Critical Thinking To Go: Dodging The Pepperoni Pizza Fallacy

Home
>
Philosophy
>
Critical Thinking To Go: Dodging The Pepperoni Pizza Fallacy

Critical Thinking To Go: Dodging The Pepperoni Pizza Fallacy

Today we commonly hear in the news journalistic items about religion and politics, or faith and something else, where the suggested "duo du jour" usually sit in opposition to one another. One could do this, of course, just as easily with other areas of human thought, as with sociology vs. history, or economics vs. psychology. But most people do not seem nearly as interested in this exercise as they seem anxious to set "religion" over against whatever other area they might find interesting.

But this represents quite an odd way to view things (at the very best), and one might rightly call it propaganda (at the worst) in many instances. You see, life does not come at us in slices, as though it were one very large pepperoni pizza to go. When humans experience an event, we do not encounter it in a parade of neatly snipped segments, as though the civil war first showed us its psychological effects, then came its economic aspects, only after which we then got a look at its technological innovations.

Just as with the runningback who grasps a fumbled football in the midst of many linesmen, life happens to us "all at once." Only after taking in an historically important event, and reflecting on it a bit, can we slice it up to study some of parts or aspects in isolation from the others -- as pundits might do, say, in an economics textbook. This, of course, makes students especially prone to confuse the way things happen on paper with how they occur on a battlefield, or in the midst of a revolution.

Now this fallacy -- the error of confusing real life with its written counterpart, does not show up in informal logic texts. But it should, since it clearly misleads many these days.

So, what to call it? I at first tried the "fallacy of compartmentalized reality." But the students in my head just blurted out, "WhatEVER." Then I mused, "fallacy of reflective segmenting." But I didn't understand that one myself. Finally, I landed on the more user-friendly label, the "Pepperoni Pizza" fallacy. Surely students could grab and digest this supreme combination of words (or was that "combination supreme"?).

By way of illustration, I recently engaged a lively proponent of Mr. Darwin's views. In the course of our discussion, he suggested that evolutionary notions merely comprised "biological theories," and that I had mistakenly inquired about the ethics of it all. Here, the pepperoni began to fly.

He didn't seem to realize (as Mr. Darwin clearly did) that theories we might properly call "biological," (or scientific) can -- and often do -- have obvious ethical implications. Ideas have logical effects not restricted to one academic field. You cannot win a debate by simply putting an arbitrary fence around an idea and yelling at its offspring, "Now stay!" Like illegal aliens, they tend to jump the borders when you aren't looking.

This means that Darwinism, neo-Darwinism and "Punctuationism," like all other ideas, have logical consequences (implications) that affect every area of human thought and life. This is why you can find evolutionary ideas discussed in psychology textbooks, history books, and even pop magazines.

In any case, evading or ignoring certain aspects of an idea's logical consequences to gain the upper hand in a debate -- or else to keep one's ship from sinking altogether -- now has a name. Armed with this knowlegde, you can clearly and distinctly show others when the need arises, that life tranpires only as a set of integrated circumstances, and that ideas have logical effects not properly limited to any one academic field.

Reality and logic do not come made-to-order with extra cheese, so you don't get a discount on them with a coupon. To make a good case, then, we must follow the rules of valid and sound reasoning.

Carson Day has written approximately 1.3 gazillion articles and essays, many with very insightful, if alternative, viewpoints. He presently writes for Ophir Gold Corporation, and specialized in the history of ideas in college. He has been quoted in the past as saying "What box?" and remains at large despite the best efforts of the civil authorities.

You can visit the Ophir Gold Corporation blogsites at http://scriberight.blogspot.com (Writing With Power), http://ophirgoldcorp.blogspot.com (OGC's Free Web Traffic), or http://ophirgold.blogspot.com (Church and State 101)

In The News:

Yahoo! News: Top Stories

Obama announces Clinton, Gates for Cabinet (AP)

AP - President-elect Barack Obama picked a national security team headed by former campaign rival Hillary Rodham Clinton and Bush administration holdover Robert Gates on Monday, and said he wants to consult with military commanders before settling on a firm timetable to withdraw U.S. combat troops from Iraq.

Obama still looks for Iraq pullout in 16 months (AP)

AP - Barack Obama says the U.S.-Iraq security agreement approved by Iraq's parliament puts the U.S. on a "glide path" toward reducing forces there.

