Comments on: 25 Reasons People Believe Weird Things

By: Jim Morrison

Jim Morrison — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 16:31:27 +0000

No, reductio ad absurdum is not, by itself, a valid argument. It is commonly stated as: ‘Taken to it’s logical extreme…’ and I would submit there are no logical extreme. It is a tool, yes, but a less useful tool than many would have you believe.

By: Egon Jensen

Egon Jensen — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 01:10:04 +0000

The no. 1 reason why people believe weird things is simply: lack of information.
E.g. in a perfect world of economy people make rational choices. In the real world people make seemingly stupid choices, consumers don’t always buy the best product, don’t go for the cheapest offer, gamble or play lottery – mostly because they lack the information needed to make the optimal choice.

By: Nida

Nida — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 13:47:18 +0000

I’d say the examples in # 22 are ‘non sequiturs’, i. e. the conclusion doesn’t follow from the premises.

By: Jordan Buckley

Jordan Buckley — Sun, 04 May 2008 00:08:16 +0000

These are helpful. Reductio ad absurdum, however, is a valid form of argument, as long as there are no fallacies in the logic. Those examples you give are false because the conclusions do not follow from the premise, not because they are reductio ad absurdum arguments.