Fallacies Arising from Ambiguity

Abstract

This book is a contribution to the growing literature on fallacies - verbal deceptions and logical errors of different kinds that commonly occur in argumentation. The particular subject of this book is ambiguity in language, and the fallacies that can arise from it. These include the traditional fallacies of equivocation, amphiboly, accent and figure of speech. Also included are some related fallacies that pose problems because, although they are often classified as fallacies of ambiguity, their claim to this categorization is dubious or problematic. These include fallacies like composition and division, quibbling (or confusing a verbal and a real dispute), obfuscation, gobbledygook, wrenching from context, special pleading, and figurative language (although the names for these fallacies are not consistent in the textbook treatments of them).