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View Full Version : What kind of fallacy is this?


Zuluu
Mar 5, 2009, 02:10 PM
In one of her columns, Abigail Van Buren printed the letter of “I’d rather
be a widow.” The letter writer, a divorcée, complained about widows
Who said they had a hard time coping. Far better, she wrote, to be a
Widow than to be a divorcée, who are all “rejects” who have been “publicly
dumped” and are avoided “like they have leprosy.” Abby recognized
The pseudoreasoning for what it was, though she did not call it by our
Name. What is our name for it?

TUT317
Oct 14, 2009, 02:03 AM
The statement provided has so many fallacies it is hard to know where to begin. So I will settle for two.

Firstly, the author is attacking a minority group rather than addressing what this group has said. You cannot disprove what divorcee's are claiming by attacking their character.

Secondly, by claiming that, all divorcées are rejects you only have to find one divorcée who is not a reject to disprove the whole claim false.

You cannot prove with certainty , but you can disprove with certainty