Fallacies of Relevance

A lawyer stands up and says: “My client cannot be guilty — look at her, she has three young children and an ailing mother to care for.” Not one word of that touches whether she actually committed the offence, yet it is exactly the kind of appeal that moves a room. This topic is about arguments that feel persuasive while offering a reason that has nothing to do with the conclusion.

In two minutes

A fallacy of relevance offers a premise with no logical bearing on the conclusion at all — it works only because it moves your fear, pity, pride, or trust in authority instead of your reason.

The rest of this chapter

The full explanation, the cheat sheet, every previous-year question at every mark weight, the quiz and the answer skeletons are part of Logic – II on LexBlox Semester. Sign in to unlock the subject, or read Module 1 of Legal Language and Writing free.