There are certain arguments that are presented with an appearance of truth, but are actually based on proposals that are fallacious from the point of view of logic. These inconsistent and misleading forms of reasoning are known as fallacies. One of them is the ad ignorantiam argument, a Latin denomination that literally means “argument from ignorance.”
This fallacy has a general characteristic: a statement is said to be true or false because there is no evidence to the contrary. In other words, the falsity of an idea or proposal is inferred because it has not been possible to demonstrate its truth.
illustrative examples
Someone claims that aliens do not exist, since no one has been able to conclusively prove their existence. Likewise, the opposite could also be affirmed: that aliens exist because no one has proven that they do not exist.
With respect to the existence or non-existence of God, this type of fallacious reasoning is also common. Thus, it is affirmed that a god does exist because no one has proven otherwise and it is also said that he does not exist, since no one has definitively proven his non-existence.
These two examples illustrate the ad ignorantiam argument, since in both arguments ignorance about something is used to affirm a thesis. On the other hand, this reasoning commits a second error, since it is implied that everything that is not visible necessarily means that it does not exist. Thus, saying that “God is not visible and, consequently, does not exist” is a statement contrary to logic, since there are many realities that we accept as valid even though we do not see them.
other fallacies
Argumentation based on deduction from true premises leads to a true conclusion. Argumentation based on induction generates a probably true conclusion. On the other hand, when the rules of logic are broken, some kind of fallacy occurs.
If I affirm that 90% of the voters of a province have chosen a candidate and with this initial data I draw the conclusion that said candidate will be voted for by a majority throughout the country. This erroneous argument is known as the hasty generalization fallacy.
When we discredit an idea using personal criticism of the individual who defends it. In this case the fallacy is known as an ad hominen argument.
Very often it is argued that something is correct because it has always been practiced. This argument is fallacious because it prevents any possible modification of the tradition.
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