Logical fallacies as informational shortcuts
Synthese 167 (2):317 - 325 (2009)
| Abstract | The paper argues that the two best known formal logical fallacies, namely denying the antecedent (DA) and affirming the consequent (AC) are not just basic and simple errors, which prove human irrationality, but rather informational shortcuts, which may provide a quick and dirty way of extracting useful information from the environment. DA and AC are shown to be degraded versions of Bayes’ theorem, once this is stripped of some of its probabilities. The less the probabilities count, the closer these fallacies become to a reasoning that is not only informationally useful but also logically valid. | |||||||||
| Keywords | No keywords specified (fix it) | |||||||||
| Categories | ||||||||||
| Options |
|
|||||||||
Download options| PhilPapers Archive |
Upload a copy of this paper Check publisher's policy on self-archival Papers currently archived: 5,875 |
| External links |
 |
| Through your library | Configure |
Similar books and articlesPatrick Allo & Edwin Mares (2012). Informational Semantics as a Third Alternative? Erkenntnis 77 (2):167-185.
Nandita Bandyopadhyay (1977). The Concept of Logical Fallacies: Problems of Hetvābhāsa in Navya-Nyāya in the Light of Gaṅgeśa and Raghunātha Śiromaṇi. Sanskrit Pustak Bhandar.
Jonathan E. Adler (2000). Three Fallacies. Behavioral and Brain Sciences 23 (5):665-666.
Luciano Floridi (2006). Four Challenges for a Theory of Informational Privacy. Ethics and Information Technology 8 (3).
Niki Pfeifer (2008). A Probability Logical Interpretation of Fallacies. In G. Kreuzbauer, N. Gratzl & E. Hiebl (eds.), Rhetorische Wissenschaft: Rede Und Argumentation in Theorie Und Praxis. Lit.
Christopher W. Tindale (2007). Fallacies and Argument Appraisal. Cambridge University Press.
Herman E. Stark (2000). Fallacies and Logical Errors. Inquiry 20 (1):23-32.
Colin Grant (1991). Friedman Fallacies. Journal of Business Ethics 10 (12):907 - 914.
Analytics
Monthly downloads |
Added to index2009-01-28Total downloads13 ( #89,057 of 556,837 )Recent downloads (6 months)2 ( #39,010 of 556,837 )How can I increase my downloads? |
My notes
Discussion
