REVIEW
Logical Fallacies in the ICU
			
	
 
More details
Hide details
	
	
									
				1
				Intensive Care Unit, Giannitsa General Hospital, Giannitsa Greece
				 
			 
						
				2
				Intensive Care Unit, University Hospital of Alexandroupolis, Alexandroupoli, Greece
				 
			 
										
				
				
		
		 
			
			
		
		
		
		
		
		
	
							
																				    		
    			 
    			
    				    					Corresponding author
    					    				    				
    					Ioannis  Pnevmatikos   
    					Intensive Care Unit, University Hospital
of Alexandroupolis, Alexandroupoli, Greece
    				
 
    			
				 
    			 
    		 		
			
							 
		
	 
		
 
 
Pneumon 2018;31(3):167-173
 
 
KEYWORDS
ABSTRACT
Medical reasoning, the method of solving clinical problems, is the foundation of all the decisions physicians make, aiming to understand the illness and arrive at the appropriate therapeutic decisions. Interaction among different physicians and exchange of opinions may often lead to disagreement with respect to the diagnostic or treatment priorities. The quality of the arguments presented comes in focus, making it necessary to be aware of and familiar with the logical fallacies, i.e. flawed ways of reasoning. Some of the more commonly encountered types of fallacies are described, along with examples to help clarify their substance. Logical fallacies can have a toxic effect, leading to improper medical decisions. Safeguarding medical reasoning is of paramount importance; adopting a critical method, actively seeking to identify erroneous arguments by asking appropriate questions is presented. Awareness of the presence and the features of flawed reasoning is a profoundly important skill for all physicians, an integral part of our ability to process clinical information efficiently and correctly.
		
	
		
    
    CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
    
    	The authors have disclosed that they do not have any
potential conflicts of interest related to this work.
     
    
    FUNDING
    
    
    ETHICAL APPROVAL AND INFORMED CONSENT
    
    
    DATA AVAILABILITY
    
    
    AUTHORS' CONTRIBUTIONS
    
    	IC, DL participated in the writing of the manuscript.
VP, IP, drafted the final version of the manuscript.
All authors read and approved the final manuscript
     
REFERENCES (6)
			
	1.
	
		Patel VL, Arocha JF, Kaufman DR. Diagnostic reasoning and medical expertise, Psycho Learn Motiv; 1994; 31:187-252.
		
	 
	 
 			
	2.
	
		Browne, MN, Keeley SM. Asking the right questions, a guide to critical thinking. 11th Edition 2014, Pearson.
		
	 
	 
 			
	3.
	
		Bennett B. Logically fallacious: The ultimate collection of over 300 logical fallacies. Academic Edition 2012, eBookIt.com.
		
	 
	 
 			
	4.
	
		Ledley RS, Lusted LB. Reasoning foundation of medical diagnosis. Science 1959; 130:9-21.
		
	 
	 
 			
	5.
	
		Patel VL, Kaufman DR, Arocha JF. Emerging paradigms of cognition in medical decision-making. Journal of Biomedical Informatics 2002; 35:52-75.
		
	 
	 
 			
	6.
	
		Chi MTH, Feltovich PJ, Glaser R. Categorization and representation of physics problem by experts and novices. Cognitive Science 1981; 5:121-52.