Reading guide for Wed 1/19: Hamblin, Fallacies, ch 1, pp 31-49
 
 

You should prepare for our discussion next time in much the same way as for today's: think through each of the types of fallacy Hamblin considers and note any confusing points. Also think what example best captures the point of that type of fallacy as you understand it; you might also try to formulate an example of your own.

Although they may not play a large role in our class discussion, Hamblin's criticisms of the standard treatment in this part of the chapter are important in setting the stage for his own approach to fallacies. While the differences between the standard account and Aristotle's treatment that he noted in the first part could often be traced to differences between English (and Latin) on the one hand and Greek on the other, many of the differences he notes in the second part derive from aspects of the context in which Aristotle thought of fallacies as occurring. In Hamblin's view, forgetting this context led not only to a misunderstanding of Aristotle but also to an impoverished account of fallacies. He will only hint at this in your reading for next time but it will be an important theme in later chapters.