Fallacies as Cultural Representations

Abstract

In this paper I apply the epidemiological model of the spread of beliefs as cultural representations to the field of fallacies. This model argues that beliefs tend to replicate like a viral epidemic, and those strains that are dominant in a given socio-cultural sphere become cultural representations. The ultimate aim is to denounce the fact that some fallacious argumentation schemes have managed to colonise the human mind and become cultural representations in our society today.