Pelosi hopes for stimulus bill by Inauguration Day (AP)

AP - House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is promising Congress will try to have a huge economic recovery bill ready for President-elect Barack Obama as soon as he takes office.

Holiday shopping season off to a modest start (AP)

AP - The Thanksgiving shopping weekend may not have been the disaster some had feared, but unprecedented discounts and tempered buying likely resulted in overall soft sales as a buying binge on Friday quickly fizzled. Now, online retailers are ramping up deals to turn skittish shoppers into "Cyber Monday" spenders.

India clears bodies from last Mumbai siege site (AP)

AP - Soldiers removed the last bodies from the shattered Taj Mahal hotel Monday as India formally demanded Pakistan take "strong action" against those behind the 60-hour siege that left at least 172 people dead.

Palin campaigns in Ga.'s US Senate runoff (AP)

AP - Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin implored Georgia Republicans to back Sen. Saxby Chambliss in his hotly contested Senate runoff, telling a cheering crowd Monday that the first step in rebuilding the GOP begins with the Southern state.

Manufacturing index drops to 26-year low (AP)

AP - A measure of U.S. manufacturing activity fell to a 26-year low in November as new orders dropped for the twelfth consecutive month, a trade group said Monday.

Sending spam in Israel could mean a big fine (AP)

AP - Israel has gotten fed up with spam. Anyone who sends out messages without receiving the recipient's consent can now be slapped with a big fine.

'Four Christmases' finds $31.7M in holiday cheer (AP)

AP - Thanksgiving weekend movie crowds gobbled up the Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn holiday comedy "Four Christmases," which debuted at No. 1 with $31.7 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

Giants WR Burress turns himself in to police (AP)

AP - Plaxico Burress arrived at a police station early Monday, where he was expected to be charged after accidentally shooting himself in the right thigh at a Manhattan nightclub.

Obama names Clinton, Gates to foreign-policy team (Reuters)

Reuters - President-elect Barack Obama named former rival Hillary Clinton as secretary of state on Monday and said Robert Gates would remain defense secretary as part of a national security team charged with recasting America's leadership of world affairs.

India demands swift Pakistan action over Mumbai (Reuters)

Reuters - India said on Monday it had called Pakistan's envoy and informed him that deadly attacks in Mumbai were carried out by militants from Pakistan and demanded swift action against those responsible.

Thai protesters consolidate hold on airport (Reuters)

Reuters - Thai protesters prepared to end their three-month occupation of the Prime Minister's office on Monday to consolidate their grip on the main airport ahead of a court verdict that could dissolve the elected government.

Europe mulls spending hikes as world factories slow (Reuters)

Reuters - European leaders clashed on Monday over how much public money to spend on battling recession as data showed factories were slashing output in the United States, Europe and China.

Pelosi seeks fast action on stimulus bill (Reuters)

Reuters - House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi met leading governors on Monday to discuss the size and shape of an economic stimulus package she hopes Barack Obama can sign when he becomes president on January 20.

Alabama mayor arrested on illegal payments charges (Reuters)

Reuters - Federal authorities arrested the mayor of Birmingham, Alabama, on Monday as part of a corruption probe surrounding the city's sewer bonds.

Retail stocks fall on holiday shopping worries (Reuters)

Reuters - Key retail stocks fell on Monday as investors feared that deep discounts offered by U.S. stores during the year's first holiday shopping weekend could sap profits and would not save a bleak season.

Eight killed in suicide blast in Pakistan (Reuters)

Reuters - A suicide car-bomber killed eight people on Monday in an attack aimed at a military checkpost in northwest Pakistan's Swat Valley, military officials said.

Obama formally names Clinton secretary of state (AFP)

AFP - Barack Obama on Monday nominated his erstwhile political foe Hillary Clinton as his secretary of state, as he rolled out a muscular national security team rich in global political star power.

Mumbai attacks: India demands Pakistan take 'strong action' (AFP)

AFP - India on Monday formally accused "elements" in Pakistan of being behind the devastating Islamic militant attacks in Mumbai and demanded that Islamabad take "strong action".

Critical Thinking To Go: Dodging The Pepperoni Pizza Fallacy

Philosophy Philosophy