Fallacy of ambiguity
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A fallacy of ambiguity occurs when a conclusion is drawn from premises that are unclear. When an unclear premise is used, it may not support the conclusion.
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[edit] Form
- Premises are presented that are unclear enough to allow for more than one conclusion.[1]
- A single conclusion is drawn from these premises.
[edit] Types
- Quote mining, where context is removed to make a point (which the context may disprove, downplay, or explain)
- Equivocation, where one word has two or more separate meanings that are switched between in the course of a sentence
- Fallacy of amphiboly, where grammatical uncertainty makes the meaning of a sentence unclear
- Fallacy of accent, where the stress or a word or words is unclear and makes the meaning unclear
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Fallacies of Ambiguity, Philosophy Pages
- Ambiguity, Fallacy Files
- Fallacies of Ambiguity, About.com
- Attacking Faulty Reasoning, T. Damer