Communication Fallacies

 Examples of Fallacies

Hasty Generalization 

The example article I chose to represent hasty generalization is from Eater.com, which talks about the old Arby's commercials that would say lines about vegetarians such as:

"It may be hard to resist...even for you." and "We're giving you a number to call : 1-855-MEAT-HLP" and when you called the hotline it would give you two options, one is for vegetarians who can't stop thinking about the bacon, and the other is for vegetarians who gave in and ate bacon. The callers would hear the words "Take a deep breath...and go with the salad."

I was an assistant manager at an Arby's for 8 years, and was a vegetarian at the time. These particular commercials used to drive me crazy, mostly because I was treated lesser than because I didn't eat meat. It was mostly due to digestion issues, allergies, and health issues. Also, I never cared if anyone else did, didn't miss meat at all, and didn't just eat salads. I know they were meant to be funny but in my opinion they weren't very clever.

Hasty generalization is described as a type of fallacy that makes judgements without much evidence, a one time instance used generally, or use of stereotypes. The judgment I felt was made from generalizing people who don't eat meat want it, miss it, or can just eat salads.

Ad hominem

An article I have chosen for the ad hominem is "Ugly fake scientist. Women say sexist attacks on the rise." which is about women scientists who have been insulted and called names. The scientist named Kim Cobb, a professor of earth and atmospheric science at Georgia Tech. She recently appeared on a news program discussing the dangers of climate change. After this she was called demeaning names, and harassed by repeated phone calls and messages. 

Ad hominem is when someone is attacking their opponent personally rather than dealing with the dispute. There is usually name calling, insults, and attacks on the person instead of a respectful discussion. This is an example because scientists that are women are being personally attacked.

Female scientists say the harassment they’re enduring from men is becoming more personal, increasingly sexist and less focused on their scientific conclusions.

Female climate scientists are being targeted by men who don't accept their scientific findings.

Bandwagon 

The article I've chosen is "The doctor's choice is America's choice" which discusses the RJ Reynolds tobacco company's major advertising campaign for Camel cigarettes. It was a popular brand, and the surveys were said to be conducted by three leading independent research organizations, but were said to be from nationwide surveys of around 11,000 doctors. The statistics and numbers were advertised as facts and not a casual claim.

Bandwagon fallacies are when people jump on board to something because they think most people are doing the same thing. This is an example because the advertisements allude to large claims like it's doctor's number one choice, when they just asked a relatively small number.

Sources

• Galarza, Daniela. July 7th, 2015. Arby's Trolls Vegetarians in New Press Release. Eater. 

         https://www.eater.com/2015/7/7/8906943/arbys-trolls-vegetarians-press-release

• Waldman, Scott. Heikkinen, Niina. Aug. 21st, 2018. Ugly fake scientist. Woman say sexist attacks on the rise. E & E News.

         https://www.eenews.net/articles/ugly-fake-scientist-women-say-sexist-attacks-on-the-     rise/#:~:text=Kim%20Cobb%2C%20a%20climate%20scientist,the%20tone%20of%20her%20critics.

• Gardner, Martha N., Brandt, Allan M. The doctor's choice is America's choice." The physician in US cigarette advertisements, 1930-1953. National library of medicine.

         https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC1470496/