I'm going to throw a monkey wrench into the fallacies assignment. I've asked you to consider whether the messages we hear from and about the candidates are logical or fallacious, and to give me examples of fallacious arguments, but might also want to think about how successful logical arguments are.
Are simple messages that appeal to emotion or fear or whatever, more effective than logical arguments. A lot of the money pumped into campaigns is spent on determining what messages work best. Polls and focus groups are used to ensure that messages hit their targets.
Is there something in our DNA that makes us more receptive to emotional arguments than logical ones?
Links to follow
