Presentation over content

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PIRIE, MADSEN (2006)(2015) How To Win Every Argument, Bloomsbury, London.

Presentation over content

When a claim, or premises, conclusion (s) making arguments, presented do not establish true content or logical validity. Instead an attempt is made to influence. (170).

Influencing the reader or listener may be more effective than a 'mundane' argument. (170). The fallacy resides in that presentation is not in the packaging but in the content. (170).

In my online psychological studies, I have read and heard those that opine that the best looking political candidate usually wins an election. The looks of this person is often more important than his/her platform. When this occurs this would be presentation over content. People are influenced to vote for the perceived best looking candidate.

Pirie:

'This book is about logic, not marketing'. (171). Pirie places this fallacy within The Informal fallacies of relevance (Intrusion). (230).

Fallacy files

Cited

'Exposure: The distinction between a Formal and an Informal Fallacy is that a formal fallacy is based solely on logical form, and an informal fallacy takes into account the non-logical content of the argument. This roughly parallels the distinction between deductive and non-deductive modes of reasoning. Typically, formal fallacies are committed by deductive arguments, whereas informal fallacies occur in arguments that could be at best inductively strong. However, there are exceptions to this pattern, for instance Begging the Question.

Source: Robert Audi (General Editor), The Cambridge Dictionary of Philosophy, 1995.'

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