I think one common way to avoid logical fallacy can be pretending that I am disagreeing with the conclusion that I made. If I think about how the opposing parties would say about my writing, then I can easily see some logical fallacies. Moreover, for hasty generalization, I have to make sure whether the conclusion is based on my experience or the statistically significant study. For post hoc and slippery slope, I can try to think of other causes or effects rather than just one. For the authority, I can think about the credibility of the person in the specific field instead of how much he or she is just famous. For popularity, I have to remind myself that the majority can be sometimes incorrect and that the number of people does not make convincing evidence. For fear, I have to be sure whether I am only using pathos to stimulate fear. For false dichotomy, I have to make sure that both choices make sense and that one choice isn’t too radical that it doesn’t make sense.
Writer: Soyun Lee
