Please be aware of the fallacies you commit when constructing an argument – and likewise spot them when the opposition is using them against you. Constructing a completely valid argument is one of the hardest things and therefore requires sincerity, practice and knowledge. The former reason is important as committing fallacies can be an easy ‘exit strategy’ from a debate – and can win you the argument in the eyes of an uninformed/uneducated audience.
For those of you looking for real-life examples of the fallacies below, I’m sure you can observe them very frequently in political debates – and therefore can improve your ‘valid’ debating skills by not emulating them.
There is a Coursera course on How to Reason and Argue. Also see this link.
Examples of fallacies used in arguments
NB: I have always been against ‘useless’ debates (e.g. Science v Religion, Islam v Christianity) and more in favour of dialogue. However I do recognise that debates are sometime a must for human intellect to evolve, especially in natural and social sciences.
PS: There are also other biases which we probably all have – and all need to be rectified before we can reach our full potential as ‘open-minded’ human beings. See below:
Biases which affect our decisions in a negative way
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