:
Ambiguity: Think "AMBI" as
in "AMBIDEXTROUS" which
means you can use both hands equally well. Ambiguity means that
the sentence or a word in the sentence has more than one meaning.
Equivocation: To equivocate is to change the
meaning of a key word in the middle of an argument. Example: "Only
man is rational. No woman is a man. Therefore, no woman is rational." The
argument equivocates on the word "man." In the first
sentence it means "human." In the second sentence it
means "male." The
only way the conclusion appears to make sense is if the reader
doesn't notice that the meaning changed.
- The fallacies in this section are all cases where
a word or phrase is used unclearly.
- There are two ways in which
this can occur.
- (i) The word or phrase may be ambiguous, in which
case it has more than one distinct meaning.
- (ii) The word
or phrase may be vague, in which case it has no distinct
meaning.
- (i) Criminal actions are illegal, and all murder trials are
criminal actions, thus all murder trials are illegal. (Here the
term "criminal actions" is
used with two different meanings.) Example borrowed from Copi.
- (ii) "[W]hat I believe personally as a Catholic as an article
of faith is an article of faith. And if it's not shared by a Jew
or an Episcopalian or a Muslim or an agnostic or an atheist or
someone else, it's not appropriate in the United States for a legislator
to legislate your personal religious belief for the rest of the
country." --John Kerry on how his political views take precedence
over any religious beliefs
Analysis: Sen. Kerry "equivocates" on the ambiguous
term "article of faith." He incorrectly thinks that faith
= denomination, as in "the Catholic faith." From this
incorrect meaning he concludes that whatever is an article of faith
is only relevant within the church walls. What does it really mean? "Article
of faith" describes a particular idea that is considered true
for everyone and which is not up for negotiation. For instance,
Americans take it as an article of faith that humans have equal
rights. This is not only true for whoever believes it. It is true
for everyone. If one claims they believe something as "an
article of faith" because they are a member of some organization,
but deny it in every other context is called a hypocrite.
- (iii)
The sign said "fine for parking here", and since
it was fine, I parked there.
- (iv) All child-murderers are inhuman,
thus, no child-murderer is human. (From Barker, p. 164; this
is called "illicit obversion")
- (v) A plane is a carpenter's
tool, and the Boeing 737 is a plane, hence the Boeing 737 is
a carpenter's tool. (Example borrowed from Davis, p. 58)
Identify the word which is used twice, then show that a definition
which is appropriate for one use of the word would not be appropriate
for the second use.
Definition: An amphibole occurs when the construction of a sentence
allows it to have two different meanings.
- (i) Last night I shot a burglar in my pajamas.
- (ii) The Oracle of Delphi told Croseus that if he pursued the
war he would destroy a mighty kingdom. (What the Oracle did not
mention was that the kingdom he destroyed would be his own. Adapted
from Heroditus, The Histories.)
- (iii) Save soap and waste paper.
(From Copi, p. 115)
Identify the ambiguous phrase and show the two possible interpretations.
Definition: Emphasis is used to suggest a meaning different from
the actual content of the proposition.
- (i) It would be illegal to give away Free Beer!
- (ii) The first
mate, seeking revenge on the captain, wrote in his journal, "The
Captain was sober today." (He
suggests, by his emphasis, that the Captain is usually drunk.
From Copi, p. 117)
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