Non Sequitur circa Mean Girls

When we started discussing logical fallacies this week, we found that the definition of a non sequitur fallacy can be identified as an illogical argument where the conclusion has no relation to the premises that were given. Fallacies such as this often appear in the context of an extreme exaggeration. With his in mind, an excellent example of a non sequitur fallacy can be found in the modern teen classic film; Mean Girls; when the Sex Ed teacher at this average American high school tries to convince the students to practice abstinence using an extremely blunt and simple exaggeration that is the perfect non sequitur.

Although participating in sexual intercourse may lead to the participating female becoming pregnant, it is an incredible fallacy to assume that if you have sex, you will ultimately die because of it, even if you do get pregnant. This ridiculous statement, although found in a fictional and comical context, is a simple example of a non sequitur.

Comments

[Vaishali C.]

I agree with this example because the P.E. teacher definitely over exaggerated the statement. He tried to scare the students from ever having sex in their young age, and therefore, led him to be "creative" in how he described abstinence. Everyone, especially teenagers, use non sequiturs in speaking all the time.

[Veronica T.]

I agree that it is a non sequitur, but I also think it's a slippery slope fallacy too. He's going from one thing: having sex, to the next: getting pregnant, and the final: dying.

[Emily L]

I love this scene! I agree with Veronica that it's both non sequitur and slippery slope. I think we've seen a lot of examples of how people get away with using fallacies because the audience doesn't notice and just believes what the speaker says, but this is a great example how using fallacies just makes you look stupid. Since this movie is basically making fun of everything about high school, I think that the character is supposed to be mocking the fact that in real life adults overstress the importance of abstinence to teens.

[Katie]

This really shows how common fallacies are in our lives. I'm sure most teenagers in America know the quote "If you have sex, you will get pregnant and die." Obviously the fallacies in our lives are not as blunt and ridiculous as this, but its interesting to realize that they really do happen just as often.