1 Boring Old Man

The last time I used my greatest photoshop masterpiece, it was in another context. Today’s thought is about the Straw Man – The Straw Man argument, that is. Bush and his pals are masters of Logical Fallacy of any kind. Someone had a post up about W.’s constant use of such arguments. But there are others  [other Logical Fallacies]  that are even more deadly.

Probably the most virulent is the False Dichotomy [False Dilemma]:

Description of False Dilemma

 

A False Dilemma is a fallacy in which a person uses the following pattern of "reasoning":

1. Either claim X is true or claim Y is true (when X and Y could both be false).
2. Claim Y is false.
3. Therefore claim X is true.

This line of "reasoning" is fallacious because if both claims could be false, then it cannot be inferred that one is true because the other is false. That this is the case is made clear by the following example:

1. Either 1+1=4 or 1+1=12.
2. It is not the case that 1+1=4.
3. Therefore 1+1=12.

Bush immortalized this one with his famous, "Either you’re with us or you’re against us" [Of course, what’s happened is that he was sort of correct, everyone is against us].

The Hezbollah Israeli War is a perfect example of the False Dichotomy. Israel has been too aggressive, has mistreated the Palestinians, and is way over-reacting. Hezbollah is a Terrorist group set on destroying Israel. What’s to like on either side? Both sides claim to have God on their side [The only rational conclusion is "the Gods must be crazy"]. Both sides are acting in a manner unbecoming a modern country. That’s all there is to it. The rest of the world sees that. We’re the holdouts.

"A moment of opportunity" my ass! He’s using a False Argument to bolster a pre-existing agenda.