The 10 Commandments of Logic

 Remembering The 10 Commandments of Logic.

------------------------------------------------------

Whenever I come across ignorance on rampage, especially on this blue app, I remember coming across this list 11 years ago. And for those who never entered Phil 101,102,103 classes, this may be helpful.

First, ignorance is in itself not a negative connotation. You don't know what you don't know and we are all ignorant in one area or another, and also of some things. 

So don't take it to heart if someone says you are ignorant, calm down and ask , of what (or in what), the response may help you calm all the way down. Or even flare up. 

As I said, someone sent me this over a decade ago. I swallowed my small pride, framed it in my mind, and studied it day and night. It has been helpful to me by steering me away from needless arguments or debates, and or trending issues.

The Ten Commandments of Logic

-+++++++++++++++++++++++

1.Thou shall not attack the person’s character, but the argument itself. It is called Ad Hominem and according to Paul Graham's Hierarchy, it is the second lowest form of disagreement according to Paul Graham’s Hierarchy

Example: Dave listens to Marilyn Manson, therefore his arguments against certain parts of religion are worthless. After all, would you trust someone who listens to that devil worshiper?

2.Thou shall not misrepresent or exaggerate a person’s argument in order to make them easier to attack. It is called Straw Man Fallacy. It is achieved by giving the impression of refuting an opponent’s argument, while actually refuting an argument that was not presented by that opponent.

Example: After Jimmy said that we should put more money into health and education, Steve responded by saying that he was surprised that Jimmy hates our country so much that he wants to leave it defenseless by cutting military spending.

3. Thou shall not use small numbers to represent the whole. It is called Hasty Generalization. Always make sure you have studied enough before you make conclusions.

Example: Climate Change Deniers take a small sample set of data to demonstrate that the Earth is cooling, not warming. They do this by zooming in on 10 years of data, ignoring the trend that is present in the entire data set which spans a century.

Another example is "Average Igbo man" trends. How did you arrive at knowing the average of all Igbo men?

4. Thou shall not argue thy position by assuming one of its premises is true. It is called Begging the Question. You must prove your point before using it to support your argument.

Example:

Sheldon: “God must exist.”

Wilbert: “How do you know?”

Sheldon: “Because the Bible says so.”

Wilbert: “Why should I believe the Bible?”

Sheldon: “Because the Bible was written by God.”

Wilbert: “WTF?”

Here, Sheldon is making the assumption that the Bible is true, therefore his premise – that God exists – is also true.

5.Thou shall not claim that because something occurred before, it must be the cause. It is called Post Hoc/False Cause. Don’t assume that because something happened before that it was the cause. This can also be read as “correlation does not imply causation”.

Example: There were three murders in Dallas this week and on each day, it was raining. Therefore, murders occur on rainy days.

6.Thou shall not reduce the argument down to only two possibilities when there is a clear middle ground. It is called False Dichotomy. This is because arguments can be resolved by more than two possibilities.

Example: You’re either with me, or against me. Being neutral is not an option.

7.Thou shall not argue that because of our ignorance, the claim must be true or false. It is called Ad Ignorantiam. This is because you shouldn't use a person’s ignorance of a claim to suggest that something is true or false.

Example: 95% of unidentified flying objects have been explained. 5% have not. Therefore, the 5% that are unexplained prove that aliens exist.

8.Thou shall not lay the burn of proof onto him that is questioning the claim. This is called Burden of Proof Reversal. You shouldn't lay the burden of proof onto those who are questioning you.

Example: Marcy claims she sees the ghosts of dead people, then challenges you to prove her wrong. The burden of proof is on Marcy, not you since Marcy made the extraordinary claim.

9. Thou shall not assume that “this” follows “that”, when “it” has no logical connection. It is called Non-Sequitur. You shouldn't assume or make connections that don’t exist.

Similar, but the difference between the post hoc and non sequitur fallacies is that, whereas the post hoc fallacy is due to lack of a causal connection, in the non sequitur fallacy, the error is due to lack of a logical connection.

Example: If you do not buy these Vitamin X supplements for your infant, you are neglecting her.

10. Thou shall not claim that because a premise is popular, therefore, it must be true. It is called Bandwagon Fallacy. You shouldn't assume something is true because it’s popular.

Example: Just because a celebrity like Dr. Oz endorses a product, it doesn’t make it any more legitimate.

-----------------------

“Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. ----- Matthew 10:16.

At least something good is spoken of about the serpent.