Reductio Ad Absurdum Fallacy Examples | Meaning, Is Reductio Ad Absurdum Valid?

by

Reductio Ad Absurdum Fallacy Examples: Any form of argument or someone’s point can be traced back to earlier parts. Still, a part of reductio ad hitlerum is when someone else’s position or view is not supposed to be important, tracing back the relationship between Adolf Hitler or the Nazi party said as reductio ad hitlerum.

Reductio ad absurdum is a form of contradicting an argument or a form of sentence that does not draw a clear conclusion to be believed. A few absurd argument examples are shared in this blog below to validate and justify arguments that do not draw a clear personal identity representation.

To understand this better, we can refer to an example of reductio argument that is in a place where using the camera is prohibited; Leena said that it’s just one picture to click.

Reductio Ad Absurdum Fallacy

What is reductio ad absurdum?

Reductio ad absurdum, also so-called argumentum ad absurdum, is a Latin derived word that indicates an argumentative statement by its text. This situation as suggesting reduction to an absurdity means a statement that opposes any argument and portrays the conversation in such a way that it is seen to be ridiculous and irrelevant to the opposite positional party.

It can often be referred to as a fallacy but not always. It can be misused in the form of argument and even can we have used for the receiver, but that does not make it a form of fallacious reasoning always it does a slippery slope of argument it takes it to an extreme level.

This is a mode of argument where the words used in a sentence is reduced to absurdity which leads to the exposure of fallacy, the usage of the words are like always, never, nobody etc. Now, suppose we have to make it short but precise.

In that case, we can see that reductio ad absurdum can be a result without committing any fallacy if a person has the capacity to show that his opponent’s argument is leading to an absurd conclusion.

As long as you can conduct an argument without even a valid point, it becomes a fallacy, but it becomes a reductio ad absurdum fallacy referring to the original argument. Thus, for a layman concept, we can define this as a form of speech pushed to a very absurd and extreme level of argument.

Difference between reductio ad absurdum fallacy and straw man fallacy

An absolute wide amount of modified types to the fallacy, like reductio ad absurdum, is not a valid method of demonstrating an analogical argument. Still, when it does becomes a logical fallacy version, this is called a slippery slope fallacy.

  • Straw man attempt is to not give credit to someone’s argument by attacking and defeating them with any valid extent of point.
  • Reductio ad absurdum is a method of demonstrating the Other sides argument by allowing the other side to conclude so that they can conclude that the outcome is to be corrected, thus leading to an argument.
  • The straw man fallacy to start with is an argument that generally works on a very weak and easily defeated version of the actual argument that you can draw into different conclusions. This argument does not base only on strong content.
  • Reductio ad absurdum is an argument that happens when you stretch the conclusion that can have a different statement because it was absurd. This is more based on facts than the weekly presentation.
  • Straw man fallacy can sometimes be invalid due to weak representation but is a very persuasive form of words for being extremely well prepared.
  • Reductio ad absurdum results from a stretched episode conclusion that does not support the argument, so the opponent gets a scope to defeat that.
  • Straw man fallacy is a simple disordered form of argument that can be intentional or unintentionally avoided being well infant by the topic more than your opponent.

Simply by changing the format of the argument, we can come to different conclusions that give a different outcome. Therefore, to provide yourself with a debate that is easily trackable by the opponent or acceptable, try making changes in the format so that the opponent does not get to space to argue or contradict.

What is the reason to use reductio ad absurdum?

By simple human nature, people love to argue and improve their points, so with time, we tend to improve our views and points so that there is a scope of putting opinions. The only part where an argument becomes different is when the opponent tries to prove it with a valid point or because the presentation was poor.

In mathematics, this kind of argument is often called proof by contradiction. in mathematics, arguments generally leads to contradictions because it’s all about calculations, and there is no proving back of the point. So, for example, such as x, both is and is not the largest odd number in the number system.

