Burt walks into a room to find Bernie holding a banana in his ear. Burt asks him what he's doing.
Burt: Bernie why is that banana still in your ear?
Bernie: Listen Burt, I use this banana to keep the alligators away.
Burt: Alligators! Bernie there are no alligators on Sesame Street!
Bernie: Right! Doing a good job isn't it Burt!
This is an example of Post Hoc Fallacy, because Bernie is superstitious and believes that holding a banana in his ear will keep alligators away. When Burt points out that there are no alligators, Bernie simply attributes that fact as proof that his banana theory works.
To see this clip:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXLTQi7vVsI
I really enjoyed this example! It's interesting how the fallacies tend to overlap. Where one fallacy is, more are sure to be :). Like in your example, it's Post Hoc, but it’s also an Appeal to Ignorance (because Bernie is using the lack of evidence (lack of alligators) as evidence) and there could be some Non Sequitur in there (because the conclusion doesn't fit the reasons). The lines between fallacies are a bit blurred so many different fallacies can apply to the same situation. Interesting...
ReplyDeleteExcellent--check.
ReplyDeleteI also really enjoyed this example because it was a very simple yet funny breakdown of a fallacy. Also superstitious habits just make me laugh, even though I am in no way free of them. Growing up playing baseball there was superstition in involved in everything my teams did. I also agree that this is a non sequitur example of a fallacy because just because there are no alligators and he's holding a banana it does not mean there is a correlation.
ReplyDeleteGood job on this fallacy example! It was interesting to see how Post Hoc is related to superstition and how it can be so prevalent in our lives. Seeing this simple but obvious example is also going to help me remember post hoc better:)
ReplyDelete