Nonsense

Red Herrings, Straw Men, & Sacred Cows

Author: Robert J Gula

ISBN: 978-1-60419-125-7

A comprehensive and engaging guide to verbal logical fallacies, uncovering the subtle ways we deceive ourselves and others in everyday thinking.

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Overview

Nonsense is the best compilation and study of verbal logical fallacies available anywhere. It is a handbook of the ways people deceive themselves and others, and offers a complete course in everyday logic, a form of thinking that most human beings value but often horrendously abuse.

This book is a remarkable tour de force of scholarship in a style that is relaxed, informal and accessible, and a pleasure to read. It is rare that a handbook, even one that is the best reference book in its field, can change someone’s life. But Nonsense can do this for anyone who imbibes not only Gula’s intellect, but his spirit as well.

Overcoming verbal:

emotion
mendacity
disorder
disorganization
lack of clarity
inconsistency
incompleteness

1. Everyday Nonsense
2. Emotional Language
3. Emotional Language: Propaganda
4. Emotional Language: Suggestion
5. Logical Fallacies
6. Irrelevance
  1. Irrelevant Authority
  2. Appeal to Numbers
  3. Confident Speculation
7. Diversion
  1. The Red Herring
  2. The Straw Man
8. Ambiguity and Incorrect Inference
9. Confusion and Incorrect Inference
  1. Inferences
10. Confusion of Cause and Effect
11. Oversimplification
12. Erroneous Comparison and Contrast
13. Evasion
14. More on Arguments
15. More on Semantics
16. More on the Syllogism
17. Final Note
18. Summary of Fallacies and Nonsense
19. Bibliography
20. Ancillary Sources
21. Index
ISBN-13: 978-1-60419-125-7
Publication date: 02/12/2007
Edition description: Reprint
Pages: 245
Product dimensions: 5.36 x 0.61 x 8.16 inches
Chapter 11: Oversimplification

Reviews

“The late Robert J. Gula was an expert not only on logical fallacies, but in describing them in clear, understandable language. In little more than 170 pages, Gula describes and illustrates more than 170 logical fallacies. In an era where everything has been reduced to spin and absolutely no one can be implicitly trusted to tell the truth, being able to recognize logical fallacies is imperative to being accurately informed.”

Jerry S. | Amazon Review

“I found this book interesting and informative. It effectively organized and summarized linguistic lapses of logic, and as a newspaper columnist, I was able to reference it in a column I wrote. I consider it a good general reference to have handy.”

Drew D. | Amazon Review

“This book is a fun, educational and easy to read guide on the different types of propaganda and logical fallacies. Highly recommend especially if you follow commentary by talking heads on the news and news reporters. It is also a good primer if you happen to encounter a political discussion or argument.”

Michael R. | Goodreads

Robert Gula

Robert Gula (1941–1989) was educated at Colby College and Harvard University and taught a course on logic among many other subjects at the Groton School in Massachusetts. He authored or co-authored sixteen books in addition to Nonsense, including such other titles as Precision: A Handbook of English, Intermediate Latin, and Mythology: Greek and Roman.