Fallacies: Hasty Generalization

Last summer I visited California for the first time with several of my cousins and my aunt. While strolling along the Walk of Fame on our way to dinner one night, we noticed some street performers. Two of my cousins went over to observe but another made a remark about the city. She said, “It’s exactly the same as New York. This city is just another version of New York.” My cousin compared an entire state to another just based on some street performers we saw. The conclusion she reached is an example of a fallacy called hasty generalization. “Fallacies are common errors in reasoning that will undermine the logic of an argument” (Weber and Brizee). Examples of the fallacies either-or, slanting, over reliance on authority, and false analogy appear

On the ad for Smashbox is a man taking an up-close picture of a woman’s face. To the left of the ad is a picture of a Smashbox Photo Finish Foundation Primer. Next to the photo reads, “Up close and flawless! Makeup always looks better with primer!” This ad gives two options, either a person wears primer and looks flawless or they do not wear primer and their makeup looks average. “The either-or fallacy oversimplifies an argument by reducing it to two sides or choices” (Weber and Brizee). Makeup is not as simple as primer; other things are involved. Just because someone wears primer, does not mean their makeup will look better than it would if they did not wear primer. Either-or is not the only fallacy advertisement agencies

On an ad by Bliss, there is a picture of the lower half of a woman’s body and in her hand, she is holding a small machine. The ad reads, “just 6 minutes per day with the spa-powered fatgirlslim® lean machine™.” It also says, “This thigh-tech power tool lifts, sucks, rolls, and pulsates to help visibly reduce the appearance of cellulite.” The evidence used to support this claim reads, “In a clinical study after 8 weeks 75% said skin looked smoother, 78% said skin felt firmer, 94% said skin felt smoother.” This advertisement only gives evidence from one point of view and it is all in favor of the lean machine. “Slanting is selecting or emphasizing the evidence that supports your claim and suppressing or playing down other evidence” (Axelrod and Cooper 621). This ad only presents evidence of results from one clinical study. There is nothing expressing any negative or downside results of using the lean machine. The fine print at the bottom of the ad reveals that the results are based on self-perception from thirty-six individuals. Aside from the fact that there is no real medical evidence to support the lean machine, the results that are presented are one-sided. The use of slanting is popular but there is another fallacy used just as often, if not