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This updated version includes thirty-eight lessons (two new ones) on how to recognize bad reasoning. Learn to spot errors in others’ logic, and your own. The focus is on practical logic, such as fallacies you might encounter in a newspaper. Learn to identify red herrings, circular reasoning, statistical fallacies, and propaganda. Each lesson presents several examples of poor reasoning often illustrated by cartoons and then provides a lengthy exercise set in which you identify the fallacies. This book features a Christian view of logic and was written by homeschoolers for homeschoolers. ~ Anh

Customer Review

 
Isabelle L. from Ottawa, ON wrote the following on 06/03/2010:
It is important in life to be equipped and to be able to detect bad reasoning. As homeschoolers it is also a priority to make sure that our own kids are able to think by themselves in a world where sometimes people assume and deduct things from what they see or know. I was first introduced to The Fallacy Detective while my kids were doing gymnastics last spring. I was talking to a woman whose teenagers had done the book and she lent it to me so I could check it out. I was totally in love with the book and put it on my want-it list for the future as my kids were not in the age of going through something like this. In the meantime, I became a fan of Trivium Pursuit on Facebook. I personally love the tidbits I receive on email as well. So when I became aware that a new edition of The Fallacy Detective was available for review I jumped on the opportunity. This book will help you to identify where someone is making a mistake in his thinking. I enjoyed reading this book and doing the exercises at the end of each chapter. It makes you realize how often you don’t take the time to stop and think before either saying things or just listening to other people. Not everything that comes out of the mouth of someone should be taken for granted. This jewel of a book will bring you 38 lessons on how to recognize bad reasoning. And like I mentioned before each chapter has its own set of exercises. As you advance in the book, the exercises will cover all the previous chapters. The book also includes The Fallacy Detective Game as well as the answer key of each chapter. Once you have gone through the book with your teenager, it will be easy to practice. Just listen to people who have strong opinions or politicians, for example. The important thing is that you will be able to find the fallacies you are exposed to and point them to others. I even think that the other products from Trivium Pursuit will find their way into our house someday. In the meantime, I look forward to training my oldest boy to be able to spot errors of thinking. I still have a few more years to prepare myself to go through this with him. But it will be worth it. Maybe I could go through it with my husband while I wait... We would be prepared for the next election if we do so. *grin*