The logical fallacies as encountered in the editorials of Surya Daily newspaper

Setiawan, Imelda Gani (2004) The logical fallacies as encountered in the editorials of Surya Daily newspaper. Undergraduate thesis, Widya Mandala Catholic University Surabaya.

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Abstract

Newspaper reading has become a part of human life since a newspaper serves the readers with the latest information. A newspaper has various column one of which is the newspaper editorial which is considered as the center of the newspaper, for its function is to mold public opinion. Ideally, an editorial represents the writer’s good reasoning. However, the editorial writers, being conscious or not, may make fallacious arguments in their efforts to influence the readers’ belief. To prove this statement, the writer analyzed 42 editorial of Surya Daily Newspaper applying Warnick and Inch Classification of Logical Fallacies. The result is that four major types of logical fallacies (Faulty Reasoning, Grounding Fallacy, Misdirection and Language Use Fallacy) and seven sub-types of logical fallacies were identified. These sub-types of logical fallacy are presented below starting from the biggest to the smallest in percentage. They are, Emotive Language, Slippery Slope, Non-Sequitur, False Cause, Hasty Generalization, False Analogy, and Straw Argument. As such, this study has answered the first research question which reads: “What types of logical fallacies are found in the editorial of Surya Daily Newspaper.” Besides, this study also found that the most frequent logical fallacy encountered is the use of Emotive Language (46.03%) which in turn, answers the second research question which reads: “which type of logical fallacy is mostly encountered in the editorials of Surya Daily Newspaper.” This shows that the writers of the editorials under study, eventhough they are professional writers, still make logical fallacies in making arguments, especially in using expressions which show their feelings more than their logical reasoning. In line with the findings of this study, the writer would like to give some suggestions to the editorial writers, the readers of newspaper in general and Surya Daily Newspaper readers in particular, the students taking Argumentative Writing and the teachers of Argumentative Writing. First, the editorial writers should be careful in choosing and using words which are neutral to the context. Second, the Newspaper readers in general and Surya Daily Newspaper readers in particular should be critical, in order to protect themselves from false claims, questionable judgments, and confusing or deceptive arguments. Third, the students taking Argumentative Writing are advised to read Logic or reasoning books, so that they are able to recognize fallacious arguments and to make logical arguments. Fourth, the teachers of Argumentative Writing should introduce kinds of logical fallacies to their students because by knowing various kinds of logical fallacies, the students will hopefully stay away from making fallacious arguments in their compositions. Finally, this study is far from being perfect. There are still several questions unsatisfactorily answered such as; “Why do the writers of the editorials under study mostly make the fallacy of Emotive Language? Why do they make the fallacies of False Analogy and Straw Argument the least?” Further research to answer problems of this kind are suggested.

Item Type:	Thesis (Undergraduate)
Department:	["eprint_fieldopt_department_Faculty of Teacher Training and Education" not defined]
Subjects:	English Education
Divisions:	Faculty of Teacher Training and Education > English Education Study Program
Depositing User:	Users 14 not found.
Date Deposited:	07 Oct 2015 03:42
Last Modified:	07 Oct 2015 03:42
URI:	http://repository.ukwms.ac.id/id/eprint/3454

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