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Just as the study of critical thinking teaches us to use logical reasoning, the study of fallacies teaches us the pitfalls of fallible reasoning. ... While my research towards that end unearthed many organizational examples of fallacious reasoning, the most prolific use was evident within the tobacco industry—in fact, over the last 50 years the tobacco industry has committed so many fallacies, that it was difficult to narrow my selection to the three required for this assignment. In this paper, we will examine the tobacco industry’s use of Appeals to Authority, False Analogies, and the Straw Man Fallacy in its efforts to mislead and distract the public from the known dangers of its products. First, I will provide an overview of each of the three fallacies and explain its significance to critical thinking and decision making.
Fallacies – An Overview
Simply stated, a fallacy is an argument that uses flawed reasoning. Bassham, Irwin, Nardone, and Wallace (2002) classify logical fallacies into two categories: fallacies of relevance, which occur when the basis for the argument has no relevance to its conclusion; and fallacies of insufficient evidence, which occur when the conclusion is not supported by sufficient evidence (p. ... For this paper, I have chosen fallacies from both categories. ... All three fallacies described above are clearly contrary to the logical reasoning component of critical thought; but they also distract the thinker from other key components of critical thought, which in turn will negatively impact their ability to make sound decisions. ...
Use of Fallacies by the Tobacco Industry
Scientific studies documenting tobaccos role in cancer and other fatal illnesses started to become public in the early 1950’s. This began what would prove to be a long pattern of fallacious reasoning on the part of the tobacco industry to counter these studies.
Approximate Word count = 1425
Approximate Pages = 5.7
(250 words per page double spaced)
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