Logical Fallacies

Intro

Mental models can be explained by General Semantics. Important work related to General Semantics includes the study of Political Ponerology - or how to avoid mass psychosis, such as Fascism or Dictatorship.

The map is not the territory. Understanding this concept deeply allows one to remain free from numerous mental fallacies.

Examples

Faulty logic, confusion, inaccuracy, misperception, and untruth can take many forms. Here are some concepts that we should be aware of so we don't fall into these traps:

• Misplaced concreteness an James's vicious abstractionism seems to undermine many philosophies - [1]
• Generalization - formulation of general concepts from specific instances, often making inaccurate assessment
• Omission - omitting relevant details and therefore making for inaccuracy/confusion
• Mind-reading- assuming that we know what others are thinking. We cannot really know what others are thinking because situations are complex. To think otherwise is dangerous. See [2]
• Confirmation bias - is the tendency to search for, interpret, favor, and recall information in a way that confirms one's preexisting beliefs or hypotheses
• Overconfidence in evaluating ourselves
• Blind spots - things we don't know that we don't know
• Apophenia - tendency to perceive connections and meaning between unrelated things
• Hegemony - assuming 'that's just how things are' and nothing else can work or be changed
• Non-sequitur - something that does not follow. Assuming some result when that conclusion cannot be drawn without further knowledge.
• False dilemma - A dilemma that does not really exist. A statement such as: “The government should invest either in scientific research or in education” is a false dilemma, since it could actually do both.
• Non-violent communication (NVC) - NVC warns us about the distinction between expressing feelings and what we think are feelings but are only thoughts. Lots of times people are unable to express feelings, and therefore not have their needs met. This applies to professional and personal relations.
• Hubris - overstatement of one's significance or skill
• Unwarranted Extrapolation - extrapo
• Conspiracy theories - the attraction of conspiracy theories is that they always (warning: generalization) include an element of truth, and are thus convincing. Because of this element of truth, one cannot deny the entirety of the consiparacy theory, and therefore, even somewhat rationally, the theory can never be dismissed fully. But be careful, and hold on to your wallet.
  • A good way to think of these is mythology was used to understand the unknown, storms and natural disasters were beings with plots and personalities and were thus uderstandable. Now we don't use these mythologies, but have conspiracies. Virus outbreaks are bioweapons, not complecated logistical issues, mixed with a unknown genetic mutation in a virus that emerged somewhere, and...
  • We all do this to a certain extent, explaining and predicting things is one of the traits that defines humanity, main thing is keeping it in check

More

• The XY problem is asking about your attempted solution rather than your actual problem. This leads to enormous amounts of wasted time and energy, both on the part of people asking for help, and on the part of those providing help. - read the complete article at: http://xyproblem.info/