Unwarranted Processes - Assignment Example

Introduction:

Fallacies include unwarranted processes. The research delves into the editor’s or author’s concepts. The research delves into the effects of the fallacies. Mass media article Fallacies should be reduced to permissible levels.   

Fallacies:

Language Fallacy.  The language fallacy states that more than half of the people on welfare have either an alcohol problem or a drug problem. Identifying the language fallacy, the statement “Unless the nation gears up to address substance abuse issues, welfare reform will be in serious trouble.” gives a false impression that welfare will be in serious trouble if the nation does not gear up to address or resolve the substance abuse issue. The language fallacy creates an impression in the readers of the article that the same issue occurs in other communities located within the United States.  People should not be misled by this fallacy. Language fallacy includes the use of language to create a false impression on people (Engel, 1994). Further, to ensure the veracity of the statement, research should be conducted.

Evidence Fallacy. The article offers an assertion that is not supported by evidence. The violation creates an impression or statement that is not verified by evidence (Austin, 2008). Identifying the evidence fallacy, the statement “they will reduce public assistance rolls substantially and give our nation’s welfare reform effort a fighting chance to succeed.” indicates a false impression that reducing public assistance rolls substantially will automatically result in giving our nation’s welfare reform effort a fighting chance to succeed. There are strong probabilities that reducing public assistance rolls substantially will not give our nation’s welfare reform a fighting chance to succeed. The news reporter should have verified his or her data, prior to the presentation to the public. The reporter will be surprised that there is a possibility that the government continues to implement other programs that will alleviate the nation’s drug and alcohol abuse.

Reasoning Fallacy. The author shows a reasoning fallacy. A reasoning fallacy crops up when the conclusions of the author are based on the faulty gathering of supporting evidence. The author of the paper commits the unforgivable fallacy because of the unskillful analysis of the facts (Sprague, 2008). Identifying the reasoning fallacy, the statement “State and local officials need not be tagged as tax-and-spend liberals if they devote more resources to addressing these problems among welfare recipients.” shows a generalization aspect of the reasoning fallacy.  The statement gives a false impression that all state and local officials are automatically tagged as tax-and-spend liberals if they devote more resources to addressing these problems among welfare recipients, giving an impression that the liberals are spendthrifts. Definitely, not all of the state and local officials should be tagged as tax-and-spend liberals because some state and local officials base their devoting more resources to addressing these problems among welfare recipients on legal, evidential, and other legitimate grounds that exempt them from being tagged as tax-and-spend liberals. The author should have reported the facts, not to prematurely jump to conclusions. Using government funds to help drug dependents and alcohol dependents should not be construed as unfavorable tax money allocation.

Presence of fallacies.

The fallacies diminish the quality of the author’s arguments. The readers can use common sense to detect if the author’s arguments are valid. By reading the article, the average reader will always say the statements, findings, or conclusions do not apply to all situations. There will always be exceptions to the author’s proposals. The author should add more data and research to back up his proposed concepts.

The purpose of the author’s fallacies is to increase acceptance of the author’s erroneous proposals. The author uses fallacies to prevent the allocation of government funds to the welfare of drug and alcohol dependents.  The author’s fallacy will incite the readers to side with the author’s biased stand. Fallacies falsely add spice to the mundane article.

Furthermore, some of the author’s fallacies are detrimental to the audience’s reception or acceptance of the author’s arguments. For example, the above three fallacies brainwash the readers to accept the wrong concept that the government should not allocate welfare funds for drug and alcohol dependents. Consequently, the wrong concept will entice the public to do wrong or unreasonable acts, including withholding much-needed welfare funds needed by alcohol and drug dependents. There are laws that require fund allocation for the rehabilitation of alcohol and drug dependents. Since the 1980s, the federal government allocates welfare funds, including $ 500 million a year for the rehabilitation of drug dependents alone (Lowinson, 2004).

Summarizing the above discussion, fallacies incorporate unwanted acts. The research shows the author’s obvious fallacies. The fallacies may incite some of the readers to do unwarranted acts. Evidently, mass media article fallacies must be decreased to ensure true information comes through.