The editor of the Glasgow Argus is putting his readers
through. course of Bentham on Fallacies. Two preliminary articles haw already appeared, explaining the object and plan of the series. He takes the classification adopted by Bentham's editor- " First—Fallacies of authority (including laudatory personalities); the sub- ject matter of which is authority in various shapes, and the immediate objets to repress, on the ground of the weight of such authority, all exercise of the reasoning faculty.
"Secondly—Fallacies of danger (including vituperative personalities); the subject matter of which is the suggestion of danger in various shapes, and the object to repress altogether, on the ground of such danger, the discussiors pro- posed to be entered into.
"Thirdly—Fallacies of delay ; the subject matter of which is an assigning of reasons for delay in various shapes, and the object to postpone such discus- sion with a view of eluding it altogether. "Fourthly—Fallacies of cori.rusion ; the subject matter of which consist* chiefly of vague and indefinite generalities, while the object is to produce, when discuseion can no longer be avoided, such confusion in the minds of the hearers as to incapacitate theca for forming a correct judgment on the question proposed for deliberation."
" The principle of eubtlivision, according to which individual fallacies are ranged in their respective classes, has been taken from the faculty or affection to which each is addressed. Thus smile fallacies are addressed to thejteternent, some to the imagination, and others to the affections. Fallacies of all the different classes may be designed to operate in any of these different quarters: this principle of subdivision, therefore, ;runs through the whole four clams specified above."
By the aid of this classification, the editor of the Argus says- " We have got fairly written down, accurately described, and so arranged that we can lay band upon them at a moment's warning, no less than thirty- two of the most current fallacies employed in political debate. Of these, seven come under the head of Authority—their object being to persuade men that it is wrong or dangerous to reason at all ; five come under the head of Danger— their object being to persuade men that at no time can certain questions be dis- cussed without danger ; five come under the head of Delay—their object being to persuade men to postpone discussion, in the hope that Nome device may be fmnol for preventing its resumption ; and no less than fifteen come under the head of Cutifusion—niere wills o' the wisp, whose object is to lead torn Gun- dering in the dark through bog and quagmire. In our immediately ensuing papers on this subject, we propose to go over each of these four classes in suc- cession, analytically and with some detail. When that is aceomplished, one or two incidental but indispensable elucidations of various points shall succeed. Alla then we hope our scholars in this politicological class (considerably more useful than Professor Buchanan's) will be inepaied to commence with advan- tage the practical brancli—the application to the arguments of caking public nem on the topics of the (I iy. We are inuell mistaken in the composition ef our new Parliameet, it' the :era of its sin iitg do not furnish us with ample food for tetilark. At all event., we have Church.insdanger men, Conservative-Re- formers, told we+ other anomalous babbling bipeds, enough to serve our pur- poses. The suluects of our anatomical lestui es may be had in sufficient plenty without the aid of a legislative act. Neither is there any risk of bulking when we have dissected them, they may rise awl run again—a pecularity in our mode of procedure of which all friends of humanity will rejoicingly approve."
There are very few editors of newspapers capable of performing the task which our Glasgow contemporary has imposed on himself. Nobody can make a dry subject more entertaining than he : we trust he will persevere in the useful work. We entirely agree with him, that the debates in the new Parliament will afford ample food for remark, and that the crop of fallacies is likely to be abundant : but in the mean time, he eau be at no loss for subjects, in the pages of " the best possible public instructors."
Previous page
