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What logical fallacies are in here?

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Original Question

I saw this on social media and thought it would be good to share it here to be logically analyzed.  


 


"Chicago is the most corrupt city in America, that’s a fact. Has been for decades. Obama spent his entire political career in Chicago, logically what do you think he was? Corrupt? You don’t get to be the head thief by being the worst thief."

Comments on Question

As per Shockwave, Division Fallacy is ascribing a quality of the whole to one of it's parts. Here, Chicago to Obama.

Answers

3

This seems to be more of an implication than a claim. An ad Hominem (guilt by association) fallacy.  If it were syllogized further it could make a case for Fallacy of Division, or whole-to-part fallacy.


Chicago is the most corrupt city in America. (needs citation)


Obama's entire political career was spent in Chicago.


Therefore; Obama is most certainly corrupt.

I agree with the previously mentioned  ad hominem (guilt by association) and fallacy of division (and stating that "all Chicago politicians are corrupted" is also stereotyping (the fallacy) ).


I would add that the argument


'Obama spent his entire political career in Chicago, therefore he is corrupt.
 [Afterall] "You don’t get to be the head thief by being the worst thief"'


is weak analogy .

A few possibilities here. As mentioned, this argument could be said to commit the fallacy of division because it assigns to a part (one politician from Chicago) a claimed quality of the whole (politicians from Chicago, America's "most corrupt city").


This argument could also qualify as an argumentum ad hominem (abusive) if reformulated in the following manner:



  • President Obama is arguing in favor of X.

  • President Obama is a Chicago politician.

  • Therefore, X is most certainly some form of corruption.


Perhaps we can call this "guilt by implication."


 

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