ENGLISH FOR ACADEMIC AND

PROFESSIONAL PURPOSES

FALLACIES IN
REASONING
At the end of the lesson, you are
expected to:

• identify the different fallacies in reasoning;

• present examples of fallacies in reasoning;
and
• discern logical fallacies in arguments found
in academic texts.
WHAT IS A LOGICAL FALLACY?
A fallacy is a flaw within the logic or
reasoning of an argument. It makes an
argument false or unreliable.

The following are the most common

fallacies in reasoning:
1. Bandwagon
This is a reasoning based on
popularity rather than on scientific
evidence or facts. This one gives a
feeling of “you are the only one not
doing (or using) it, so why not join
now?”
Example:
• Everyone on campus is wearing Air Jordans.
I need to buy those sneakers.

• All my friends are doing a low carb diet. That

must be the only way to lose weight.
2. Hasty Generalization, Sweeping
Generalization, Dicto Simpliciter
This is reaching a conclusion without enough
pieces of evidence or further studies. You should not
use an isolated experience to make a general
statement or judgment on something or someone.
For example, if you see a Chinese being
disrespectful to an elder person, you should not say,
“Chinese people are disrespectful to the elderly.”
Example:
• Sally couldn’t find any cute clothes at the
boutique and neither could Maura, so the
boutique doesn’t have any cute clothes.

• All Fords are bad. I once owned a Ford and it

was junk.
3. Red Herring
This is an argument that distracts the
opponent away from the real issue and
leads them to an irrelevant issue.
Example:
• How is talking about vaccinations going to
help us find a cure for cancer?

• There are starving children in Africa. Eat

your carrots.
4. Attack on a person, Ad Hominem

This reasoning attacks the person

instead of the issue.
Example:
• That face cream can't be good. Kim
Kardashian is selling it.

• He is always late for his meetings. How do

you expect him to advance the progress of
this country if he is always running late?
5. Either-or reasoning, False Dichotomy
This presents only two alternatives and acts
as if there are no other choices. For example, “Eat
an apple a day or you will get sick.” It’s not
apples only that will keep you from getting sick.
There are many nutritious fruits that are as
healthy as apples. And it’s not only fruits that
keep you healthy. You should have a balanced
nutrition to stay healthy.
Example:
• The teacher gives too many A’s and therefore
must be fired because grade inflation is unfair
to other students.
• Katie is one of 16,400 students on her
college campus. The only boys worth dating
are Dave and Steve.
6. Appeal to Authority, Ad Verecundiam

This fallacy occurs when someone

accepts a truth on blind faith just
because someone they admire said it.
Example:
• Katherine loves Tom Cruise. One day, she meets
Tom Cruise and he tells her unicorns live in New
York City. Without searching to find out if fairy
tales have sprung to life in the midtown
Manhattan, she believes it to be true
• Princess Kate wears Alexander McQueen. Are
you trying to say you have better fashion sense
than a royal princess?
7. Appeal to Ignorance

This fallacy occurs when someone

asserts a claim that must be accepted
because no one else can prove
otherwise.
Example:
• People have been praying to God for years. No one
can prove He doesn't exist. Therefore, He exists.

• Since the students have no questions concerning

the topics discussed in class, the students are
ready for a test.
8. Appeal to Pity, Appeal to Emotion, Ad
Misericordiam
This fallacy occurs when someone
seeks to gain acceptance by pointing
out an unfortunate consequence that
befalls them.
Example:
• I know we don't love each other. But, if we don't
get married it will crush my mother. You know she
has a weak heart. Do you really want to do that to
her?

• If we don't adopt that puppy today, they might

put him down. Do you want to be responsible for
that?
9. Begging the Question, Circular Reasoning

This type of fallacy occurs when the

conclusion of an argument is assumed in
the phrasing of the question itself.
Example:

• If aliens didn’t steal my newspaper, who did?

• I have a right to free speech so I can say

what I want and you shouldn’t try to stop
me.
10. Slippery Slope

This fallacy occurs when someone

assumes a very small action will lead to
extreme outcomes.
Example:

• If we allow our 14 year-old to have her first

date tonight, what’s next? A wedding, kids?
• If we teach Tommy how to drive the car, he'll
want to learn how to fly helicopters next!
11. Post Hoc, Ergo Propter Hoc, False Cause

(after this, therefore because of this)

This fallacy occurs when it is
assumed that, because one thing
happened after another, it must have
occurred as a result of it.
Example:

• Right when I sneezed, the power went off. I

must've caused the outage.
• Mary wore her favorite necklace today and
aced her spelling test. That necklace must be
lucky.
12. Appeal to Tradition, Ad Antiquitatem

A fallacy that results when a

speaker argues that something should
continue because “it’s the way things
have been done before.”
Example:
• Marriage has traditionally been between a
man and a woman, therefore gay marriage
should not be allowed.
• For five generations, the men in our family
went to Stanford and became doctors, while
the women got married and raised children.
Therefore, it is my duty to become a doctor.
13. Ad Populum
This fallacy attempts to prove an
argument as correct simply because
many people believe it to be so.
Example:
• 80% of people are for the death penalty,
therefore, the death penalty is moral.

• How could you not believe in virgin births?

