Logical Errors

Logical Fallacies

Faulty Premises

Misleading Terms

Misleading Metaphor

The fallacy of the misleading metaphor uses a figure of speech to establish a biased point of view and then proceeds to argue for the conclusion by using the various terms that one naturally tends to associate with the metaphor. For example, a person might justify taking advantage of others by saying, "Look-life is a game. There are winners and losers. If you get more chips than the other guy, you win. If he gets the chips, you lose. It's as simple as that. I play to win." Notice how the original metaphor-the idea of a game-brings with it a variety of other ideas that are verbally associated with it. They all reside in the same verbal ballpark, and they tend to reinforce one another as they come to mind. The choice of the metaphor gives the conclusion a kind of artificial "verbal armor," which protects from logical scrutiny. The only way to overcome this misleading orientation is to set aside the metaphor and make a new description of situation. The English language abounds with metaphorical structures that can mislead and confuse us if we don't pay attention to them.

Parent Topics:

Map of Logical Errors