In a debate, the person who makes a claim bears the burden of proof for that particular claim.
If one party makes a claim without supporting evidence and suggests that it must be assumed to be true unless someone else can disprove it, this person has committed the burden of proof fallacy.
Continue reading: Who bears the burden of proof in an argument?
Examples of the burden of proof principle can be seen in many everyday contexts.
For example, if a person claims, “Astrology accurately predicts personality,” the person who makes this assertion must provide supporting evidence in order to make a compelling argument. This responsibility to provide evidence is the burden of proof.
If instead of offering evidence, the speaker challenges others to disprove the claim (e.g., “Astrology accurately predicts personality, and you can’t prove that it doesn’t”), this constitutes a logical fallacy known as the burden of proof fallacy.
Continue reading: What is an example of the burden of proof?
The conjunction fallacy occurs when someone believes two events are more likely to occur together than separately. This error in judgment often arises in situations where individuals assess the likelihood of combined events without correctly applying the principle that the probability of joint occurrences cannot exceed the probability of individual occurrences.
Continue reading: When has someone committed the conjunction fallacy?
In psychology, the conjunction rule states that the likelihood of two events happening together cannot exceed the likelihood of either event happening independently.
This principle is fundamental to understanding logical reasoning and decision-making processes, particularly in contexts where individuals assess the likelihood of compound events.
The conjunction fallacy occurs when a person mistakenly believes the opposite: that two events are more likely to occur together than independently.
Continue reading: What is the conjunction rule in psychology?
The conjunction fallacy is typically considered a type of heuristic or cognitive bias. These are mental shortcuts that people use to make judgments and decisions. The conjunction fallacy specifically refers to the tendency to incorrectly believe that the conjunction of two events is more likely than one of the events occurring alone.
Continue reading: Is the conjunction fallacy a heuristic?
Logical fallacies that involve false comparisons include the following:
Continue reading: What logical fallacies involve false comparisons?
Both the false equivalence fallacy and the false dilemma fallacy present flawed reasoning by oversimplifying complex situations or comparisons, but there is a difference:
Continue reading: What is the difference between the false equivalence fallacy and the false dilemma fallacy?
The false dichotomy fallacy is also known as the false dilemma fallacy or the either-or fallacy.
Continue reading: What are the alternative names for the false dichotomy fallacy?
Dichotomies are valid when, considering all scenarios, only two options are indeed possible.
Here are some examples of legitimate dichotomies:
Here is an example of how the word “dichotomy” can be used accurately in a sentence:
“The professor discussed the dichotomy between living and non-living entities, teaching students to distinguish between organisms that exhibit all characteristics of life and those that do not.”
The false dichotomy fallacy occurs when an issue is presented as if it had only two mutually exclusive possibilities, even though it is actually more complex. This fallacy is also called the false dilemma fallacy.
Continue reading: Can a dichotomy be legitimate?
The word “dichotomy” refers to a division or contrast between two things that are (or are represented as being) opposed or entirely different.
The false dichotomy fallacy occurs when someone presents a situation as having only two possible outcomes or options when there are more alternatives available.
Continue reading: What does dichotomy mean?
