Guides to Straight Thinking, with 13 Common Fallacies

by Stuart Chase

"classical falacies developed by students of logic"

212 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 1956

About the author

Stuart Chase was an American economist and engineer trained at MIT. His writings covered topics as diverse as general semantics and physical economy. His hybrid background of engineering and economics places him in the same philosophical camp as R. Buckminster Fuller. Chase's thought was shaped by Henry George, Thorstein Veblen and Fabian socialism. Chase spent his early political career supporting "a wide range of reform causes: the single tax, women's suffrage, birth control and socialism." Chase's early books The Tragedy of Waste (1925) and Your Money's Worth (1928) were notable for their criticism of corporate advertising and their advocacy of consumer protection. Although not a Marxist, Chase admired the planned economy of the Soviet Union, being impressed with it after a 1927 visit. Chase stated that "The Russians, in a time of peace, have answered the question of what an economic system is for." It has been suggested that he was the originator of the expression a New Deal, which became identified with the economic programs of American president Franklin Delano Roosevelt. He had a cover story in The New Republic entitled "A New Deal for America", during the week that Roosevelt gave his 1932 presidential acceptance speech promising a new deal, but whether Roosevelt's speechwriter Samuel Rosenman saw the magazine is not clear.

Reviews

[David Fessenden · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent introduction to logical fallacies (most of which can be found peppered throughout the mainstream media). If everyone read this book, it would revolutionize our culture. There are some popular pundits who would have nothing to say if they could not fool their audience with these 13 propaganda tools. My only disappointment in the book is that the author doesn't often point out the alternative logical premise. What I mean is that the author does not show how to correct these fallacies and make them into a solid logical argument. I seem to learn a concept best when I am given the alternative and am able to compare the right from the wrong. Stuart shows the wrong thinking, but does not always point us to the right-thinking alternative. (If I read only what Stuart says about statistics, for example, I would conclude that most statements that include a statistic are logically flawed, because he gives no examples of a good statistical statement.) Still, it is an excellent piece of work, which serves as a great antidote to the muddle-headed thinking so prevalent today.

[Sean Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an old book but critical thinking for listening to argumentation is still an important skill, now just as much as ever. It is amazing how many of these fallacies can be seen in our mediated world.