The Slothful Induction Fallacy

Have you ever tried to help your dad use his phone? Let me tell you, it is not an easy task.  Despite you showing him all the gadgets and amazing features he still hates his phone. This is an example of the Slothful Induction Fallacy, no matter what evidence you show your dad he will never come to the conclusion that a phone will be in anyway useful. A fallacy like this can happen in many different forms. For example, ignoring the facts may be involved with some kind of  personal interest, or it might be due to pure stupidity.

In order to understand the Slothful Induction Fallacy, you must first understand what a fallacy is. A fallacy is considered a wrongful belief made up of untrue arguments. The Slothful Induction Fallacy is when someone completely ignores all evidence. There are many reasons why somebody might do that. The first is the fact that it may better them in some way. One of the most common examples of this is cigarette companies denying the fact that cigarettes cause lung cancer. By disregarding the facts the companies can continue to sell their product without any moral constraints. The next example, and probably the most humorous, is when utter stupidity is involved. For an example like this I called upon one of my favorite movies, Dumb and Dumber. In the scene Harry is trying to get a cute girl's number while they are filling up with gas. Many facts are ignored that lead to Harry’s downfall. The first is that when he was filling up the Shaggin’ Waggon he soaked his jeans in gasoline. Harry is pretty dumb, but i’m sure he understands that gasoline is extremely flammable. When he attempts to light up the girl’s cigarette for her he forgets the important fact that he is drenched in gasoline. Consequently, his pants start on fire, and he loses the girl.

Slothful Induction, like a fallacies, can fail. The idea that when someone doesn’t agree with all the evidence, and they turn out being correct is an example of a flaw. Like when your dad disregards all technological advancements saying they are useless, he may be right. A phone might not be the best for him. All in all The Slothful Induction Fallacy occurs all the time, in the business world, and on road trips to return a briefcase to a stranger.

P.S. If you haven’t seen Dumb and Dumber I highly suggest you watch it.