Logical Fallacies FAQ
Fallacies of Presumption
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What is so bad about assumptions? People make assumptions every day - in fact, our ability to abstract out of individual experiences and form wider conclusions that go beyond those experiences is one of the most crucial facts of human thinking and reasoning abilities. It underlies language, art, morals, politics - just about everything we do. We have to make assumptions just to get by in life.
Unfortunately, not all assumptions are created equal. Some are justified and some are not - and among those which do have justification, the level of justification can vary quite a bit. Sometimes you can assume certain things in your arguments, but other times, there are facts and ideas which you simply cannot assume.
Fallacies of presumption are created when the premises of the argument presume something illegitimately. Sometimes what is presumed is the actual conclusion itself; however, it is also possible to presume some other important or related issues. In general, these are problems because if the assumptions were made explicit, they would provide grounds for questioning whether the conclusion is true.
-->Begging the Question
No True Scotsman
Complex Question
False Dilemma
Suppressed Evidence
