Straight and Crooked Thinking
Encyclopedia
Straight and Crooked Thinking, first published in 1930 and revised in 1953, is a book by Robert H. Thouless
Robert H. Thouless
British academic Robert H. Thouless is best known as the author of Straight and Crooked Thinking , which describes flaws in reasoning and argument....

 which describes, assesses and critically analyses flaws in reasoning and argument. Thouless describes it as a practical manual, rather than a theoretical one.

Synopsis

  • No. 3. proof by example
    Proof by example
    Proof by example is a logical fallacy whereby one or more examples are claimed as "proof" for a more general statement.This fallacy has the following structure, and argument form:...

    , biased sample
    Biased sample
    In statistics, sampling bias is when a sample is collected in such a way that some members of the intended population are less likely to be included than others. It results in a biased sample, a non-random sample of a population in which all individuals, or instances, were not equally likely to...

    , cherry picking
  • No. 6. ignoratio elenchi
    Ignoratio elenchi
    Ignoratio elenchi is the informal fallacy of presenting an argument that may in itself be valid, but does not address the issue in question...

    : "red herring"
  • No. 9. false compromise/middle ground
    Middle ground
    Argument to moderation is a logical fallacy which asserts that given two positions there exists a compromise between them which must be correct.An individual demonstrating the false compromise fallacy implies that the positions...

  • No. 12. circular cause and consequence
  • No. 13. begging the question
    Begging the question
    Begging the question is a type of logical fallacy in which the proposition to be proven is assumed implicitly or explicitly in the premise....

  • No. 17. equivocation
    Equivocation
    Equivocation is classified as both a formal and informal logical fallacy. It is the misleading use of a term with more than one meaning or sense...

  • No. 18. false dilemma
    False dilemma
    A false dilemma is a type of logical fallacy that involves a situation in which only two alternatives are considered, when in fact there are additional options...

    : black and white thinking
  • No. 19. continuum fallacy
    Continuum fallacy
    The continuum fallacy is an informal logical fallacy closely related to the sorites paradox, or paradox of the heap...

     (fallacy of the beard)
  • No. 21. ad nauseam
    Ad nauseam
    Ad nauseam is a Latin term used to describe an argument which has been continuing "to [the point of] nausea". For example, the sentence, "This topic has been discussed ad nauseam", signifies that the topic in question has been discussed extensively, and that those involved in the discussion have...

    : "argumentum ad nauseam" or "argument from repetition" or "argumentum ad infinitum"
  • No. 25. style over substance fallacy
  • No. 28. appeal to authority
  • No. 31. thought-terminating cliché
  • No. 36. special pleading
    Special pleading
    Special pleading is a form of spurious argumentation where a position in a dispute introduces favorable details or excludes unfavorable details by alleging a need to apply additional considerations without proper criticism of these considerations themselves. Essentially, this involves someone...

  • No. 37. appeal to consequences
    Appeal to consequences
    Appeal to consequences, also known as argumentum ad consequentiam , is an argument that concludes a premise to be either true or false based on whether the premise leads to desirable or undesirable consequences...

  • No. 38. appeal to motive
    Appeal to motive
    Appeal to motive is a pattern of argument which consists in challenging a thesis by calling into question the motives of its proposer. It can be considered as a special case of the ad hominem circumstantial argument...


See also

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