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Being towards death

Heed not to the tree-rustling and leaf-lashing rain, Why not stroll along, whistle and sing under its rein. Lighter and better suited than horses are straw sandals and a bamboo staff, Who's afraid? A palm-leaf plaited cape provides enough to misty weather in life sustain. A thorny spring breeze sobers up the spirit, I feel a slight chill, The setting sun over the mountain offers greetings still. Looking back over the bleak passage survived, The return in time Shall not be affected by windswept rain or shine.
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Enhance Thinking Skills: Master These 13 Logical Fallacies to Avoid Being Misled

The Absence of Logical Education in the Celestial Empire#

Most ordinary people learn, from childhood to adulthood, particularly in terms of textual logic reasoning, which may only involve content such as "metaphorical argumentation" and "parallel argumentation" in language, and thus believe that these are the only forms of textual argumentation. However, in reality, these are not correct argumentative logics and do not possess logical necessity.

In daily life, we only need to understand a few common logical fallacies to reduce being misled by others and to avoid making errors in our own logical reasoning.

  1. Straw Man Fallacy
    Misrepresenting an opponent's viewpoint and attacking a distorted version rather than the actual argument.
    Example: Distorting "reducing carbon emissions" to mean "requiring everyone to stop using cars."
    Note: This type of fallacy is often used by argumentative individuals during disputes; you say A, they say B. To deal with this fallacy, clarify the subject of the argument with the other party. Generally, once this is established, the fallacy will disappear. If you find the other party still being unreasonable, it proves they are either pretending to be foolish or genuinely are.

  2. Slippery Slope Fallacy
    Assuming that a certain action will lead to a series of extreme consequences without sufficient evidence.
    Example: "If same-sex marriage is allowed, then next people will marry animals."
    Note: The difference between logical reasoning and slippery slope fallacy lies in the presence of sufficient evidence. If the facts are correct and the reasoning is correct, then the conclusion is correct.

  3. Appeal to Emotion
    Replacing logical argumentation with emotional expressions, such as using fear or pity.
    Example: "Those who do not support this policy simply do not care about the lives of the poor!"
    Note: Maintain rationality, even when the issue truly relates to your interests. Try to minimize your subjective feelings and focus solely on the correctness of the logic to arrive at the right conclusion and better face the conclusion to make the right choice. Conclusions do not change due to personal emotions, but actions based on conclusions are determined by you.

  4. Appeal to Authority
    Using authority alone as evidence while ignoring substantive evidence.
    Example: "An expert said this drug is effective, so it must be effective."
    Note: Authority itself is merely a premise that increases the credibility of the argument. When we lack the energy to find the chain of argumentation, appealing to authority is a lazy way to quickly find the most credible conclusion. However, no matter how authoritative, if there is no correct argumentative evidence, authority is merely an illusion and should not be blindly trusted, especially when truth and falsehood are mixed; one should be more discerning.

  5. False Attribution
    Attributing causality to unrelated factors.
    Example: "I got better after eating a certain fruit, so that fruit can cure colds."
    Note: The method of controlling variables is still one of the best ways to test for false attribution, but it is difficult to implement in daily life. I believe that modern medicine's double-blind trials are the most effective way to minimize false attribution, especially in methods involving human subjective factors.

    "Double-blind trials are typically used when the subjects are humans, aiming to prevent the subjective biases of either the subjects or the researchers from affecting the results. The results of double-blind trials are usually more rigorous. In a double-blind trial, neither the subjects nor the researchers know which subjects belong to the control group and which belong to the experimental group. Only after all data has been collected and analyzed will the researchers know the group to which the experimental subjects belong, i.e., unblinding." — Wikipedia

  6. Black-or-White Fallacy (False Dilemma)
    Simplifying complex issues into only two opposing options.
    Example: "Not buying domestic products is unpatriotic!"
    Note: In real life, it is rare to encounter moments where there are only a few options like in multiple-choice questions; be wary of oversimplifying complex issues.

  7. Circular Reasoning
    The argument and evidence are mutually causal, forming a closed loop.
    Example: "The Bible is true because it says it is a revelation from God."
    Note: This error is generally only made by fools; if it occurs, simply block them.

  8. Appeal to Ignorance
    Assuming something exists because it cannot be proven to not exist (and vice versa).
    Example: "There is no evidence proving aliens do not exist, so aliens must exist."
    Note: Use this logic to counter them; for instance, in the above example, directly respond, "There is no evidence proving aliens exist, so aliens must not exist." This is not to argue but to cause their mind to crash. If they say your logic is wrong, congratulations, you have evolved a monkey into a human.

  9. Ad Hominem
    Attacking the opponent's character or background rather than the argument itself.
    Example: "You have a low education level, so you are not qualified to discuss this issue."
    Note: There is nothing to say to those who resort to personal attacks; just retaliate and block them.

  10. Hasty Generalization
    Drawing a universal conclusion based on a limited sample.
    Example: "All the doctors I know accept bribes, so all doctors are corrupt."
    Note: Before drawing conclusions, please confirm whether the sample size is large enough; conclusions drawn from small samples have very low credibility.

  11. Red Herring
    Introducing an irrelevant topic to divert attention.
    Example: "You say the government is corrupt? But corruption is worse in other countries!"
    Note: The difference between red herring and straw man fallacy is that the former shifts from one topic to two topics, forcibly inserting a third party, while the latter distorts one side's argument within the same topic to achieve its own purpose. Simply put, if there is a comparison, it is a red herring; if not, it is a straw man. The method of handling it is the same as with the straw man; ensure both parties are discussing the same issue.

  12. Composition Fallacy/Division Fallacy
    Incorrectly assuming that the properties of parts necessarily apply to the whole.
    Example: "Every player on this team is excellent, so the team must win the game."
    Note: This error is particularly easy to make regarding people you admire; no one can be without flaws, and in this complex world, there will not be a perfect benevolent father. If there is, it means you have been deceived. Similarly, a villain may also perform some kind acts; we should just address the matter at hand.

  13. Affirming the Consequent
    Incorrect logical structure: If A then B, now B is true, therefore A is true.
    Example: "If it rains, the ground will be wet; now the ground is wet, so it must have rained." (Ignoring other causes of wet ground)
    Note: As long as one has completed high school mathematics and learned about sufficient conditions, one knows that only the contrapositive is equivalent to the original proposition.

These are the common logical errors encountered in daily life. Multiple logical fallacies can appear simultaneously in a statement; we must identify the logical issues present in the discourse and then carefully examine the statement.

May the logos be with you.

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