Fallacies of Relevance

Our Moral Footprint

OVER the past few years the questions have been asked ever more forcefully whether global climate changes occur in natural cycles or not, to what degree we humans contribute to them, what threats stem from them and what can be done to prevent them. Scientific studies demonstrate that any changes in temperature and energy cycles on a planetary scale could mean danger for all people on all continents.

From what I could see, this paragraph uses three types of fallacies. The first, appeal to force. Just because of what the scientists said in the last sentence, then it´s a threat and must make us concerned. The second type is circumstantial. Due to the harm that humans causing to the planet, then author states an argument on climate changes. The last fallacy was appeal to emotion. Obviously, the text is trying to open our eyes to threat which we humans are inflicting on ourselves, giving it emotion.


It is also obvious from published research that human activity is a cause of change; we just don’t know how big its contribution is. Is it necessary to know that to the last percentage point, though? By waiting for incontrovertible precision, aren’t we simply wasting time when we could be taking measures that are relatively painless compared to those we would have to adopt after further delays?

This paragraph was a bit harder to analyze. I think that it´s only fallacy is an appeal to emotion again. I think so because it´s a logical issue which tries to affect our emotion. The text tries to make humans feel bad about what we are doing.

Maybe we should start considering our sojourn on earth as a loan. There can be no doubt that for the past hundred years at least, Europe and the United States have been running up a debt, and now other parts of the world are following their example. Nature is issuing warnings that we must not only stop the debt from growing but start to pay it back. There is little point in asking whether we have borrowed too much or what would happen if we postponed the repayments. Anyone with a mortgage or a bank loan can easily imagine the answer.

This paragraph was also tough. I did though, find an example of a snob approach. When the text states that other countries were following Europe and The U.S.A´s example, it showed that they did it because the ¨best people are doing it¨, even though it´s not doing any good for anyone. This could also be considered appeal to improper authority. Meaning that you follow someone or something superior even though it may not be reliable.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/27/opinion/27havel.html?_r=1&ref=opinion&oref=slogin