Theodore Gracyk
Philosophy 110: Practical Reasoning


Sample Portfolio Page: Fallacy of Wishful Thinking

This page has all four elements of a correct page:

  1. At the top, it labels the category of argument. 
  2. It documents the source. (Provide the same sort of documentation that would be used for a citation in a college research paper.)
  3. It identifies the issue in the form of a question. 
  4. It evaluates its soundness. (For the fallacies, we skip the standard form reconstruction but explain how the fallacy occurs in the example.) It explicitly states whether the argument is sound or unsound.

          

  Fallacy of Wishful Thinking 

 

Iraqis Shocked, Shamed by Hussein's Sullied Image
Theories Abound Over Why 'Saddam the Lion' Failed to Resist Capture by U.S. Soldiers

Nowhere in Baghdad does sympathy for Hussein run as deep as in the overwhelmingly Sunni neighborhood of Adhamiya in the northern part of the city. Graffiti on the walls proclaim "Long live Saddam" and facades of buildings are heavily pocked from gunfire, attesting to the resistance U.S. forces faced in this quarter. Residents remain skeptical of U.S. claims that Hussein succumbed without a struggle. 

Khalid Haidar, 31, owns a modest grocery along the main commercial street where Hussein loyalists have staged protests over the past three days to demand his release. Haidar recalled that Hussein attacked Israel with Scud missiles during the 1991 Persian Gulf War and said he is sure Hussein would have confronted his U.S. pursuers if only given a chance. 

"The CIA is all powerful," said Haidar, dressed in a leather jacket, arms crossed, next to a large carton of Nestle's chocolate bars. "We think they must have used some kind of nerve gas or drug on him. There's no way he would go in this manner."

Source: The Washington Post, Thursday, December 18, 2003; Page A40.

   

Issue: Did Saddam Hussein surrender without a struggle?

 

This is an example of the fallacy of wishful thinking because Haidar's theory that the "CIA is all powerful" is proposed only to avoid the shame of admitting that Hussein turned out to be a coward. There is no reason to think that the CIA was involved. Haidar is just trying to make himself feel better about what happened.

Because of the fallacy,  proposal is unsound.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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    Last updated January 8, 2003