Now, we as catholics know that this Gandhi's words are true and stick to our believes, but we must not forget that there are so many other believes amongst us humans. Gandhi's phrase excludes Atheist since he states that there a superior power that everyone believes is. However, Atheist don't believe that there is a superior power at all. Gandhi also excludes those that believe that there is more than one God since he states that there is a power that rules, but doesn't present the possibility that there could be many ruling powers. Therefore, this phrase is both a hasty generalization and a fallacy of false dilemma.
Gandhi seems a master at presenting the fallacy of false dilemma as he does this again in his speech. " And is this power benevolent or malevolent?" Here, Gandhi refers to the power of God and basically questions whether this power, this supreme being, is good or bad. Can't this power be nor good or bad? Here two choices are presented when there are actually more.
Gandhi's speeches are recognized for their strength and clarity. However, once we detail his speeches we can find hidden fallacies that could weaken his argument or point.
Winston Churchill does not stay far behind Gandhi when it comes to the use of fallacies. In his speech "Our Duty in India" there are many hidden fallacies. "We are not entirely defenceless of without means of expression" This is clearly a tautology since being defenceless basically means you have no means of expression.
Aside from tautologies, Churchill also uses the fallacy of Slippery Slope: "To abandon India to the rule of the Brahmins would be an act of cruel and wicked negligence." The British could abandon India and cut trade as well as any power they have over them, which is considered a reasonable act. However, Churchill states that this would be an act of negligence and cruelty, which is considered an extreme version of this such abandonment.
Fallacy of false dilemma once again. This time, with George Orwell's: Shooting an Elephant, the elephant of course representing imperialism. The whole story if not only an analogy, but also a fallacy of false dilemma. This is because "Shooting an Elephant" implies that you can either support imperialism or go against it. Is it not possible to maintain a neutral position toward the subject?
Apart from this, the story also has fallacies within the huge plot fallacy. For instance, take this other example of fallacy of false dilemma: "All I knew was that I was stuck between my hatred of the empire I served and my rage against the evil-spirited beasts who tried to make my job impossible." In life, there are way more than two dilemmas so this clearly presents a lack of choices or situations.
By reading these essays I noticed that the fallacy that is the most evident to me is that of false dilemma because honestly, it allows you to question absolutely everything. Spotting a fallacy is honestly the easiest way to break your opponents argument. Honestly, if someone spots a fallacy in one of my arguments I'd probably have absolutely no response since a fallacy is extremely difficult to defend.
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