Logical Fallacy

I found an article from the NAU newspaper called, ”Gun Control Won't Fix School Shootings". In this article I found that the author used the fallacy appeal to force. In his article he tried to say that if the shooter in the Virginia Tech shooting had been screened for the prescription drugs he was taking for his psychological issues before he bought his guns then the incident may not have happened. The author also says, “We can stop inflicting mass trauma and pain on one another, but we first have to decide whether it makes more sense to cultivate compassion or hostility to reach a state of harmony.” The author uses an indirect sign of force when he says, “our world drives people to snap fairly regularly so we need to change something about the way we live and relate to each other.”

I found an article on the New York Time’s written by a woman of the name of Maureen Dowd. In her article she discusses Hillary and Obama in the upcoming election. In her article I found the logical fallacy of personal attack. Dowd attacks Hillary and her campaign when she says, “women have moved past that men-are-pigs, woe-is-me, sisters-must-stick-together, pantsuits-are-powerful era that Hillary’s campaign has lately revived with a vengeance.” The author seems to be mocking the message that Hillary is portraying in her campaign and her image. She makes it apparent that she does not agree with the way Hillary is going about her campaign and how she emphasizes the fact that she is a woman to try and get more votes. The logical fallacy of genetics is also present in this article. Dowd interviewed a man who is voting for Obama, the man said he is voting for Obama because, “My ancestors came to this country in chains; I’m voting for Barack.” This quote makes it apparent that the only reason this man is voting for Obama is because he is black, and because he is black he must be a good candidate for presidency . A woman was interviewed on why she is choosing to vote for Hillary and she said, “My sisters came here in chains and on their periods; I’m voting for Hillary.” This quote makes it apparent that this woman is choosing to vote for Hillary just because she is a woman and because she is a woman she must be well qualified for presidency.