Tuesday, January 17, 2012

Fallacy in Patrick Henry's Speech

In Patrick Henry's speech, he states, "If we wish to be free -- if we mean to preserve inviolate those inestimable privileges for which we have been so long contending -- if we mean not basely abandon the noble struggle in which we have been so long engaged, and which we have pledged ourselves never to abandon until the glorious object of our contest shall be obtained, we must fight! I repeat it sir, we must fight!" This quote commits the fallacy 'excluded middle'. This commits excluded middle because he is not considering any option but the extremes: being free or not being free. Logically, there are options in between being completely free or not being completely free, but in this speech they are not considered.
A speech that commits many fallacies can still be really effective because normally when people are listening to a speech, they aren't searching for fallacies in it. What they hear sounds good to them. They also may be effective because the fallacies are used very well in order to make it sound like they have a better argument.

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