There is one Logical Fallacy that seems to be prevalent in many activities and beliefs that are part of every day life for most people. It could be Science, Religion, Politics, Economics etc. It is used so often, that most of us would not recognize it. Rarely, is the reasoning behind it questioned, for it might mean facing the truth in certain situations that could contradict established opinions.
Here is an example taken from Religion: "If we can provide evidence that there was a great flood in the distant past, then the Christian Bible was relating a real event. Therefore, since it was proven right in this case, everything else contained within its pages must be accepted as true."
Now, an example taken from Science.
"In his book, ON THE ORIGIN OF SPECIES, Darwin introduces the concept of Natural Selection. Through careful examination of the Fossil Record, Science accepts that this process is identifiable, verifiable and factual in nature. Therefore, everything else contained in the book must also be true."
These are examples of the Logical Fallacy TRUTH BY ASSOCIATION.
Here is another example, taken from classic literature.
"The Trojan War, as described by Homer in THE ILIAD, was thought to be a fictional creation by the author. However, archaeological excavations in Turkey indicate that such a city probably did exist, and there is evidence of destruction by fire. Therefore, If the Trojan War was a real event, then everything written by Homer describing it must be true. This includes intervention by the Gods, and characters such as Achilles, Odysseus and Hector were real people that actually had the attributes described by Homer."
End PT 1.
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