;\">\r\n<td style=\"height: 47px;\">Hasty generalization<\/td>\r\n<td style=\"height: 47px;\">jumping to conclusions based upon an unrepresentative sample or insufficient evidence.<\/td>\r\n<td style=\"height: 47px;\">\u201c10 of the last 14 National Spelling Bee Champions have been Indian American. Indian Americans must all be great spellers!\u201d<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr style=\"height: 47px;\">\r\n<td style=\"height: 47px;\">Appeal to ignorance\u2014true believer\u2019s form<\/td>\r\n<td style=\"height: 47px;\">arguing along the lines that if an opponent can\u2019t prove something isn\u2019t the case, then it is reasonable to believe that it is the case; transfers the burden of proof away from the person making the claim (the proponent).<\/td>\r\n<td style=\"height: 47px;\">\u201cYou can\u2019t prove that extraterrestrials haven\u2019t visited earth, so it is reasonable to believe that they have visited earth.\u201d<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr style=\"height: 63px;\">\r\n<td style=\"height: 63px;\">Appeal to ignorance\u2014skeptic\u2019s form<\/td>\r\n<td style=\"height: 63px;\">confusing absence of evidence with evidence of absence; assumes that if you cannot now prove something exists, then it is shown that it doesn\u2019t exist.<\/td>\r\n<td style=\"height: 63px;\">\u201cThere\u2019s no proof that starting classes later in the day will improve the performance of our high school students; therefore, this change in schedule will not work.\u201d<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr style=\"height: 31px;\">\r\n<td style=\"height: 31px;\">Begging the question<\/td>\r\n<td style=\"height: 31px;\">circular argument because the premise is the same as the claim that you are trying to prove.<\/td>\r\n<td style=\"height: 31px;\">\u201cThis legislation is sinful because it is the wrong thing to do.\u201d<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr style=\"height: 15.5px;\">\r\n<td style=\"height: 15.5px;\">False dilemma<\/td>\r\n<td style=\"height: 15.5px;\">misuse of the either\/or argument; presenting only two options when other choices exist<\/td>\r\n<td style=\"height: 15.5px;\">\u201cEither we pass this ordinance or there will be rioting in the streets.\u201d<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr style=\"height: 15px;\">\r\n<td style=\"height: 15px;\">Post hoc ergo propter hoc<\/td>\r\n<td style=\"height: 15px;\">Latin phrase meaning \u201cafter this, therefore because of this\u201d; confuses correlation with causation by concluding that an event preceding a second event must be the cause of that second event.<\/td>\r\n<td style=\"height: 15px;\">\u201cMy child was diagnosed with autism after receiving vaccinations. That is proof that vaccines are to blame.\u201d<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr style=\"height: 15px;\">\r\n<td style=\"height: 15px;\">Non sequitur<\/td>\r\n<td style=\"height: 15px;\">Latin for \u201cdoes not follow\u201d; the conclusion cannot be inferred from the premises because there is a break in the logical connection between a claim and the premises that are meant to support it, either because a premise is untrue (or missing) or because the relationship between premises does not support the deduction stated in the claim.<\/td>\r\n<td style=\"height: 15px;\">\u201cIf she is a Radford student, she is a member of a sorority. She is a Radford student. Therefore she is a member of a sorority.\u201d<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr style=\"height: 15px;\">\r\n<td style=\"height: 15px;\">Smoke screen<\/td>\r\n<td style=\"height: 15px;\">avoiding the real issue or a tough question by introducing an unrelated topic as a distraction; sometimes called a red herring.<\/td>\r\n<td style=\"height: 15px;\">\u201cMy opponent says I am weak on crime, but I have been one of the most reliable participants in city council meetings.\u201d<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<tr style=\"height: 15px;\">\r\n<td style=\"height: 15px;\">Straw man<\/td>\r\n<td style=\"height: 15px;\">pretending to criticize an opponent\u2019s position but actually misrepresenting his or her view as simpler and\/or more extreme than it is and therefore easier to refute than the original or actual position; unfairly undermines credibility of claim if not source of claim.<\/td>\r\n<td style=\"height: 15px;\">\u201cSenator Smith says we should cut back the Defense budget. His position is that we should let down our defenses and just trust our enemies not to attack us!\u201d<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>","rendered":"<div class=\"textbox learning-objectives\">\n<h3>Learning Objectives<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>Recognize appeals to logos<\/li>\n<li>Evaluate appeals to logos<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<p>Diagramming an argument can help you determine if an appeal to logos is manipulative. Are the premises true? Does the conclusion follow logically from the premises? Is there sufficient, typical, accurate, and relevant evidence to support inductive reasoning? Is the speaker or author attempting to divert your attention from the real issues? These are some of the elements you might consider while evaluating an argument for the use of logos.<\/p>\n<p>Pay particular attention to numbers, statistics, findings, and quotes used to support an argument. Be critical of the source and do your own investigation of the \u201cfacts.