Post hoc ergo propter hoc Essays

  • Ineffective Argument in Jessica Statsky's Essay, Children need to Play, Not Compete

    952 Words  | 2 Pages

    Jessica Statsky, in her essay, “Children need to Play, Not Compete” attempts to refute the common belief that organized sports are good for children. She sees organized sports not as healthy pass-times for children, but as onerous tasks that children do not truly enjoy. She also notes that not only are organized sports not enjoyable for children, they may cause irreparable harm to the children, both emotionally and physically. In her thesis statement, Statsky states, “When overzealous parents

  • The Rime of the Ancient Mariner

    2185 Words  | 5 Pages

    unswerving as the voyage, through the poem”(68). Cause and consequence in the poem, however, should not be taken at face value. Certainly the violent act of the Mariner has consequences, but Coleridge also brings a logical fallacy into light: Post hoc ergo propter hoc, or after this, therefore because of this. Every action that occurs after the Mariner’s assault on the Albatross is not necessarily a result of that act, contrary to what the Mariner and his shipmates believe. Nevertheless, the Mariner must

  • Mary Lefkowitz vs. the Afrocentrists

    1362 Words  | 3 Pages

    Mary Lefkowitz vs. the Afrocentrists In recent years, the traditional notion of Western Culture has received a great deal of scrutiny. Women, African-Americans, and other marginalized groups have argued that the cultural hegemony has been at best indifferent and at worst actively hostile to their experiences and ideas. While these charges are not without substance, they are accompanied in some instances by assertions that the members of the group in question are the “real” heroes of the culture’s

  • “The Right Stuff”- Might Be the Wrong Stuff After All

    621 Words  | 2 Pages

    “The Right Stuff”- Might Be the Wrong Stuff After All David Suzuki’s essay “The Right Stuff” provides an interesting look at the need for sex education in high schools. Suzuki’s main assertion is the sex education needs to be taught in high school because it is not properly covered anywhere else and students will because interested in science class should sex education be taught first. Suzuki argues that impressions formed in high school are ones that last longer than at any other time in life.

  • Utilitarianism, Economics and Ethics

    1747 Words  | 4 Pages

    Imagine a child living in a hot, government owned apartment in Chicago. He has no father. With his single, jobless mother he struggles to the words of the founding fathers: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with inherent and inalienable Rights; that among these, are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness...” (The Declaration of Independence). This is one of the most famous phrases in the US Declaration of Independence

  • Ambiguities Answered in Derek Jacobi's Richard II

    1863 Words  | 4 Pages

    Ambiguities Answered in Derek Jacobi's Richard II The plain text of a script does not live and breathe as a visual performance must. Both director and actors have to make choices in a production, to interpret and make clear the plot and purpose of the play. The Derek Jacobi Richard II uses the capabilities of film to remove many of the ambiguities that plague interpretation of that text. In doing so, it creates a passionate yet ineffective King Richard who, between his own insecurity and Northumberland's

  • Freakonomics and Misconceptions of Economy

    1245 Words  | 3 Pages

    occurrences subtly influence on the present. Freakonomics packs punches with its countless number of tables and figures, serving as concrete data to make their assumptions. Levitt & Dubner in the beginning identify the fundamental Latin phrase post hoc ergo propter hoc in the sentence, “…just because two things are correlated does not mean that one causes the other”, due to their entire novel being based on correlation. Freakonomics’ explicit exploration of the hidden side of everything captivate economist

  • Analyzing Comparative Inferences: A Comparative Analysis

    1795 Words  | 4 Pages

    Part B: Analyzing Comparative Inferences The following passages contain comparative inferences, also known as argument by analogy. Each analogy is faulty. Read each passage carefully. Your textbook identifies five (5) criteria for evaluating analogies: familiarity, simplicity, comprehensiveness, productivity, and testability. In a paragraph or two identify which characteristic of comparative inferences the passage is failing at. Explain how the passage is not meeting that criteria and suggest a

  • The West Wing: The TV Show

    1019 Words  | 3 Pages

    What It Means To Be Presidential." Ohio Communication Journal 48. (2010): 55-75. Communication & Mass Media Complete. Web. 16 Mar. 2014. Lewis, Ann F. "The West Wing." Television Quarterly 32.1 (2001): 36-38. Art Source. Web. 16 Mar. 2014. “Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc”. The West Wing. 29 Sept. 1999. Video. 29 Mar. 2014. Wodak, Ruth. "The Glocalization Of Politics In Television: Fiction Or Reality?." European Journal of Cultural Studies 13.1 (2010): 43-62. Communication & Mass Media Complete. Web. 16 Mar

