Love and logic: The story of a fallacy
Objectives：
➢ To talk about love and logic ➢ To further understand the text ➢ To apply the phrases and patterns ➢ To master the narrative essay writing skill
Contents
➢ Warming-up Activities ➢ Text Study
➢ Language Application ➢ Summary
Warming-up Activities
Lead-in
1. What do you know about logic?
When it es to making a choice, many people tend to use rational and logical reasoning;
Males are more rational than females;
2. Do you think it is possible to deal with life in a pletely rational and logical way?
Rational world is not necessarily a wonderful one;
Rational individuals can make choices that are bad news for others; It is ridiculous to deal with love in a logical way.
Pre-reading Activities
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1. The following are some statements to test your reasoning ability. Tell whether the conclusions after the word “Therefore” are true (T), false (F), or uncertain (U). Write your answer on the line before each statement. number 1 statements All odd numbers are integers (整数). All even numbers are integers. Therefore, all odd numbers are even numbers. True false or 2 There are no dancers that aren’t slim and no singers that aren’t dancers. Therefore, all singers are slim. 3 A toothpick (牙签) is useful. Useful things are valuable. Therefore, a toothpick is valuable. Three pencils cost the same as two erasers. Four erasers cost the same as one ruler. Therefore, pencils are more expensive than rulers. 5 Class A has a higher enrollment than Class B. Class C has a lower enrollment than Class B. Therefore, Class A has a lower enrollment than Class C. 6 A fruit basket contains more apples than lemons. There are more lemons in the basket than oranges. Therefore, the basket contains more apples than oranges. 7 Taking the train across town is quicker than taking the bus. Taking the bus across town is slower than driving a car. Therefore, taking the train across town is quicker than driving a car. 8 All the tulips in Zoe’s garden are white. All the roses in Zoe’s garden are yellow. Therefore, all the flowers in Zoe’s garden are either white or yellow. 2 / 8
2. Listen to a short passage on logic, and fill in the missing information.
Cultural Background- Logic and Fallacy
1. What is a fallacy? And how is it used?
An error in reasoning that renders an argument logically invalid;
By accident or design, logical fallacies are often used in debate or propaganda;
To mislead people;
To distract people from the real issue for the purpose of winning an argument.
2. How many types of fallacy do you know?
Red Herring (转移话题)/Begging the Question(循环论证)/Slippery Slope (滑坡谬误)/Bandwagon (从众谬误)/False Dilemma (伪两难谬误)/False Cause (post hoc) (假因谬误)/Ad Hominem ( 人身攻击)/Appeal to Authority (诉诸权威)/Dicto Simpliciter (绝对判断)/Hasty Generalization (草率结论)/Ad Misericordiam (文不对题)/False Analogy (错误类比)
Text Study
1. Main idea and structure
What did the narrator do with his roommate Rob? (Para.1)
They made a deal that the narrator gives Rob his leather jacket, and Rob, in exchange, gives the narrator his girlfriend.
Why did the narrator want to have Polly as his girl friend? (Paras. 2-3)
Pretty, well-off, radiant;
The right background to be the girlfriend of a dogged, brilliant lawyer;
Help the narrator in his petition with other applicants to some elite law firms.
Part I — Paras. 1–3
The author sets the scene of the story by providing information about the four “wh-” words: who, where, what, and why. “Who” refers to the narrator, his roommate Rob, and the beautiful girl Polly. “Where” refers to . “What” and “why” refer to what to do and why to do it: The narrator decides to make Polly “” because as a promisingly brilliant lawyer, he wants to have a girlfriend who is not only beautiful but also intelligent.
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Part II — Paras. 4-25
The narrator tries to help Polly bee smarter by giving her lessons in logic. Altogether he spends five nights teaching Polly four logical fallacies , namely, Dicto Simpliciter,Hasty Generalization , Ad Misericordiam, False Analogy.
Part III — Paras. 26-43
When asked to be the narrator’s girl friend, Polly refutes his arguments with the exact
logical fallacies taught by him and refuses by making full disclosure that she is dating the narrator simply because it is a trick she and Rob have decided to play on him in order to get his leather jacket .
