Abstract

Abstract:

Although not well-known for his contribution to the theory of reasoning, Charles Dickens, in his final work, provides an impassioned attack on certain practices used in public debate. The "platform fallacy" consists in proclaiming that if another does not agree with one's position, he necessarily has certain other beliefs that somehow invalidate his point. I provide a thorough analysis of the platform fallacy speech of Mr. Crisparkle, compare each example he offers with the fallacious practices currently recognized in informal logic research, and discuss how Dickens's grouping together of different instances may influence argumentation theory.

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