  • Fallacy

    823 Words  | 2 Pages

    Fallacy three logical fallacies that are used in this paper are Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc, Far-Fetched Hypothesis, and False Dilemma. What is a fallacy? A fallacy is viewed as an error in reasoning. To be more exact, a fallacy is an "argument" in which the premises given for the conclusion do not provide the needed degree of support. A logical fallacy is an error in logical argument which is independent of the truth of the premises. When there is a fallacy in an argument it is said to be invalid

  • Fallacies Used In Mitt Romney's Speech

    805 Words  | 2 Pages

    refuted through the analysis of several fallacies used in his speech, including the ad-hominem fallacy, the post-hoc fallacy, and the slippery slope fallacy. The ad-hominem fallacy is defined as “an argument or reaction that is directed against a person, rather than the position they are maintaining” (source). Governor Romney

  • Ad Hominem's Argument Analysis

    1186 Words  | 3 Pages

    So, it is a normal day where two individuals, (Bill and Sam) are having a conversation over lunch. Bill complains Sam about how the weather has been abnormally cold lately. Sam follows this comment by saying, “Yeah, I know, and these liberals have been harping about global warming, yet it’s been snowing all over!” Bill thinks that Sam’s argument is logical and he agrees with him to switch the subject. However, what Sam just committed is a logical fallacy, additionally Bill was swayed into believing

  • Logical Fallacies Essay

    1443 Words  | 3 Pages

    Everyone can imagine a time where they were in an argument being fair, amiable and reasonable and their opponent is replying to those statements, unfairly or unrelated. Or vise versa. Whether it be in a relationship, group discussions or in society as a whole. These unfair or unrelated statements are examples of logical fallacies, common errors in reasoning that can undermine a logical argument. In reality, these logical fallacies are dangerous and can be destructive in an argument. Logical fallacies

  • Spanking

    1610 Words  | 4 Pages

    Are parents these days being too soft on their children? As with any argument there are at least two side to this, many believe that in the past parents were too harsh in punishing their children. Their belief is that children will learn with some time in the corner and no cookie after dinner. On the counter stance, people believe we were too easy with discipline in the past and we are slowly getting softer and softer resulting in worse behaving. According to modern media and modern culture, harsher

  • Logos And Pathos

    794 Words  | 2 Pages

    It is often said that, “you’re what you think you are.” This statement is an example of Logos, which is an appeal reason, relies on logic or reason. Logos often depends on the use of inductive or deductive reasoning. The advertisement by Charles Atlas illustrates Logos, Ethos and Pathos while trying to press the weak nerve of adolescent men who are insecure about their masculinity. The superhero advertisement uses Ethos (calls to credibility) and Pathos (calls to emotion). It attempts to convince

  • Maya Angelou Research Papers

    776 Words  | 2 Pages

    “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”: The Hand Racism Played “In the stamps the segregation was so complete that most Black children didn’t really, absolutely know what whites looked like. Other than that they were different, to be dreaded, and in that dread was included the hostility of the powerless against the powerful, the poor against the rich, the worker against the worked for and the ragged against the well dressed” (Angelou 25). These two sentences set the premise for the rest of the book and

  • Persuasive Essay On Faith Healing

    832 Words  | 2 Pages

    into it expecting to be cured, and may end up no longer feeling the effects of their disease after being “healed”. The problem with this is the fallacial reasoning, whereby the participant affirms the consequent and also gets caught up in a post hoc, ergo propter hoc. The participant uses the faith healing method, and then if they get better they will assume that it was because of the faith healing and not any natural process or other medical treatment they may have received. There are many log...

  • Violence Against Women In Music

    993 Words  | 2 Pages

    Violence Against Women In Music Particularly distressing in today's society is the level of dysfunctional relationships. Values considered outdated and baseless, such as mutual respect, consideration for another person's feelings, and common courtesy, are becoming extinct human customs. Especially troubling are the violent misogynous messages infused in hard-core rock and rap music and their negative effects on today's youth. Healthy relationships of mutual love, respect, and compromise between

  • Lunar Madness As A Pseudoscience

    1030 Words  | 3 Pages

    Pseudoscience has long since been a nuisance of real science, even today in the 21st century some people believe in it because it can offer an easy solution to an extraordinary claim. But easier doesn’t always mean right. Basing things off ancient traditions, false causation, the mass media, misunderstood science, and ignorance can lead to this belief in pseudoscience. Lunar effect or lunar madness is a pseudoscience thats was once widely accepted. Think about it, the word lunatic, describes a crazy

  • The Genetic Engineering Debate

    1403 Words  | 3 Pages

    In recent discussions of genetic engineering, a controversial issue has been whether genetic engineering is ethical or not. In “The Person, the Soul, and Genetic Engineering,” JC Polkinghorne discusses about the moral status of the very early embryo and therapeutic cloning. J. H. Brooke’s article “Commentary on: The Person, the Soul, and Genetic Engineering” comments and state opinions that counter Polkinghorne’s article. On the other hand John Harris’s ““Goodbye Dolly?” The Ethics of Human Cloning”