What is false equivalence?
False equivalence is a logical fallacy in which an equivalence is drawn between two subjects based on flawed or false reasoning. This fallacy is categorized as a fallacy of inconsistency.
How can you avoid committing false equivalencies?
However, you can avoid committing a false equivalence by being conscientious with your arguments. You should ask yourself whether you are equating two things with the proper justification. Try to present a counter-example to your own view. That way you will be able to handle false equivalencies when they appear in the wild.
What are the fallacies of equivalence?
Fallacies of equivalence are not so much fallacies of logic as they are rhetorical fallacies. False equivalences are a common rhetorical trick used to present two viewpoints as equally reasonable when one position is clearly deficient.
Did the media create false equivalencies in the 2016 election?
Thomas Patterson of the Shorenstein Center for Media, Politics, and Public Policy at Harvard University wrote about the false equivalency used by the media during the 2016 United States presidential election : [F]alse equivalencies are developing on a grand scale as a result of relentlessly negative news.
What is an example of false equivalence?
The following statements are examples of false equivalence: “The Deepwater Horizon oil spill is no more harmful than when your neighbor drips some oil on the ground when changing his car’s oil.”
Is a false equivalence?
False equivalence is a logical fallacy that occurs when someone incorrectly asserts that two or more things are equivalent, simply because they share some characteristics, despite the fact that there are also notable differences between them.
What is moral equivalence fallacy?
Moral equivalence is a term used in political arguments or debate. It is an informal fallacy. The phrase describes a kind of indirect proof, but the reasoning is flawed because it distorts issues.
What is comparison fallacy?
What Is The ‘Comparison Fallacy’? The Comparison Fallacy assumes that it’s possible to compare your skills, priorities, goals, and results with other people in an accurate and useful manner. Other people are not you, and you are not other people. You have unique skills, goals, and priorities.
Why is straw man a fallacy?
Straw person is the misrepresentation of an opponent’s position or a competitor’s product to tout one’s own argument or product as superior. This fallacy occurs when the weakest version of an argument is attacked while stronger ones are ignored.
What is hominem fallacy?
(Attacking the person): This fallacy occurs when, instead of addressing someone’s argument or position, you irrelevantly attack the person or some aspect of the person who is making the argument.
What is an example of a straw man argument?
For example, if someone says “I think that we should give better study guides to students”, a person using a strawman might reply by saying “I think that your idea is bad, because we shouldn’t just give out easy A’s to everyone”.
What is the false analogy fallacy?
a type of informal fallacy or a persuasive technique in which the fact that two things are alike in one respect leads to the invalid conclusion that they must be alike in some other respect.
What are some examples of ad hominem?
Ad Hominem ExamplesA politician arguing that his opponent cannot possibly be a good choice for women because he has a religious conviction that causes him to be pro-life.A lawyer who argues that his client should not be held responsible for theft because he is poor.More items…
What is it called when you compare two things that are not alike?
What is an analogy? An analogy is a comparison made to show how two different things are similar, especially in limited ways. An analogy is a technique frequently used in literature to explain something by comparing it to something else (a literary device).
Why would someone use a false analogy?
A false analogy is an informal fallacy. It applies to inductive arguments. It is an informal fallacy because the error concerns what the argument is about, and not the argument itself.
Why analogies are wrong?
Analogies are commonly used for illustrative purposes to make a complex process or idea easier to understand. Analogies become false or faulty when they are overextended or presented as conclusive proof.
What equivalence means?
Definition of equivalence 1a : the state or property of being equivalent. b : the relation holding between two statements if they are either both true or both false so that to affirm one and to deny the other would result in a contradiction. 2 : a presentation of terms as equivalent.
What means false balance?
False balance, also bothsidesism, is a media bias in which journalists present an issue as being more balanced between opposing viewpoints than the evidence supports.
What is the false analogy fallacy?
a type of informal fallacy or a persuasive technique in which the fact that two things are alike in one respect leads to the invalid conclusion that they must be alike in some other respect.
What are some examples of ad hominem?
Ad Hominem ExamplesA politician arguing that his opponent cannot possibly be a good choice for women because he has a religious conviction that causes him to be pro-life.A lawyer who argues that his client should not be held responsible for theft because he is poor.More items…
What is false equivalence in journalism?
False equivalence arguments are often used in journalism and in politics, where flaws of one politician may be compared to flaws of a wholly different nature of another.
Who wrote about false equivalency?
Thomas Patterson of the Shorenstein Center for Media, Politics, and Public Policy at Harvard University wrote about the false equivalency used by the media during the 2016 United States presidential election :
When is the fallacy of equivalence committed?
This fallacy is committed when one shared trait between two subjects is assumed to show equivalence, especially in order of magnitude, when equivalence is not necessarily the logical result. False equivalence is a common result when an anecdotal similarity is pointed out as equal, but the claim of equivalence does not bear scrutiny because the similarity is based on oversimplification or ignorance of additional factors. The pattern of the fallacy is often as such: “If A is the set of c and d, and B is the set of d and e, then since they both contain d, A and B are equal”. d is not required to exist in both sets; only a passing similarity is required to cause this fallacy to be used.
