Argumentation Sep 2024 Open Access

Epidemiology of Fallacies

Antonio Duarte Universidad Complutense de Madrid

Abstract

AbstractIn this paper I apply the epidemiological model of the spread of beliefs and how they become cultural representations to the field of fallacies. The model suggests that beliefs tend to replicate as a virus does in a potential epidemic, and those strains that are dominant in a given socio-cultural sphere become cultural representations. My ultimate aim is to denounce the fact that some presumptive argumentation schemes are widely applied as definitive arguments, but turn out to be instances of common and traditional fallacies. Moreover, some such fallacies have managed to colonise the human mind and become cultural representations in society today. Adopting the approach I advocate here, we could say that the fallacy has become a belief, which has then managed to replicate like a virus, and finally the fallacy has become a cultural representation. One of the great harms that results from this process is that it is very difficult to open up effective lines of argument that expose the fallacious nature of these new and perverse cultural representations.

Journal
Argumentation
Published
2024-09-01
DOI
10.1007/s10503-024-09634-z
CompPile
Search in CompPile ↗
Open Access
OA PDF Hybrid
Topics
argument
Export
BibTeX RIS

Citation Context

Cited by in this index (0)

No articles in this index cite this work.

Cites in this index (7)

  1. Eemeren (2019)
    Argumentative Style: A Complex Notion
    Argumentation
  2. Polo et al. (2017)
    Group Emotions in Collective Reasoning: A Model
    Argumentation
  3. Rodríguez et al. (2014)
    Scientific Controversies and the Ethics of Arguing and Belief in the Face of Ra…
    Argumentation
  4. Goodwin (2011)
    Accounting for the Appeal to the Authority of Experts
    Argumentation
  5. Wagemans (2011)
    The Assessment of Argumentation from Expert Opinion
    Argumentation
Show all 7 →
  1. Eemeren et al. (2000)
    Rhetorical Analysis Within a Pragma-Dialectical Framework
    Argumentation
  2. Eemeren et al. (1987)
    Fallacies in pragma-dialectical perspective
    Argumentation
Also cites 17 works outside this index ↓
  1. Sheryl L Chow (2023)
    Chow, Sheryl L., Biykem Bozkurt, William L. Baker, Barry E. Bleske, Khadijah Breathett, Gregg C. Fonarow, Bar…
    Circulation  ↗
  2. David Cyranoski (2018)
    Cyranoski, David. 2018. The Big Push for Chinese Medicine. Nature 561: 448–450. https://doi.org/10.1038/d4158…
    Nature  ↗
  3. Íñigo Onay de Felipe (2021)
    de Felipe, Íñigo Onay. 2021. The Universality of Science and Traditional Chinese Medicine. Science & Educatio…
    Science & Education  ↗
  4. Michael Eigenschink (2020)
    Eigenschink, Michael, Lukas Dearing, Tom E. Dablander, Julian Maier, and Harald H. Sitte. 2020. A Critical Ex…
    Wiener Klinische Wochenschrift  ↗
  5. Edzard Ernst (2006)
    Ernst, Edzard. 2006. Acupuncture: A Critical Analysis. Journal of Internal Medicine 259: 125–137. https://doi…
    Journal of Internal Medicine  ↗
  6. Edzard Ernst (2020)
    Ernst, Edzard. 2020. Fallacies of Esoteric Medicine. Wiener Klinische Wochenschrift 132: 224–227. https://doi…
    Wiener Klinische Wochenschrift  ↗
  7. R Fears (2020)
    Fears, R., G.E. Griffin, D. Larhammar, V. ter Meulen, and J.W.M. van der Meer. 2020. Globalization of Traditi…
    Journal of Internal Medicine  ↗
  8. Jean Goodwin (2022)
    The Pandemic of Argumentation: Argumentation Library
     ↗
  9. David Hitchcock (2011)
    Keeping in Touch with Pragma-Dialectics
     ↗
  10. An Nguyen (2020)
    Nguyen, An., and Daniel Catalan-Matamoros. 2020. Digital Mis/Disinformation and Public Engagement with Health…
    Media and Communication  ↗
  11. Carles Salazar (2015)
    Religion and Science as Forms of Life: Anthropological Insights into Reason and Unreason
     ↗
  12. A. Francisca Snoeck Henkemans (2012)
    Snoeck Henkemans, A. Francisca., and Dima Mohammed. 2012. Institutional Constraints on Strategic Maneuvering …
    Journal of Argumentation in Context  ↗
  13. Frans H. van Eemeren (2022)
    van Eemeren, Frans H. 2022. Characterising an MEP’s argumentative style. Journal of Argumentation in Context …
    Journal of Argumentation in Context  ↗
  14. Frans H. van Eemeren (2022)
    A Pragma-Dialectical Study of Functional Variety in Argumentative Discourse
     ↗
  15. Frans H. van Eemeren (2007)
    van Eemeren, Frans H., and Peter Houtlosser. 2007. The Contextuality of Fallacies. Informal Logic 27(1): 59–6…
    Informal Logic  ↗
  16. Frans H. van Eemeren (1984)
    Speech acts in Argumentative DISCUSSIONS
     ↗
  17. Douglas N Walton (2008)
    Argumentation Schemes
     ↗
CrossRef global citation count: 1 View in citation network → Build reading path →

Related Articles

  1. Res Rhetorica Apr 2026
    Logos in ancient Greek discourse on rhetoric: An overview ↗
    Arkadiusz Sokolnicki
    classical rhetoric rhetorical criticism discourse analysis argument
  2. Assessing Writing Apr 2026
    Associations of adolescents’ argumentative writing scores and growth when evaluated by different human raters and artificial intelligence models ↗
    Deborah K. Reed; Sterett Mercer
    argument artificial intelligence
  3. Rhetoric of Health and Medicine Apr 2026
    Psyche or Soma? ↗
    Samantha Rippetoe
    rhetorical criticism argument archival research
  4. Argumentation Mar 2026
    The Recursive Argument Structure Reconsidered ↗
    Shiyang Yu
    argument
  5. Argumentation Mar 2026
    Between Rationality and Self-protection: Student-Constructed Arguments on Fast Food Consumption and Antibiotic Overuse as Public Health Issues in Biology Education ↗
    Eliza Rybska; Michał Klichowski; Costas P. Constantinou; Barbara Jankowiak
    writing pedagogy teacher development argument qualitative research