many questions, fallacy of
- many questions, fallacy of
The lawyers' fallacy of inferring or implying some kind of guilt when a person cannot give a straight yes-or-no answer to a question that in fact does not permit of such an answer. The classic example is ‘Have you stopped beating your wife?’ to which an innocent person can give no one-word answer. The question conceals two others (Did you ever do so? Do you do so now?) and innocence means answering ‘no’ to each. Unfortunately, since we normally talk about stopping things that we have once started, simply answering ‘no’ to the overall question carries a strong
implicature that you used to do so, and go on doing so. So you do not want to say (only) that, nor of course do you want to say ‘yes’.
Philosophy dictionary.
Academic.
2011.
Look at other dictionaries:
Fallacy — In logic and rhetoric, a fallacy is usually incorrect argumentation in reasoning resulting in a misconception or presumption. By accident or design, fallacies may exploit emotional triggers in the listener or interlocutor (appeal to emotion), or… … Wikipedia
fallacy — /fal euh see/, n., pl. fallacies. 1. a deceptive, misleading, or false notion, belief, etc.: That the world is flat was at one time a popular fallacy. 2. a misleading or unsound argument. 3. deceptive, misleading, or false nature; erroneousness.… … Universalium
Historical fallacy — The Historical fallacy, also called the psychological fallacy, is a logical fallacy originally described by philosopher John Dewey in 1896. The historical fallacy occurs when a set of considerations which hold good only because a completed… … Wikipedia
Tinbergen's four questions — When asked questions of animal and human behavior such as why these creatures see, even elementary school children can answer that vision helps them find food and avoid danger. Biologists have three additional explanations: A particular series of … Wikipedia
Perfect solution fallacy — The perfect solution fallacy is a logical fallacy that occurs when an argument assumes that a perfect solution exists and/or that a solution should be rejected because some part of the problem would still exist after it was implemented.Presumably … Wikipedia
Complex question — Complex question, trick question, multiple question or plurium interrogationum (Latin, of many questions ) is a question that has a presupposition that is complex. The presupposition is a proposition that is presumed to be acceptable to the… … Wikipedia
List of philosophy topics (I-Q) — II and thou I Ching I Ching I proposition I Thou I Thou relationshipIaIamblichus (philosopher)IbYahya Ibn Adi Yahya Ibn Adi Ibn al Arabi Muhyi al Din Ibn al Arabi Abu Bakr Ibn Bajja Abu Bakr Ibn Bājja Abu Bakr Muhammad Ibn Yahya Ibn as Say igh… … Wikipedia
List of philosophy topics (D-H) — DDaDai Zhen Pierre d Ailly Jean Le Rond d Alembert John Damascene Damascius John of Damascus Peter Damian Danish philosophy Dante Alighieri Arthur Danto Arthur C. Danto Arthur Coleman Danto dao Daodejing Daoism Daoist philosophy Charles Darwin… … Wikipedia
applied logic — Introduction the study of the practical art of right reasoning. The formalism (formal logic) and theoretical results of pure logic can be clothed with meanings derived from a variety of sources within philosophy as well as from other… … Universalium
aesthetics — /es thet iks/ or, esp. Brit., /ees /, n. (used with a sing. v.) 1. the branch of philosophy dealing with such notions as the beautiful, the ugly, the sublime, the comic, etc., as applicable to the fine arts, with a view to establishing the… … Universalium