What is the fallacy of moderation?
Not to be confused with argument to moderation, also known as false equivalence, a fallacy asserting that the truth is between two extremes.
What are some examples of false equivalences?
A simple example of a false equivalence is saying that a knife and dynamite are both tools that can be used as weapons, so they’re pretty much the same thing , and therefore if we allow people to buy knives at the store, then we should also allow them to also buy dynamite.
How to avoid false equivalences?
To avoid using false equivalences, you should make sure that whenever you equate two or more things with one another, you have proper justification as to why the things in question are equivalent, based on relevant criteria.
Why are false equivalences used?
Because false equivalences are so widely used, it’s important to understand them. As such, in the following article you will learn more about …
What is the fallacy of two things being equal?
False equivalence is a logical fallacy that occurs when someone incorrectly asserts that two or more things are equivalent, simply because they share some characteristics, despite the fact that there are also notable differences between them.
What is the fallacy of false balance?
False balance is a logical fallacy that occurs when someone suggests that , if there are two or more opposing positions on a certain topic, then the truth must rest somewhere in the middle between them.
Why should you explain the equivalence in question?
If necessary, you should explicitly explain why you believe that the equivalence in question is reasonable. This will help you ensure that your equivalence is indeed reasonable, and help you demonstrate this to the people that you’re talking to.
What is equivalence in psychology?
The equivalence exaggerates the degree of similarity between the things being equated. For example, this could involve stating that two people share a certain personality trait, while ignoring the fact that they only share certain aspects of this trait but not others.
Why are false equivalencies used?
False equivalencies are a type of fallacy because they exaggerate the similarities or downplay the differences between two or more things in order to draw some kind of comparison. False equivalencies are a broad category of fallacies and can be used to draw comparison between many types of things.
How to respond to a false equivalence fallacy?
There are a couple of ways you could go about responding to a false equivalence fallacy. The general strategy is to show why the equivalence is not an apt comparison.
What are false equivalencies in the discussion of racism?
Discussions About Racism. False equivalencies are often deployed in discussions about racism as a way to minimize and deflect away from the experiences and suffering of oppressed groups, or to deny that systemic racism against minorities in society exists.
Why is the argument that guns and cars are the same thing is fallacious?
This argument is fallacious because it draws a false equivalence between guns and cars based simply on the fact that they can be used to hurt people. True, both cars and guns can hurt people. The main difference is that guns are designed specifically to kill whereas cars are not.
What is false equivalence in gun control debates?
A very common false equivalence in debates about gun control attempts to equate all kinds of objects that can cause violence as fundamentally the same:
Why are false equivalences pernicious?
This kind of “both sides-ism” is particularly pernicious because it trains us to ignore relevant differences between things when convenient.
Why is theft a false equivalence?
However, one could argue that this argument commits a false equivalence because theft and taxation are not similar in the relevant respects. Theft involves taking without agreement or without compensation. Taxation is something decided on by a democratic government and you are compensated by the things that the taxes pay for. The two things are different enough that they are not actually morally equivalent.
What is false equivalence?
False equivalence is an argument that two things are much the same when in fact they are not. The following are illustrative examples.
What is false assertion?
The false assertion that two things are opposites. For example, “either you agree with our ideology or you are against equality.”
What is wronger than wrong?
Wronger Than Wrong. Wronger than wrong is the suggestion that a minor wrong is equivalent to a major wrong. This was proposed by writer Isaac Asimov as follows “When people thought the Earth was flat, they were wrong. When people thought the Earth was spherical, they were wrong.
How many Alec Baldwin memes were found?
15 Alec Baldwin Memes That Were Found By The Warrant
Who created the logical fallacies?
On July 11th, 2015, a gallery was uploaded to Imgur [1] containing 32 image macros of sports referees calling out various logical fallacies, which credited film critic Glen Welch as the creator of the series. Within two weeks, the gallery received more than 230,000 views.
What is a logical fallacy ref?
Logical Fallacy Ref is an image macro series featuring photographs of sports referees with captions calling out the use of logically invalid arguments used in online debate.
When was the website YourLogicalFallacyIs.com launched?
On September 24th, 2011, the website YourLogicalFallacyIs.com[6]was launched, which features explanations of many formal and informal fallacies often used in discussions on the Internet.
Overview
False equivalence is an informal fallacy in which an equivalence is drawn between two subjects based on flawed or false reasoning. This fallacy is categorized as a fallacy of inconsistency. Colloquially, a false equivalence is often called “comparing apples and oranges.”
