Question

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Kris

comparison fallacy

I'm trying to come up with logical answers to questions like the ones below.
Since marijuana is legal in some states, why not legalize all drugs? How is listening to immoral lyrics found in rock music any different than looking at immortal pictures like pornography? If I believe that transgender is a real issue, then I must believe that its OK to voluntarily get an arm or a leg surgically removed because I think I should've been born with only one leg or arm? Someone telling me to not have gay friends or to discriminate against them because we as people discriminate against things all the time like what kind of cereal or car to buy? Thank you so much!! The more I learn about fallacies, Hopefully, I will become more aware of guilt trip type of questions.
asked on Saturday, Jan 09, 2016 02:36:23 PM by Kris

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Uncomfortable Ideas: Facts don't care about feelings. Science isn't concerned about sensibilities. And reality couldn't care less about rage.

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Many of our ideas about the world are based more on feelings than facts, sensibilities than science, and rage than reality. We gravitate toward ideas that make us feel comfortable in areas such as religion, politics, philosophy, social justice, love and sex, humanity, and morality. We avoid ideas that make us feel uncomfortable. This avoidance is a largely unconscious process that affects our judgment and gets in the way of our ability to reach rational and reasonable conclusions. By understanding how our mind works in this area, we can start embracing uncomfortable ideas and be better informed, be more understanding of others, and make better decisions in all areas of life.

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Kris
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All drugs aren't merely picked out of the ground and dried and smoked. And alcohol and nicotine are drugs too. Its just a matter of taking an opinion on drugs and taking it to the very extreme. It's not fallacious reasoning as far as I'm concerned but Bo I'm sure might find one. Maybe if the statement was because marijuana is legal then all drugs , legal, prescribed, or currently illegal, SHOULD be legal could be fallacious reasoning I think. Asking why not really isn't an argument.The music porn one is too subjective to the individual. If what they think is immoral is the way you belittle women, for instance, in lyrics then it's like watching porn if you think porn does the same thing. That's just an opinion about immoral things being addressed whether in words or pictures. It isn't fallacious reasoning as far as a subjective way at approaching immoral behavior.
Comparing discrimination as to what kind of inanimate object you like or dislike isn't what we usually refer to as "discrimination", that could be weak analogy or maybe equivocation. Just a guess though.. These are some of the most ridiculous statements I've ever seen. And I frequent numerous debate sites and have never seen anyone come close to the majority of what you said people have said, but then again they might be 14 years old......lol
answered on Sunday, Jan 10, 2016 01:10:24 AM by Kris

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Bo Bennett, PhD
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These can all be classified under weak analogies or the slippery slope fallacy. For example,

Since marijuana is legal in some states, why not legalize all drugs?



There is an implied analogy that marijuana is like all drugs. Clearly, all drugs are different in many ways. Again, some wit can demonstrate this... "If elementary schools sell some drinks to students, why not sell all drinks to students?"

It is also a slippery slope fallacy where the person is taking you from step 1 (e.g., legalize pot) to step X (legalize all drugs) without any justification for each step after step #1.
answered on Monday, Jan 11, 2016 01:48:04 PM by Bo Bennett, PhD

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Bo Bennett, PhD
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See, that's why Bo wrote the book and I read the excerpts.
answered on Tuesday, Jan 12, 2016 12:27:46 AM by Bo Bennett, PhD

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