An Illustrated Book of Bad Arguments Quotes

“You can’t threaten an atheist with hell, Peg. It doesn’t make any sense. It’s like a hippie threatening to punch you in your aura.”
― Ali Almossawi, An Illustrated Book of Bad Arguments: Learn the Lost Art of Making Sense

“The ability to analyze others’ arguments can also serve as a yardstick for when to withdraw from discussions that will most likely be futile.”
― Ali Almossawi, An Illustrated Book of Bad Arguments: Learn the Lost Art of Making Sense

“Misrepresenting the idea is much easier than refuting the evidence for it. Informal Fallacy › Red Herring › Straw Man”
― Ali Almossawi, An Illustrated Book of Bad Arguments: Learn the Lost Art of Making Sense

“the “burden of proof” always lies with the person making a claim.”
― Ali Almossawi, An Illustrated Book of Bad Arguments: Learn the Lost Art of Making Sense

“Logic does not generate new truths, but rather allows one to evaluate existing chains of thought for consistency and coherence. It is precisely for that reason that it proves an effective tool for the analysis and communication of ideas and arguments. –A.A.,”
― Ali Almossawi, An Illustrated Book of Bad Arguments: Learn the Lost Art of Making Sense

“Arguing from consequences is speaking for or against the truth of a statement by appealing to the consequences it would have if true (or if false).”
― Ali Almossawi, An Illustrated Book of Bad Arguments: Learn the Lost Art of Making Sense

“To “put up a straw man” is to intentionally caricature a person’s argument with the aim of attacking the caricature rather than the actual argument. Misrepresenting, misquoting, misconstruing, and oversimplifying an opponent’s position are all means by which one can commit this fallacy. The straw man argument is usually more absurd than the actual argument, making it an easier target to attack. It may also lure the other person toward defending the more ridiculous argument rather than their original one. For example, a skeptic of Darwinism might say, “My opponent is trying to convince you that we evolved from chimpanzees who were swinging from trees, a truly ludicrous claim.” This is a misrepresentation of what evolutionary biology actually claims, which is that humans and chimpanzees shared a common ancestor millions of years ago. Misrepresenting the idea is much easier than refuting the evidence for it. Informal Fallacy › Red Herring › Straw Man”
― Ali Almossawi, An Illustrated Book of Bad Arguments: Learn the Lost Art of Making Sense

“absence of evidence is taken to be evidence of absence.”
― Ali Almossawi, An Illustrated Book of Bad Arguments: Learn the Lost Art of Making Sense

“confusing correlation with causation.”
― Ali Almossawi, An Illustrated Book of Bad Arguments: Learn the Lost Art of Making Sense

“Dostoevsky’s line, “If God does not exist, then everything is permitted.”
― Ali Almossawi, An Illustrated Book of Bad Arguments: Learn the Lost Art of Making Sense

“Hamish is reading the newspaper and comes across a story about an Englishman who has committed a heinous crime, to which he reacts by saying, “No Scotsman would do such a thing.” The next day, he comes across a story about a Scotsman who has committed an even worse crime. Instead of amending his claim about Scotsmen, he reacts by saying, “No true Scotsman would do such a thing”
― Ali Almossawi, An Illustrated Book of Bad Arguments: Learn the Lost Art of Making Sense

“This fallacy was coined by Antony Flew in his book Thinking about Thinking.”
― Ali Almossawi, An Illustrated Book of Bad Arguments: Learn the Lost Art of Making Sense

“Hasty Generalization This fallacy is committed when one forms a conclusion from a sample that is either too small or too special to be representative.”
― Ali Almossawi, An Illustrated Book of Bad Arguments: Learn the Lost Art of Making Sense

“confusing correlation with causation.4”
― Ali Almossawi, An Illustrated Book of Bad Arguments: Learn the Lost Art of Making Sense

“Logic no more explains how we think than grammar explains how we speak” [Minsky]. Logic”
― Ali Almossawi, An Illustrated Book of Bad Arguments: Learn the Lost Art of Making Sense

“Of course, logic is not the only tool used in debate, and it is helpful to be cognizant of the others. Rhetoric likely tops the list, followed by concepts such as the "burden of proof" and Occam's razor.”
― Ali Almossawi, An Illustrated Book of Bad Arguments