Girish Mahajan (Editor)

Straight and Crooked Thinking

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Language
  
English

Pages
  
261 pp

Dewey Decimal
  
160

Author
  
Robert H. Thouless

OCLC
  
1230940

Publication date
  
1930

ISBN
  
0-330-24127-3

Originally published
  
1930

Publisher
  
Simon & Schuster

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Media type
  
Print (hardcover and paperback)

People also search for
  
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Genres
  
Logic, Psychology, Education

Straight and Crooked Thinking, first published in 1930 and revised in 1953, is a book by Robert H. Thouless which describes, assesses and critically analyses flaws in reasoning and argument. Thouless describes it as a practical manual, rather than a theoretical one.

Synopsis

Thirty-eight fallacies are discussed in the book. Among them are:

  • No. 3. proof by example, biased sample, cherry picking
  • No. 6. ignoratio elenchi: "red herring"
  • No. 9. false compromise/middle ground
  • No. 12. argument in a circle
  • No. 13. begging the question
  • No. 17. equivocation
  • No. 18. false dilemma: black and white thinking
  • No. 19. continuum fallacy (fallacy of the beard)
  • No. 21. ad nauseam: "argumentum ad nauseam" or "argument from repetition" or "argumentum ad infinitum"
  • No. 25. style over substance fallacy
  • No. 28. appeal to authority
  • No. 31. thought-terminating cliché
  • No. 36. special pleading
  • No. 37. appeal to consequences
  • No. 38. appeal to motive

    • References

    Straight and Crooked Thinking Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA