2. A course in public speaking is a necessity for those who expect to teach.
3. The greatest moral strength is fostered among many temptations.
4. An inheritance tax is an exceedingly just method of taxation.
5. All colleges should be coëducational.
6. Military drill should be compulsory for all college freshmen.
7. The use of clear and correct English is a prerequisite to success in any profession.
III. Write an argument from analogy in support of one of the propositions given in the appendix.
CHAPTER V
FALLACIES
A fallacy is an error in the argumentative process. It may arise from a mistake in the process of reasoning or from a mistake regarding the facts upon which the reasoning is based. The task of detecting and eliminating fallacies in his own argument and of detecting and exposing fallacies in the argument of his opponent is one of the most important phases of a debater’s work.
Self-evident fallacies are few. A fallacy is almost always concealed under cover of language which makes it appear in the guise of valid reasoning. It is usually embedded in an otherwise sound argumentative structure. To detect and to separate it from that which is entirely trustworthy is one of the severest tests of argumentative skill. Just as in a mathematical computation one wrong figure will invalidate the accuracy of the result though all the other figures be correct, so will one false statement in an argument produce the same disastrous effect. A fallacy may occupy but a very small part of the argument and yet be fatal to the solidity of the entire structure. It may consist of only one sentence in several pages of printed matter. It may be but a single statement which makes an unwarranted transition or assumption. Nevertheless it is as fatal to the argument as though it comprised a greater part of the entire discussion.