Logically Fallacious: The Ultimate Collection of Over 300 Logical Fallacies (Academic Edition) (Dr. Bo's Critical Thinking Series)

by Bo Bennett

Logic Chopping (also known as: quibbling, nit-picking, smokescreen, splitting-hairs, trivial objections) Description: Using the technical tools of logic in an unhelpful and pedantic manner by focusing on trivial details instead of directly addressing the main issue in dispute. Irrelevant over precision. Pay close attention to this fallacy, because after reading this book, you may find yourself committing this fallacy more than any others, and certainly more often than you did before reading this book. Logical Form: A claim is made. An objection is made regarding a trivial part of the claim, distracting from the main point. Example #1: John: Can you please help me push my car to the side of the road until the tow truck comes? Paul: Why push it to the side of the road? Why not just leave it? John: It is slowing down traffic unnecessarily where it is. Paul: Many things slow down traffic—do you feel you need to do something about all them? John: No, but this was my fault. Paul: Was it really? Were you the direct cause of your car breaking down? John: Are you going to help me move this damn car or not?! Explanation: You can see here that Paul is avoiding the request for assistance by attempting to make a deep philosophical issue out of a simple request. While Paul may have some good points, not every situation in life calls for deep critical thought. This situation being one of them.