This kind of contradiction or felony cannot be true, but they are very strong to hold an argument, which can lead to another theory or thesis. Therefore, a form of contradiction or argument is necessary so that there is a correct point to prove and proper reasoning why there cannot be another increment.

Subjects like mathematics, philosophy, and at some point also English would not have been the same way without any way of the argument of disapproval. Any point proving is supposed to be a proper theoretical analysis. Still, as it takes an argumentative turn, it often tends to be very extreme and fallacious, thus leading to an abused form of reasoning.

Is reductio ad absurdum valid?

Itself theory that you can present arguments in such a way that it results in a legitimate form of question makes it a valid argument. Reductio ad absurdum is a powerful means of achieving the end of any theory or conclusion, as it is identified from the objectives of an argument.

An argument form concerns with the reconstruction or reads the description of the theory. As humans, we only tend to believe in something once contradictory factors differentiate something from the right and something from wrong. An argument helps us to have a standpoint and actresses under which any point can you present it and haven’t inference containing to it.

They are valid arguments that can be different forms in which the person in front of it then chooses to accept it. So, for example, Tej is probably not at the park because his bat is the house, or Tej is probably not at the park because if he were there, the bat would not have been at home.

To get a different view, Another example is if John thinks that something is true, then it must be wrong; if he thinks that but does not fly at night, it is wrong. Or if John thinks that something is true, then it must be wrong; if he thinks blood does not fly at night, therefore it flies at night.

So to draw the line, yes, reductio ad absurdum is valid

  1. Contradiction in opinions and objects are necessary
  2. Point proving in subjects like philosophy, mathematics and other scholarly items are necessary
  3. The argument is a part of the logical description for the mass
  4. It is necessary to stay at a standpoint and form base.

Examples of reductio ad absurdum

Reductio ad absurdum fallacy is to study an argument that claims to be true but, in reality, is not a true conclusion that you can accept. Few examples are

  • “Mom, it’s just one flower to pluck” can be replied with “, Yes but everyone picks up flower there will be none left”.
  • “I am appearing for my entrance exam, please pray for me” can be said as “I may pass the entrance exam if all you pray for me”.
  • “I didn’t want to hit him, Zyan told me to” can be replied with” if your friend Zyan asked you to kill him, would you?”
  • “I am very calm and composed as a person since childhood” can be replied with “, if you had an aggressive nature since childhood, you would have known”.
  • “A reporter claims anyone supporting LGBTQ violets government order” can be contradicted with “every LGBTQ supporter is an anti-government person as per the reporter”.
  • “Surely, this is the recipe to make hash browns. I saw this on YouTube” you can answer it with “looks like you will feed us raw potato as hashbrown because we have seen it into YouTube.”

There are various places where this format is often used, resulting in impossible conclusions; some examples are shown below.

1. Real-life

If someone says, “the man living on your next door is seemingly rich”, it can be contradicted with “if the man living on my next door were poor, I would have known.”

2. Commercial use

“Recycling of old clothes doesn’t work because of loose and unrecyclable fabric” can be replied with “, okay but what about the fabrics that you cannot recycle into new clothes?”

3. Advertisement

Suppose a chips company states, “company Z has bought a new flavour of cherry pulp with sweet essence and high nutrition value”. In that case, you can contradict it with “company x is the ultimate place for great taste and high nutrition value with a new flavour tangy tomato” to win an argument and increase their revenue.

4. Media

Media works differently to contradict, like “schools are taking steps to split examinations to reduce students stress” can be criticized by “there will be no proper educational tests of students schools are thinking to split examinations.”

5. News

” In recent you stated that covid-19 cases are increasing day by day and is becoming more of an epidemic problem, but is contradicted by many” can be different with “most people do not believe that covid-19 is an epidemic problem increasing day by day.”

To conclude, we can say that reductio ad absurdum claims the opposite of the original argument and thus contradicts the conclusion disapproving them. Thus, this argument is a part of fallacy, making it a major part of literature.

Leave a Comment