In Whack-a-Mole, an arcade game invented by the Japanese nearly 50 years ago, moles or other figures pop up from different holes mounted on a playing cabinet while players use a soft mallet to try to knock them back into place. Search online for “whack-a-mole game,” and you’ll find lots of variations based on the original.
With that model in mind, and with the election season fast upon us, now seems a good time to have a go at Whack-a-Fallacy, my own addition to this genre of sport. For equipment, you need a screen for watching speeches and press conferences, a pen or pencil, a pad of paper, and a timer. The rules are just as simple. Before beginning play, write down the fallacies you are looking to detect on the pad of paper. On your television or phone, find the event you’ve selected, a politician delivering a public address, engaging in debate, or holding a press conference. Start the timer, and every time a fallacy on your pad pops up, jot down a hash mark beside it.
The Ad Hominem Attack
This one is quite common, particularly in heated political arguments, and easily spotted. The user ignores the argument and the issue at hand to personally attack an opponent. Ad hominem assaults can also be delivered against entire groups of people united by similar ideas or goals.Name-calling or innuendo are the weapons of choice here.
“You’re no scientist, so why don’t you stick to what you know?” is an ad hominem tactic to avoid a debate. “Senator X wants to send our troops to the Middle East, but he’s never served in the military.”
Red Herring
This fish fry fallacy occurs when the speaker attempts to slide away from the original topic. A person losing an argument may try to change the topic by bringing up the weather or pointing out some extraneous detail from last night’s party. One woman I know can deflect attention from the matter at hand just by saying, “Interesting,” and then telling an anecdote from her workplace.The False Dilemma
Most of us frequently resort to either/or propositions, seeing only two possible choices when there may in fact be several.“We can go bowling or go to the movies,” a teen says to friends, but they could also play video games, take a long walk, or study for Monday’s math test. “Would you rather become a sculptor or keep working your 9–5 job?” leaves out the possibility of doing both.
Politicians love false dilemmas in part because they create fear.
Appeals to Celebrity Authority
This is a subdivision of an appeal to a false authority, and is both common and easy to spot, as may be seen when a movie star endorses a particular car or a sports figure gives her stamp of approval to a brand of toothpaste.We’ll see this fallacy at work everywhere this fall. A film personality will appear on a talk show or a podcast to appeal to voters to support a candidate. A pop musician will pause on stage to attack a politician, often knowing less about that candidate or the issues of the day than the ordinary citizen.
Bandwagon Fallacy
Anyone raising teenagers is familiar with this one.“But Mom, everybody’s going to the concert!” “But Dad, nobody does well in Mr. Caldwell’s math class!” If everyone is on the bandwagon, goes this fallacy, then it’s surely the place to be.
Watch out for politicians who claim to speak for all Americans. That bandwagon doesn’t exist except in his or her mind. Watch out for politicians who speak about being on the wrong side of history. Beware of anyone who uses the phrase “science says.” These are attempts to get you to leap aboard the bandwagon.
If you want to add other fallacies to your list, simply explore online for “logical fallacies,” and you’ll find such classics as the straw man fallacy, circular reasoning, and slippery slope, along with examples of each.
Of course, my point here isn’t my made-up game of Whack-a-Fallacy. My point is that we should listen carefully to what our politicians are saying. We may not be playing a game, but we may well be getting played.
