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Sergiu

What is the relationship (assuming there is one) between logical fallacies in general and cognitive distortions and/or cognitive biases?

asked on Friday, Jul 31, 2015 07:20:19 AM by Sergiu

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Bo Bennett, PhD
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The line is not clear one. In fact, in writing the book, Logically Fallacious, I had to think carefully about some to see if they were more biases than fallacies. It is like including only bald actors on a list... do we include people like Jason Statham?



A cognitive bias is more of a thought pattern or unconscious strategy whereas a logical fallacy generally focuses more on the form of the argument. Again, there are many fallacies that have cognitive components and biases that are reflected in the form of arguments. For example, the Appeal to Popularity can be detected in the form of the argument ("Islam must be correct since billions of people follow it") and it is also a cognitive bias known as the bandwagon effect that distorts our perception of truth based on popularity.

answered on Friday, Jul 31, 2015 07:33:42 AM by Bo Bennett, PhD

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