fallible vs fallacious
Definitions
adjective
- likely to fail or make errors
- wanting in moral strength, courage, or will; having the attributes of man as opposed to e.g. divine beings
Examples
Sand is commonly met with at the depth of three or four fathoms, and beneath this a stratum of napal or steatite, which is considered as a sign that the metal is near; but the least fallible mark is a red stone, called batu kawi, lying in detached pieces.
Sharansky is not infallible, but he is probably the most sagacious voice in Israeli politics today.
The notorious fact-checkers of The New Yorker are irritating not only because they often prove how fallible are our memories, but because they seem to mechanize what ought to be a natural, unmediated, fast-moving process.
Definitions
adjective
- containing or based on a fallacy
- based on an incorrect or misleading notion or information
- intended to deceive
Examples
Manning turned slowly, a fallacious smile on his lips, his eyes hard.
He falls into a stupor, into utter oblivion of the world about him, becomes in turn excited and confused, his senses begin to functionate in a fallacious manner, and he thus succeeds in shutting out from consciousness, for the time being at least, the entire unbearable situation.
The problem with an infinite regress is that it is a fallacious attempt to make an unsound argument support itself.
