Sloppy logic

Many writers write without thinking. As a result, their writing is sloppy and their logic is sloppy. They make arguments that may appear to be logical but are not.

Example

For example, consider the book Emotional Vampires, by Albert J. Bernstein, Ph.D. An acquaintance of mine mentioned that the writing and logic were sloppy throughout. I bought a copy of the book and opened it at random. I was immediately rewarded with an example of sloppy logic:

“Histrionic personality has for centuries been considered primarily a disorder of women. This misperception arises from the fact that the Histrionic types most often seen in clinics are stereotypically feminine.

“There are plenty of Histrionic men as well. They tend to seek approval and acceptability more than attention. Their roles are masculine stereotypes – fifties dad, avid sports fan, joke-telling raconteur…” (Page 88)

Analysis

Dr. Bernstein says it is a “misperception” to think that histrionic personality is “primarily a disorder of women.” Now, because there are only two sexes and Dr. Bernstein denies that histrionic personality is primarily a disorder of women, he necessarily claims that it is primarily a disorder of men.

But for proof, he offers only, “There are plenty of Histrionic men as well.” The word “plenty” may or may not mean a majority; therefore it is insufficient proof of his point.*

The Takeaway: If you write non-fiction, you must be diligent in your use of logic. If you are sloppy, your readers are less likely to trust you.

See disclaimer.

*To be fair to Dr. Bernstein, let us admit the possibility that a politically correct, logic-deficient editor wrote and inserted this passage, in an effort to pander to politically correct, logic-deficient readers.