In the midst of a pandemic and highly charged election season, being able to distinguish between truth and fiction is critically important. But doing so has become increasingly difficult with the explosion of digital media, and countless news platforms to choose from.
WFDD listener and retired Surry Community College educator Christina Connell says understanding an age-old method of misleading people may help.
“Could you find someone, perhaps an expert, who can present, explain, give examples of several logical fallacies?” she asks. “I believe it would be very instructive to help your listeners understand that these techniques can be used to deflect from truth.”
Simply put, logical fallacies are errors in reasoning; the ideas might be arranged correctly, but the content's off-kilter. There are lots of different kinds: false dichotomy, equivocation, and straw man, just to name a few.