\u201d Maybe you\u2019ve heard or read that half of all marriages in America will end in divorce. It is so often discussed that we assume it must be true. Careful research will show that the original marriage study was flawed, and divorce rates in America have steadily declined since 1985 (Peck, 1993). If there is no scientific evidence, why do we continue to believe it? Part of the reason might be that it supports our idea of the dissolution of the American family.<\/p>\n<div class=\"textbox tryit\">\n<h3>practice<\/h3>\n<p>Study the mapped visualization of crime in the U.S. below and answer the questions about how it appeals to logos.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter wp-image-645 size-large\" src=\"https:\/\/s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com\/courses-images\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2097\/2017\/08\/03172446\/crimes_committed-1024x685.png\" alt=\"map of US showing number of crimes per state\" width=\"1024\" height=\"685\" \/><\/p>\n<p>\t<iframe id=\"assessment_practice_4a943f60-e5d9-417a-b336-34415ac9400b\" class=\"resizable\" src=\"https:\/\/assess.lumenlearning.com\/practice\/4a943f60-e5d9-417a-b336-34415ac9400b?iframe_resize_id=assessment_practice_id_4a943f60-e5d9-417a-b336-34415ac9400b\" frameborder=\"0\" style=\"border:none;width:100%;height:100%;min-height:300px;\"><br \/>\n\t<\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>The misrepresentation of information or data is often accompanied by logical fallacies. Below are some fallacies that misuse appeals to logos or attempt to manipulate the logic of an argument:<\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr style=\"height: 15px;\">\n<td style=\"height: 15px;\"><strong>Fallacy<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"height: 15px;\"><strong>Description<\/strong><\/td>\n<td style=\"height: 15px;\"><strong>Example<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 47px;\">\n<td style=\"height: 47px;\">Hasty generalization<\/td>\n<td style=\"height: 47px;\">jumping to conclusions based upon an unrepresentative sample or insufficient evidence.<\/td>\n<td style=\"height: 47px;\">\u201c10 of the last 14 National Spelling Bee Champions have been Indian American. Indian Americans must all be great spellers!\u201d<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 47px;\">\n<td style=\"height: 47px;\">Appeal to ignorance\u2014true believer\u2019s form<\/td>\n<td style=\"height: 47px;\">arguing along the lines that if an opponent can\u2019t prove something isn\u2019t the case, then it is reasonable to believe that it is the case; transfers the burden of proof away from the person making the claim (the proponent).<\/td>\n<td style=\"height: 47px;\">\u201cYou can\u2019t prove that extraterrestrials haven\u2019t visited earth, so it is reasonable to believe that they have visited earth.\u201d<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 63px;\">\n<td style=\"height: 63px;\">Appeal to ignorance\u2014skeptic\u2019s form<\/td>\n<td style=\"height: 63px;\">confusing absence of evidence with evidence of absence; assumes that if you cannot now prove something exists, then it is shown that it doesn\u2019t exist.<\/td>\n<td style=\"height: 63px;\">\u201cThere\u2019s no proof that starting classes later in the day will improve the performance of our high school students; therefore, this change in schedule will not work.\u201d<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 31px;\">\n<td style=\"height: 31px;\">Begging the question<\/td>\n<td style=\"height: 31px;\">circular argument because the premise is the same as the claim that you are trying to prove.<\/td>\n<td style=\"height: 31px;\">\u201cThis legislation is sinful because it is the wrong thing to do.\u201d<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 15.5px;\">\n<td style=\"height: 15.5px;\">False dilemma<\/td>\n<td style=\"height: 15.5px;\">misuse of the either\/or argument; presenting only two options when other choices exist<\/td>\n<td style=\"height: 15.5px;\">\u201cEither we pass this ordinance or there will be rioting in the streets.\u201d<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 15px;\">\n<td style=\"height: 15px;\">Post hoc ergo propter hoc<\/td>\n<td style=\"height: 15px;\">Latin phrase meaning \u201cafter this, therefore because of this\u201d; confuses correlation with causation by concluding that an event preceding a second event must be the cause of that second event.<\/td>\n<td style=\"height: 15px;\">\u201cMy child was diagnosed with autism after receiving vaccinations. That is proof that vaccines are to blame.\u201d<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 15px;\">\n<td style=\"height: 15px;\">Non sequitur<\/td>\n<td style=\"height: 15px;\">Latin for \u201cdoes not follow\u201d; the conclusion cannot be inferred from the premises because there is a break in the logical connection between a claim and the premises that are meant to support it, either because a premise is untrue (or missing) or because the relationship between premises does not support the deduction stated in the claim.<\/td>\n<td style=\"height: 15px;\">\u201cIf she is a Radford student, she is a member of a sorority. She is a Radford student. Therefore she is a member of a sorority.\u201d<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 15px;\">\n<td style=\"height: 15px;\">Smoke screen<\/td>\n<td style=\"height: 15px;\">avoiding the real issue or a tough question by introducing an unrelated topic as a distraction; sometimes called a red herring.<\/td>\n<td style=\"height: 15px;\">\u201cMy opponent says I am weak on crime, but I have been one of the most reliable participants in city council meetings.