Characteristics
This fallacy is committed when one shared trait between two subjects is assumed to show equivalence, especially in order of magnitude, when equivalence is not necessarily the logical result. False equivalence is a common result when an anecdotal similarity is pointed out as equal, but the claim of equivalence does not bear scrutiny because the similarity is based on oversimplification or ignorance of additional factors. The pattern of the fallacy is often as such:
Examples
The following statements are examples of false equivalence:
“The Deepwater Horizon oil spill is no more harmful than when your neighbor drips some oil on the ground when changing his car’s oil.” The “false equivalence” is the comparison between things differing by many orders of magnitude: Deepwater Horizon spilled 210 million US gal (790 million L) of oil; one’s neighbor might spill perhaps 1 US pt (0.47 L). “They are both felidae, mammals in …
Negative causes
False equivalence arguments are often used in journalism and in politics, where flaws of one politician may be compared to flaws of a wholly different nature of another.
Thomas Patterson of the Shorenstein Center for Media, Politics, and Public Policy at Harvard University wrote about the false equivalency used by the media during the 2016 United States presidential election:
See also
• List of fallacies
• Affirming the consequent
• Apophenia
• Equivocation
• False balance
Further reading
• Ferrell, Jason (February 15, 2021). “On moral equivalence”. SN Social Sciences. 1 (2): 64. doi:10.1007/s43545-021-00070-4. S2CID 234324904.
External links
• Wunderlich, Annelise (June 13, 2019). “False Equivalence: Why It’s So Dangerous”. KQED.
• Sarkis, Stephanie (May 19, 2019). “False Equivalence: Why It’s So Dangerous”. Forbes.
What Makes An Equivalence False
See more on effectiviology.com
Examples of False Equivalences
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A simple example of a false equivalence is saying that a knife and dynamite are both tools that can be used as weapons, so they’re pretty much the same thing, and therefore if we allow people to buy knives at the store, then we should also allow them to also buy dynamite. The issue with this argument is that while both these items indeed share the characteristics that are mentione…
How to Respond to A False Equivalence
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As we saw above, the issue with false equivalences is that they incorrectly suggest that two (or more) things are equivalent, in a situation where that’s not the case. Accordingly, the main approach that you should use in order to counter this fallacious reasoning is to demonstrate the issue with the equivalence that’s being presented. You can do this in various ways, including the …
How to Avoid Using False Equivalences
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To avoid using false equivalences, you should make sure that whenever you equate two or more things with one another, you have proper justification as to why the things in question are equivalent, based on relevant criteria. If necessary, you should explicitly explain why you believe that the equivalence in question is reasonable. This will help you ensure that your equivalence is …
Related Fallacy: False Balance
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False balance is a logical fallacy that occurs when someone suggests that, if there are two or more opposing positions on a certain topic, then the truth must rest somewhere in the middle between them. This concept often plays a role in the media, where it’s also referred to as bothsidesism, in situations where journalists present both sides of a story as if they are balance…
Summary and Conclusions
- False equivalenceis a logical fallacy that occurs when someone incorrectly asserts that two or more things are equivalent, simply because they share some characteristics, despite the fact that ther…
- An example of a false equivalence is saying that a person shouldn’t criticize a company for allowing a catastrophic oil spill to happen, because that person littered once.
- False equivalenceis a logical fallacy that occurs when someone incorrectly asserts that two or more things are equivalent, simply because they share some characteristics, despite the fact that ther…
- An example of a false equivalence is saying that a person shouldn’t criticize a company for allowing a catastrophic oil spill to happen, because that person littered once.
- When responding to a false equivalence, you can show that the similarities between the things being equated are exaggerated, highlight the differences between the things being equated, present coun…
- To avoid using false equivalences, you should make sure that whenever you equate two or more things with one another, you have proper justification as to why the things in question a…
What Makes An Equivalence “False”?
Logical Form of False Equivalences
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Here is the standard logical form of a false equivalence fallacy. Alternatively, in the case of moral equivalencies, the form looks something like this: When put into symbolic form, it is easy to see why this argument pattern is invalid. The mere presence of similarities between two things is in no way a justification to assert that those two things are equivalent. Additionally, the fact that two a…
5 Examples of False Equivalence Fallacies
- 1. Gun Control
A very common false equivalence in debates about gun control attempts to equate all kinds of objects that can cause violence as fundamentally the same: “We can’t ban guns just because they can be used to hurt people. After all, cars can be used to hurt people, so if we ban guns then we … - 2. Discussions About Racism
False equivalencies are often deployed in discussions about racism as a way to minimize and deflect away from the experiences and suffering of oppressed groups, or to deny that systemic racism against minorities in society exists. Here is an example: “Affirmative action for college ad…
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Responding to False Equivalencies
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There are a couple of ways you could go about responding to a false equivalence fallacy. The general strategy is to show why the equivalence is not an apt comparison. Keep in mind that sometimes, drawing equivalences between things is a perfectly legitimate form of analogical reasoning. You can draw conclusions by comparing two things, as long as those things share fe…
Final Thoughts on False Equivalencies
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Drawing comparisons between things can be a useful form of reasoning but can lead us into fallacious thought. The human brain has a tendency to simplify complex issues, which is why it is so easy to fall into false equivalence fallacies. However, you can avoid committing a false equivalence by being conscientious with your arguments. You should ask yourself whether you …