Original Research

‘Ideological’ fallacies1

Pieter van Veuren
Koers - Bulletin for Christian Scholarship/Bulletin vir Christelike Wetenskap | Vol 59, No 1 | a655 | DOI: https://doi.org/10.4102/koers.v59i1.655 | © 1994 Pieter van Veuren | This work is licensed under CC Attribution 4.0
Submitted: 24 January 1994 | Published: 24 January 1994

About the author(s)

Pieter van Veuren, Department of Philosophy Rand Afrikaans University Johannesburg

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Abstract

The aim of this paper is to extend the critique which informal logic employs against fallacious reasoning to a critique of ideological argumentation. Two main problems are addressed: the first problem concerns criteria for the identification of 'ideological' fallacies, and the second concerns the place which ‘ideological’ fallacies are to be accorded in a ‘taxonomy' of fallacies. I address the first problem by developing a critical concept of ideology: argumentative ideological discourse serves to justify relations of domination and exploitation and is potentially misleading. Two illustrative examples of 'ideological' fallacy are presented: an ‘appeal to public interest' and an ‘appeal to the will of God’. In addressing the second problem, I argue that these ‘ideological' fallacies may best be classified as typical variations of main classes of fallacies which are traditionally distinguished (inconsistent premises and relevance).

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