\u201d<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr style=\"height: 15px;\">\n<td style=\"height: 15px;\">Straw man<\/td>\n<td style=\"height: 15px;\">pretending to criticize an opponent\u2019s position but actually misrepresenting his or her view as simpler and\/or more extreme than it is and therefore easier to refute than the original or actual position; unfairly undermines credibility of claim if not source of claim.<\/td>\n<td style=\"height: 15px;\">\u201cSenator Smith says we should cut back the Defense budget. His position is that we should let down our defenses and just trust our enemies not to attack us!\u201d<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n\n\t\t\t <section class=\"citations-section\" role=\"contentinfo\">\n\t\t\t <h3>Candela Citations<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t <div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <div id=\"citation-list-644\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <div class=\"licensing\"><div class=\"license-attribution-dropdown-subheading\">CC licensed content, Original<\/div><ul class=\"citation-list\"><li>Recognizing Manipulative Appeals to Logos. <strong>Authored by<\/strong>: Andrew Davis. <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: University of Mississippi. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-sa\/4.0\/\">CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike<\/a><\/em><\/li><\/ul><div class=\"license-attribution-dropdown-subheading\">CC licensed content, Shared previously<\/div><ul class=\"citation-list\"><li>Revision and Adaptation. <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: Lumen Learning. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/\">CC BY: Attribution<\/a><\/em><\/li><\/ul><div class=\"license-attribution-dropdown-subheading\">Public domain content<\/div><ul class=\"citation-list\"><li>The Logical Structure of Arguments. <strong>Provided by<\/strong>: Radford University. <strong>Located at<\/strong>: <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"http:\/\/lcubbison.pressbooks.com\/chapter\/core-201-analyzing-arguments\/\">http:\/\/lcubbison.pressbooks.com\/chapter\/core-201-analyzing-arguments\/<\/a>. <strong>Project<\/strong>: Core Curriculum Handbook. <strong>License<\/strong>: <em><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"license\" href=\"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/about\/pdm\">Public Domain: No Known Copyright<\/a><\/em><\/li><\/ul><\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t <\/div>\n\t\t\t <\/section>","protected":false},"author":15005,"menu_order":5,"template":"","meta":{"_candela_citation":"[{\"type\":\"cc\",\"description\":\"Revision and Adaptation\",\"author\":\"\",\"organization\":\"Lumen Learning\",\"url\":\"\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"cc-by\",\"license_terms\":\"\"},{\"type\":\"pd\",\"description\":\"The Logical Structure of Arguments\",\"author\":\"\",\"organization\":\"Radford University\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/lcubbison.pressbooks.com\/chapter\/core-201-analyzing-arguments\/\",\"project\":\"Core Curriculum Handbook\",\"license\":\"pd\",\"license_terms\":\"\"},{\"type\":\"original\",\"description\":\"Recognizing Manipulative Appeals to Logos\",\"author\":\"Andrew Davis\",\"organization\":\"University of Mississippi\",\"url\":\"\",\"project\":\"\",\"license\":\"cc-by-sa\",\"license_terms\":\"\"}]","CANDELA_OUTCOMES_GUID":"481ef546-937b-42a7-81e4-735aad0f0dd0, 12aecafe-0484-4d38-9154-6a42b1c1bb70, 6d474a9b-e6e0-49bc-9a5f-ed92dac6d53b","pb_show_title":"on","pb_short_title":"","pb_subtitle":"","pb_authors":[],"pb_section_license":""},"chapter-type":[],"contributor":[],"license":[],"class_list":["post-644","chapter","type-chapter","status-publish","hentry"],"part":634,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-writingskillslab-2\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/644","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-writingskillslab-2\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-writingskillslab-2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/chapter"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-writingskillslab-2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15005"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-writingskillslab-2\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/644\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1639,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-writingskillslab-2\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/644\/revisions\/1639"}],"part":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-writingskillslab-2\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/parts\/634"}],"metadata":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-writingskillslab-2\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapters\/644\/metadata\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-writingskillslab-2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=644"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"chapter-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-writingskillslab-2\/wp-json\/pressbooks\/v2\/chapter-type?post=644"},{"taxonomy":"contributor","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-writingskillslab-2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/contributor?post=644"},{"taxonomy":"license","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/courses.lumenlearning.com\/wm-writingskillslab-2\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/license?post=644"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}