Fallacies

FALLACIES
Logical fallacies are flawed, deceptive, or false arguments that can be proven wrong with reasoning. There are
two main types of fallacies:
» A formal fallacy is an argument with a premise and conclusion that doesn't hold up to scrutiny.
» An informal fallacy is an error in the form, content, or context of the argument.
Logical fallacies are incorrectly reasoned facts. There are many logical fallacies, but the more popular ones are
as follows:
 Ad Hominem: The literal translation of this term is 'to the person.' This is when we attack people
instead of attacking the argument. Instead of saying that you are stupid for believing that if you
leave for work every day at the same time you will arrive on time, your lack of data should be
attacked.
 Stereotyping: We use stereotypes all of the time, sometimes without even knowing it. Stating that all
English Professors are boring is a stereotype.
 Faulty Sampling: Our argument concerning arriving on time for work uses a faulty sample. We have
only two data points that are not representative of the whole. (Both days were sunny, you didn't
have to shovel your car out of the snow.)
 False Dilemma: Oftentimes we oversimplify. A false dilemma implies that there are only two
options. For example, the statement 'You are either with us or against us' is a false dilemma. The
third option is indifference.
 Post Hoc/Ergo Propter Hoc: The Latin translation is 'It happened before this, therefore it happened
because of this.' Statements like, 'Every time I wash my car, it rains,' is committing the post hoc
fallacy.
 Ad Hominem
An ad hominem fallacy uses personal attacks rather than logic. This fallacy occurs when someone rejects or
criticizes another point of view based on the personal characteristics, ethnic background, physical appearance,
or other non-relevant traits of the person who holds it.
Example: "MacDougal roots for a British football team. Clearly he's unfit to be a police chief in Ireland."
 Strawman Argument
A straw man argument attacks a different subject rather than the topic being discussed — often a more
extreme version of the counter argument. The purpose of this misdirection is to make one's position look
stronger than it actually is.
Example: "The Senator thinks we can solve all our ecological problems by driving a Prius."
 Appeal to Ignorance
An appeal to ignorance (also known as an "argument from ignorance") argues that a proposition must be true
because it has not been proven false or there is no evidence against it.
The argument can be used to bolster multiple contradictory conclusions at once, such as the following two
claims:
- "No one has ever been able to prove that extraterrestrials exist, so they must not be real."
- "No one has ever been able to prove that extraterrestrials do not exist, so they must be real."
Ex: "We have no evidence that the Illuminati ever existed. They must have been so clever that they destroyed
all the evidence."
 False Dilemma
A false dilemma or false dichotomy presents limited options — typically by focusing on two extremes — when
in fact more possibilities exist. The phrase "America: Love it or leave it" is an example of a false dilemma.
Ex: "Either we go to war or we appear weak."
 Slippery Slope Fallacy

A slippery slope argument assumes that a certain course of action will necessarily lead to a chain of future
events. The slippery slope fallacy takes a benign premise or starting point and suggests that it will lead to
unlikely or ridiculous outcomes with no supporting evidence.
Ex: "If you miss practice, it means you were probably goofing off. People who goof off drop out of school and
end up penniless."
 Circular Argument
Circular arguments occur when a person's argument repeats what they already assumed before without
arriving at a new conclusion. For example, if someone says, "According to my brain, my brain is reliable," that's
a circular argument.
Ex: "Smoking pot is against the law because it's wrong; I know it's wrong because it is against the law."
 Hasty Generalization
A hasty generalization is a claim based on a few examples rather than substantial proof. Arguments based on
hasty generalizations often don't hold up due to a lack of supporting evidence: The claim might be true in one
case, but that doesn't mean it's always true.
Ex: "People nowadays only vote with their emotions instead of their brains."
 Red Herring Fallacy

A red herring is an argument that uses confusion or distraction to shift attention away from a topic and toward a
false conclusion. Red herrings usually contain an unimportant fact, idea, or event that has little relevance to the
real issue.
Ex: "My wife wants to talk about cleaning out the garage, so I asked her what she wants to do with the patio
furniture, because it's just sitting in the garage taking up space."
 Appeal to Hypocrisy
An appeal to hypocrisy — also known as the tu quoque fallacy — focuses on the hypocrisy of an opponent.
The tu quoque fallacy deflects criticism away from oneself by accusing the other person of the same problem
or something comparable.
The tu quoque fallacy is an attempt to divert blame. The fallacy usually occurs when the arguer uses apparent
hypocrisy to neutralize criticism and distract from the issue.
Ex: "But, Dad, I know you smoked when you were my age, so how can you tell me not to do it?"
 Causal Fallacy
Causal fallacies are informal fallacies that occur when an argument incorrectly concludes that a cause is
related to an effect. Think of the causal fallacy as a parent category for other fallacies about unproven causes.
Ex: "Jimmy isn't at school today. He must be on a family trip."
 Fallacy of Sunk Costs

A sunk cost fallacy is when someone continues doing something because of the effort they already put in it,
regardless of whether the additional costs outweigh the potential benefits. "Sunk cost" is an economic term for
any past expenses that can no longer be recovered.
Ex: "I know this relationship isn't working anymore and that we're both miserable. No marriage. No kids. No
steady job. But I've been with him for seven years, so I'd better stay with him."
 Appeal to Authority
Appeal to authority is the misuse of an authority's opinion to support an argument. While an authority's opinion
can represent evidence and data, it becomes a fallacy if their expertise or authority is overstated, illegitimate,
or irrelevant to the topic.
Ex: "One day robots will enslave us all. It's true. My computer science teacher says so."
 Equivocation
Equivocation happens when a word, phrase, or sentence is used deliberately to confuse, deceive, or mislead.
In other words, saying one thing but meaning another.
Ex: "I don't understand why you're saying I broke a promise. I said I'd never speak to my ex-girlfriend again.
And I didn't. I just sent her some pictures and text messages."
 Appeal to Pity
An appeal to pity relies on provoking your emotions to win an argument rather than factual evidence. Appealing
to pity attempts to pull on an audience's heartstrings, distract them, and support their point of view.
Ex: "Professor, you have to give me an A on this paper. I know I only turned in a sentence and some clip art,
but you have to understand, my grandmother suddenly died while traveling in the Northern Yukon, and her
funeral was there so I had to travel, and my parents got divorced in the middle of the ceremony, and all the
stress caused me to become catatonic for two weeks. Have some pity — my grandmother's last wish was that
I'd get an A in this class."
 Bandwagon Fallacy
The bandwagon fallacy assumes something is true (or right or good) because others agree with it. In other
words, the fallacy argues that if everyone thinks a certain way, then you should, too.
Ex: "Almost everyone at my school will be at the party Friday night. It must be the right thing to do."

Fallacies

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Fallacies

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FALLACIES

Ex: "Either we go to war or we appear weak."

 Slippery Slope Fallacy

 Red Herring Fallacy

Ex: "Jimmy isn't at school today. He must be on a family trip."

 Fallacy of Sunk Costs

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