Ignoratio elenchi

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Ignoratio elenchi (also known as irrelevant conclusion^[1] or irrelevant thesis) is the informal fallacy of presenting an argument that may in itself be valid, but does not address the issue in question. "Ignoratio elenchi" can be roughly translated by ignorance of refutation, that is, ignorance of what a refutation could logically be; "elenchi" (genitive singular of the Latin elenchus) is from the Greek ἔλεγχος, meaning an argument of disproof or refutation.^[2]

Aristotle would describe ignoratio elenchi as a mistake made during a refutation of an argument. He called it "an ignorance" of what makes for a refutation. For Aristotle, ignoratio elenchi amounts to ignorance of logic. To Aristotle all logical fallacies can be reduced to ignoratio elenchi.^{[3][unreliable source?]}

Contents 1 Red herring 2 See also 3 References 4 External links

[edit] Red herring

Look up red herring in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Similar in category, but with darker implications than ignoratio elenchi, a "red herring" is an answer, given in reply to a questioner, that goes beyond an innocent logical irrelevance. A "red herring" is a deliberate attempt to divert a process of enquiry by changing the subject.

For example:

"I think that we should make the academic requirements stricter for students. I recommend that you support this, because we are in a budget crisis and we do not want our salaries affected."

Topic A is the proposal that academic requirements be raised. Topic B is the possible effects of a budget crisis on teacher salaries. Topic A is abandoned and the unrelated topic B is introduced.

A "red herring" is a debating tactic that seeks to divert an opponent. A digression can, similarly, be a verbal tactic of diversion, but has no place in a serious debate; and the diversion of digression may also be in play.

During a political campaign effort, President Truman referred to accusations that his administrative policies leaked information to Communist Russia as a political red herring.^[4]

[edit] See also

• Enthymeme
• Reductio ad Hitlerum

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Nizkor Project: Red Herring
• Fallacy Files: Red Herring
• The Phrase Finder: Red Herring
• Infidels.org: Ignoratio elenchi
• The Art of Controversy: Diversion (bilingual with the original German) by Arthur Schopenhauer
• Red herring in political speech

v • d • e Fallacies of relevance General Absurdity • Accident • Ad nauseam • Argument from ignorance • Argument from silence • Argumentum ad populum • Base rate • Compound question • Loaded question • Argument to moderation • Moralistic • Naturalistic • Proof by assertion • Irrelevant conclusion • Special pleading • Straw man • Style over substance • Two wrongs make a right Appeals to emotion Fear • Flattery • Nature • Novelty • Pity • Ridicule • Repugnance • Spite Genetic fallacies Ad hominem (Ad hominem tu quoque) • Appeal to authority • Appeal to motive • Appeal to tradition • Appeal to wealth • Appeal to poverty • Association • Bulverism • Chronological snobbery • Ipse-dixitism • Poisoning the well • Appeal to etymology • Reductio ad Hitlerum • Appeals to intellectual and mental stability or capability Appeals to consequences Appeal to force • Wishful thinking

v • d • e Informal fallacies Begging the question · Fallacy of distribution (Composition · Division) · Gambler's fallacy and its inverse · Many questions · Red herring fallacy · Special pleading Correlative-based fallacies False dilemma (Perfect solution) · Denying the correlative · Suppressed correlative Deductive fallacies Accident · Converse accident Inductive fallacies Sampling bias · Conjunction fallacy · False analogy · Hasty generalization · Misleading vividness · Overwhelming exception Vagueness and ambiguity Continuum fallacy · False precision · Slippery slope Equivocation Equivocation · False attribution · Fallacy of quoting out of context · Loki's Wager · No true Scotsman · Reification Questionable cause Circular cause and consequence · Correlation does not imply causation (Cum hoc) · Post hoc · Regression fallacy · Single cause · Texas sharpshooter · Wrong direction List of fallacies · Other types of fallacy