Critical Thinking and Logical Fallacies

Paper Summary:

This paper explains Brian Tracy's belief that humans do not make decisions rationally or logically, but, instead, make decisions emotionally and then seek to justify them on a rational, logical, or rational-thought basis. The paper also explains and provides examples of logical fallacies and looks at how they are often used in arguments. The paper then looks at the implications that decisions based on emotions and arguments based on logical fallacies have for society and the democratic process.

From the Paper:

"For these reasons, the subject of logical fallacies tends to bend our imagination, or even go unnoticed. Logical fallacies are typically rooted in the emotional construct of the argument. Logical fallacies are based in emotional reasoning rather than critical, logical, or rational thought processes. In other words, when we make decisions emotionally, we most often void out logical thinking processed. While emotions serve as the motivating force behind our choices, we seek to move toward a logical basis so that our decision can be based on a foundation other than how it makes me feel."

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