Deductive Fallacy
In philosophy, the term logical fallacy properly refers to a formal fallacy: a flaw in the structure of a deductive argument which renders the argument invalid.
However, the same terms are used in informal discourse to mean an argument which is problematic for any reason.
A logical form such as A and B is independent of any particular conjunction of meaningful propositions. Logical form alone can guarantee that given true premises, a true conclusion must follow. However, formal logic makes no such guarantee if any premise is false, the conclusion can be either true or false. Any formal mistake or logical fallacy similarly invalidates the deductive guarantee. The so-called fallacy fallacy is a failure to understand that all bets are off unless the argument is formally flawless and all premises are true.
Read more about this topic: Fallacy
Famous quotes containing the word fallacy:
“I’m not afraid of facts, I welcome facts but a congeries of facts is not equivalent to an idea. This is the essential fallacy of the so-called “scientific” mind. People who mistake facts for ideas are incomplete thinkers; they are gossips.”
—Cynthia Ozick (b. 1928)