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1、Love and logic: The story of fallacyI had my first date with Polly after I made the trade with my roommate Rob. That year every guy on campus had a leather jacket, and Rob couldnt stand the idea of being the only football player who didnt, so he made a pact that hed give me his girl in exchange for
2、my jacket. He wasnt the brightest guy. Polly wasnt too shrewd, either.But she was pretty, well-off, didnt dye her hair strange colors or wear too much makeup. She had the right background to be the girlfriend of a dogged, brilliant lawyer. If I could show the elite law firms I applied to that I had
3、a radiant, well-spoken counterpart by my side, I just might edge past the competition.Radiant she was already. I could dispense her enough pearls of wisdom to make her well-spoken.After a banner day out, I drove until we were situated under a big old oak tree on a hill off the expressway. What I had
4、 in mind was a little eccentric. I thought the venue with a perfect view of the luminous city would lighten the mood. We stayed in the car, and I turned down the stereo and took my foot off the brake pedal. What are we going to talk about? she asked.爱情与逻辑：谬误的故事在我和室友罗伯的交易成功之后，我和波莉有了第一次约会。那一年校园里每个人都有件
5、皮夹克，而罗伯是校足球队员中唯一一个没有皮夹克的，他一想到这个就受不了，于是他和我达成了一项协议，用他的女友换取我的夹克。他可不那么聪明，而他的女友波莉也不太精明。但她漂亮而且富有，也没有把头发染成奇怪的颜色或是化很浓的妆。她拥有合适的家庭背景，足以胜任一名坚忍而睿智的律师的女友。如果我能够让我所申请的顶尖律师事务所看到我身边伴随着一位光彩照人、谈吐优雅的另一半，我就很有可能在竞聘中以微弱优势获胜。“光彩照人”，她已经是了。而我也能施予她足够多的“智慧之珠” ，让她变得“谈吐优雅”。在一起外出度过了美好的一天之后，我驱车来到了高速公路旁一座小山上一棵古老的大橡树下。我的想法有些怪异。而这个地方
6、能够俯瞰灯火灿烂的城区，我觉得它会使人的心情变轻松。我们呆在车子里，我调低了音响并把脚从刹车上挪开。“我们要谈些什么？”她问道。Logic.Cool, she said over her gum.The doctrine of logic,” I said, is a staple of clear thinking. Failures in logic distort the truth, and some of them are well known. First lets look at the fallacy Dicto Simpliciter.Great,” she agreed.D
7、icto Simpliciter means an unqualified generalization. For example: Exercise is good. Therefore, everybody should exercise.She nodded in agreement.I could see she was stumped. Polly, I explained, its too simple a generalization. If you have, say, heart disease or extreme obesity, exercise is bad, not
8、 good. Therefore, you must say exercise is good for most people.Next is Hasty Generalization. Self-explanatory, right? Listen carefully: You cant speak French. Rob cant speak French. Looks like nobody at this school can speak French.Really? said Polly, amazed. Nobody?This is also a fallacy, I said.
9、The generalization is reached too hastily. Too few instances support such a conclusion.She seemed to have a good time. I could safely say my plan was underway. I took her home and set a date for another conversation.Seated under the oak the next evening I said, Our first fallacy tonight is called Ad
10、 Misericordiam.She nodded with delight.Listen closely, I said. A man applies for a job. When the boss asks him what his qualifications are, he says he has six children to feed.Oh, this is awful, awful, she whispered in a choked voice.Yes, its awful, I agreed, but its no argument. The man never answe
11、red the bosss question. Instead he appealed to the bosss sympathy - Ad Misericordiam.“逻辑学。”“好酷啊，”她一边嚼着口香糖一边说。“逻辑学的原理，” 我说道， “即清晰思考的主要原则。逻辑上出现的问题会歪曲事实，其中有些还很普遍。我们先来看看一种叫做绝对判断 的逻辑谬误。”“好啊，”她表示同意。“绝对判断是指在证据不足的情况下所作出的推断。比方说：运动是有益的，所以每个人都应该运动。她点头表示赞同。我看得出她没弄明白。“波莉，” 我解释说，“这个推断太过简单化了。如果你有心脏病或者超级肥胖症什么的，运动就变
12、得有害而不是有益。所以你应该说，运动对大多数人来说是有益的。”“接下来是草率结论 。这似乎不言自明，对吧？仔细听好了：你不会说法语，罗伯也不会说法语，那么这所学校里好像是没有人会说法语。”“是吗？”波莉吃惊地说。 “没有人吗？”“这也是一种逻辑谬误，”我说，“这一结论太草率了，因为能够支持这一结论的例证太少了。”她似乎学得很开心，而我也可以放心地说我的计划正在稳步推进中。我把她送回家，并且定下了下一次约会交谈的日子。第二天晚上，坐在那棵橡树下，我说：“今天晚上我们要谈的第一个逻辑谬误叫 文不对题。”她高兴地点了点头。“听好了，”我说，“有个人去申请工作，当老板问他有什么应聘资格时，他说他有六个
13、孩子要抚养。”“哇，这太可怕了，太可怕了，” 她哽咽着轻声说到。“对，是挺可怕的，” 我表示赞同地说， “但这不是理由。这个人根本没有回答老板的问题，而只是在博取老板的同情，这就是文不对题 。”She blinked, still trying hard to keep back her tears.Next, I said carefully, we will discuss False Analogy. An example, students should be allowed to look at their textbooks during exams, because surgeo
14、ns have X-rays to guide them during surgery.I like that idea, she said.Polly, I groaned, dont derail the discussion. The inference is wrong. Doctors arent taking a test to see how much they have learned, but students are. The situations are altogether different. You cant make an analogy between them
15、.I still think its a good idea, said Polly.With five nights of diligent work, I actually made a logician out of Polly. She was an analytical thinker at last. The time had come for the conversion of our relationship from academic to romantic.Polly, I said when next we sat under our oak, tonight we wo
16、nt discuss fallacies.Oh? she said, a little disappointed.Favoring her with a grin, I said, We have now spent five evenings together. We get along pretty well. We make a pretty good couple.Hasty Generalization, said Polly brightly. Or as a normal person might say, thats a little premature, dont you think?I laughed with amusement. Shed learned her lessons well, far surpassing my expectations. Sw