2. Structure of the text . Polly needs to be made more The narrator and Rob make Polly has some basic intelligent. (Para. 3) a deal: the exchange of a qualities to be the girlfriend of Introduction to the story leather jacket for Polly. (Para. 1) a lawyer.(Para. 2) Body (Development of the story) 4 / 8 The third logical The first logical e second logical Why logic is fallacy taught to fallacy taught to fallacy taught to important (Para. Polly: Ad Polly: Dicto Polly: Hasty 4-8) Misericordiam Simpliciter Generalization (Paras. 16-21) (Paras. 9-11) (Paras. 12-15) “Please say “You don’t have Climax of the “We make a you’ll go out with to eat a whole story: pretty good me. I’m nothing cake to know couple.” without you.” it’s good.” Polly refuses to Hasty be the narrator’s Ad False Analogy. Generaliza-tion. girlfriend.Misericordiam. (Paras. 31-32) (Paras. 26-30) (Paras. 33-35) (Paras. 38-43)
3. Summary of the text
Love and logic: The story of a fallacy
The fourth logical fallacy taught to Polly: False Analogy (Paras. 22-25) Climax & End “You know the things you learn in school don’t have anything to do with real life.” Dicto Simpliciter. (Paras. 36-37)
My roommate Rob made a pact with me that he’d give me his girlfriend Polly in exchange for my jacket. And I agreed.
Polly had the right background to be the girlfriend of a dogged, brilliant lawyer like myself. was pretty, well-off, and radiant. Still, I want to dispense her enough She pearls of wisdom to make her “well-spoken”. So I tried my best to teach her such logical fallacies as Dicto Simpliciter, Hasty Generalization, Ad
Misericordiam, and False Analogy. After five nights of diligent work, I actually made a
logician out of Polly. She was an analytical thinker at last.
5 / 8 into a romantic one, however, she refuted When I asked her to develop our relationship
my arguments as those logical fallacies I had taught her! And she refused my proposition by making full disclosure: She liked Rob in leather, therefore, she had told him to make the pact with me so that Rob
4. Practical phrases 1. In exchange for… 作为对……的交换 In exchange for a peaceful environment for the future generations, our revolutionary predecessors shed their blood and even sacrificed their precious lives. 2. Set a date for 为……定日期 In order to achieve success, one had better start immediately rather than set dates for his/her efforts. 3. Appeal to 唤起；吸引 This university boasts many world-famous experts, professors, and the world’s best research library, therefore, it appeals to students and researchers from all over the world. We often make an analogy between studying and climbing a mountain: both of them require great efforts before you can reach the top. The aim of the military academy is to make qualified officers out of the young cadets after four 4. make/draw an analogy between 在……之间作类比 5. Make sth. out of sb./sth. 使……变成…… 6 / 8
years’ study and training. 6. Give sb. the axe 抛弃（恋人）；解雇 If you continue playing your precious college years away, success will give you the axe upon graduation. Though the beautiful lady is dripping with jewels, her words and actions are dripping with vulgarity and rudeness. 7. Be dripping with … 满是……
5. Functional patterns
1. If sb. could do …, sb. just might do … 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。 用于表达“假设” If I could show the elite law firms I applied to that I had a radiant, well-spoken counterpart by my side, I just might edge past the petition. 如果你能好好利用现有的一切而不是幻想你所没有的，你很可能已经取得巨大的成功了。 用于表达“强调” If you could make the best of what you have instead of dreaming of what you don’t have, you just might have already achieved great success. 看看我，一个聪明过人的学生，一个不同凡响的学者，一个前途无量的人。再看看罗伯，一个肌肉发达的蠢材，一个有了上顿没下顿的家伙。你是否能给我一个充足的理由，为什么要选择跟他？” 2. Sb. never/seldom do .... Instead sb. do … 3. Look at …, look at …. Can you do …? 用于表达“对比” 7 / 8
Look at me, an ingenious student, a tremendous intellectual, a man with an assured future. Look at Rob, a muscular idiot, a guy who’ll never know where his next meal is ing from. Can you give me one good reason why you should be with him?”
Critical thinking:
What does the story tell us about love?
And what does it tell us about smart people?
Can you think of a logical fallacy you have mitted? Why is it a fallacy and what caused it?
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