Roughly two billion people believe in them,
don’t you think you should reconsider your
position?
14. False Analogy, Weak Analogy
This fallacy assumes that because
two things are alike in one or more
respects, they are necessarily alike
in some other respect.
Example:
• Not believing in the literal resurrection of Jesus
because the Bible has errors and contradictions, is
like denying that the Titanic sank because eye-
witnesses did not agree if the ship broke in half
before or after it sank.
• If you’re not afraid of haunted houses, you
shouldn’t be afraid of dark alleys. Both are
creepy and dimly lit and have the potential for
someone to jump out at you.
15. Non Sequitur
This fallacy happens when the
conclusion does not follow the former
premises. It can be when what is
presented as evidence or reason is
irrelevant or adds very little support to
the conclusion.
Example:
• People generally like to walk on the beach.
Beaches have sand. Therefore, having sand floors
in homes would be a great idea!
• Buddy Burger has the greatest food in town.
Buddy Burger was voted #1 by the local paper.
Therefore, Phil, the owner of Buddy Burger
should run for president of the United States.
16. Conflicting Conditions,
Contradictory Premises
When the argument is self-contradictory
and cannot possibly be true.
Example:

• The only thing that is certain is uncertainty.

• I don’t care what you believe, as long as

your beliefs don’t harm others.
17. Hypothesis Contrary to Fact,
Speculative Fallacy
This fallacy offers a poorly supported
claim about what might have happened in
the past or future if (hypothetical part)
circumstances or conditions were different.
Example:

• If you took that course in CD player repair

right out of high school, you would be doing
well and gainfully employed right now.

• John, if you would have taken a shower

more often, you would still be dating Tina.
18. Loaded Question, Trick Question,
False Question
A question that has a presupposition built in
which implies something. It is a form of
misleading discourse and it is a fallacy
when the audience does not detect the
assumed information implicit in the question.
Example:
• How many times per day do you beat your
wife?
• How many school shootings should we
tolerate before we change the gun laws?
• What church do you and your family attend?
19. Appeal to Force, Ad Baculum

This fallacy happens when force,

coercion, or even a threat of force is used
in place of a reason in an attempt to
justify a conclusion.
Example:
Jordan: Dad, why do I have to spend my summer at
Jesus camp?
Dad: Because if you don’t, you will spend your entire
summer in your room with nothing but your Bible!

Chairman of the Board: All those opposed to my

arguments for the opening of a new department,
signify by saying, ‘I resign.’
20. Fallacy of Equivocation, Doublespeak

This is using an ambiguous term in

more than one sense, thus making an
argument misleading.
Example:
• I want to have myself a merry little Christmas,
but I refuse to do as the song suggests and make
the yuletide gay. I don’t think sexual preferences
should have anything to do with enjoying the
holiday.
• The priest told me I should have faith. I have
faith that my son will do well in school this year.
Therefore, the priest should be happy with me.
21. Straw Man
This fallacy occurs when someone
argues that a person holds a view that is
actually not what the other person believes.
Instead, it is a distorted version of what the
person believes. So, instead of attacking the
person’s actual statement or belief, it is the
distorted version that is attacked.
Example:
Will: We should put more money into health and education.
Warren: I am surprised that you hate our country so much that
you want to leave it defenseless by cutting military spending.

Batman: Let’s go get pizza.

Superman: What? So you’re saying we should only ever eat
pizza? That we should just burn down all hamburger stores?
Batman: That’s a very inaccurate and unfair representation of
what I said.
LET’S TEST YOUR
UNDERSTANDING
Identify the type of
fallacy present in
the following
statements.
1.
The people who favor the tax-increase
bill will give you lots of reasons why they
think it should be passed. But, in fact it is a
lousy bill that should be defeated because it
Senator Whitney Berton supports it. You
know him, the guy who is widely suspected
of being guilty of tax evasion.
2.
Students from Jefferson High School
are all so friendly and helpful. I’m sure
of this because just last week I got lost
and a very helpful and friendly student
got me all straightened out.
3.
An advertisement says that
bright students drink this memory-
enhancing pill. So if you are not yet
taking this vitamin, then you are left
out.
4.
A news reporter said that college
students are not happy with the
current governor who cancels
classes at all levels. The reporter
was able to talk only to five
students in one particular school.
5.
A whitening facial wash says
that you should have clear,
white skin or else you won’t
find true love.
6.
A police officer pulls a car over for
speeding. The driver complains, saying
that they shouldn’t pay a fine since
there are so many dangerous criminals
out there and the police should be
chasing them instead.
7.
My favorite actor, who starred in
that movie about a virus that turns
people into zombies, said in an
interview that genetically modified
crops caused COVID-19. So I think that’s
what really happened.
8.
If Hitler had not invaded Russia and
opened up two military fronts, the
Nazis would surely have won the
war.
9.
An addiction to drugs or alcohol can
completely ruin someone’s life. If
you play too many video games
and get addicted, you’re going to
ruin your life too.
10.
Person 1: I think we should increase benefits for
unemployed single mothers during the first year after
childbirth because they need sufficient money to provide
medical care for their children.
Person 2: So you believe we should give incentives to
women to become single mothers and get a free ride from
the tax money of hard-working citizens. This is just going
to hurt our economy and our society in the long run.