Using a rather broad definition, fallacies can be characterized as wrong moves in argumentative exchanges. The concept of fallacy is at the core of every full fledged argumentation theory and the treatment of the fallacies can even be regarded the acid test of any particular approach to argumentation. If an argumentation theory can deal with fallacies in a satisfactory way, this is a positive test as to the scope and explanatory power of that theory.
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Notes
- 1.
The methodology of both these empirical research projects is discussed and scrutinized in the next chapter.
- 2.
This characterization is based on textbooks by Cohen and Nagel (1934/1964), Black (1946), Oesterlee (1952), Copi (1982), Schipper and Schuh (1960), and Salmon (1963), but also applies to other textbooks, such as Beardsley (1950), Fearnside and Holther (1959), Carney and Scheer (1964), Rescher (1964), Kahane (1969, 1971), Michalos (1970), Gutenplan and Tamny (1971), and Purtill (1972). It should be added, however, that the unanimity in the textbooks is not as striking as Hamblin suggests. For differences within the standard treatment of the argumentum ad hominem, see van Eemeren and Grootendorst (1993, pp. 54–57).
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van Eemeren, F., Garssen, B., Meuffels, B. (2009). Theoretical Background and Organization of the Study. In: Fallacies and Judgments of Reasonableness. Argumentation Library, vol 16. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-2614-9_1
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