FALLACIES

Submitted by:
Apalla, Arvin J.
Lizada, Ryan Danyl R.
Torneros, Paul Adriane T.
WHAT IS FALLACY?
 A fallacy is the use of invalid or otherwise faulty reasoning,
or "wrong moves" in the construction of an argument. A
fallacious argument may be deceptive by appearing to be
better than it really is.
15 LOGICAL FALLACIES
1. Ad Hominem Fallacy
When people think of “arguments,” often their first thought is of
shouting matches riddled with personal attacks. Ironically, personal
attacks run contrary to rational arguments. In logic and rhetoric, a
personal attack is called an ad hominem. Ad hominem is Latin for
“against the man.” Instead of advancing good sound reasoning, an ad
hominem replaces logical argumentation with attack-language
unrelated to the truth of the matter.
EXAMPLE OF AD HOMINEM FALLACY
 Example 1: “MacDougal roots for a British football team.
Clearly he’s unfit to be a police chief in Ireland.”
2. STRAWMAN ARGUMENT

 The strawman argument is a cheap and easy way to make

one’s position look stronger than it is. Using this fallacy,
opposing views are characterized as “non-starters,” lifeless,
truthless, and wholly unreliable. By comparison, one’s own
position will look better for it. You can imagine how
strawman arguments and ad hominem fallacies can occur
together, demonizing opponents and discrediting their views.
EXAMPLE OF STRAWMAN ARGUMENT
 Example 1:  “Teens should be taught about contraception
methods so they can practice safe sex should they choose to
have intercourse.”
3. APPEAL TO IGNORANCE (ARGUMENTUM AD IGNORANTIAM)

 An appeal to ignorance isn’t proof of anything except that

you don’t know something. If no one has proven the non-
existence of ghosts or flying saucers, that’s hardly proof that
those things either exist or don’t exist. If we don’t know
whether they exist, then we don’t know that they do exist or
that they don’t exist. Appeal to ignorance doesn’t prove any
claim to knowledge.
EXAMPLE OF APPEAL TO IGNORANCE
 Example 1: No one can actually prove that God exists;
therefore God does not exist.

 Example 2:  You can't prove that there aren't Martians living
in caves under the surface of Mars, so it is reasonable for me
to believe there are.
4. FALSE DILEMMA/FALSE DICHOTOMY

 The false dilemma fallacy is often a manipulative tool

designed to polarize the audience, heroicizing one side and
demonizing the other. It’s common in political discourse as a
way of strong-arming the public into supporting controversial
legislation or policies.
EXAMPLE OF FALSE DILEMMA/FALSE
DICHOTOMY
 Example 1: “Either Led Zeppelin is the greatest band of all
time, or they are not.”

 Example 2: “Either you love me, or you hate me.”

5. SLIPPERY SLOPE FALLACY

 This fallacy is not just a long series of causes. Some causal

chains are perfectly reasonable. There could be a
complicated series of causes that are all related, and we
have good reason for expecting the first cause to generate
the last outcome. The slippery slope fallacy, however,
suggests that unlikely or ridiculous outcomes are likely when
there is just not enough evidence to think so.
 The slippery slope fallacy suggests that unlikely or ridiculous
outcomes are likely when there’s just not enough evidence to
think so.
EXAMPLE OF SLIPPERY SLOPE FALLACY

 Example 1: “Your coach’s policy is that no one can be a

starter on game day if they miss practice. So, if you miss
basketball practice today, you won’t be a starter in Friday’s
game. Then you won’t be the first freshman to start on the
Varsity basketball team at our school.”
 Example 2: “But, you have to let me go to the party! If I
don’t go to the party, I’ll be a loser with no friends. Next
thing you know I’ll end up alone and jobless living in your
basement when I’m 30!”
6. CIRCULAR ARGUMENT (PETITIO PRINCIPII)

 Circular arguments are also called Petitio principii, meaning

“Assuming the initial [thing]” (commonly mistranslated as
“begging the question”). This fallacy is a kind of
presumptuous argument where it only appears to be an
argument. It’s really just restating one’s assumptions in a
way that looks like an argument. You can recognize a circular
argument when the conclusion also appears as one of the
premises in the argument.
EXAMPLE OF CIRCULAR ARGUMENT
(PETITIO PRINCIPII)
 Example 1: “Smoking pot is against the law because it’s
wrong; I know it’s wrong because it is against the law.”
 Example 2: “The Bible is true; it says so in the Bible”
7. HASTY GENERALIZATION

 A hasty generalization is a general statement without

sufficient evidence to support it. A hasty generalization is
made out of a rush to have a conclusion, leading the arguer
to commit some sort of illicit assumption, stereotyping,
unwarranted conclusion, overstatement, or exaggeration.
EXAMPLE OF HASTY GENERALIZATION

 Example 1: "Apple computers are the most expensive

computer brand.“

 Example 2: “People nowadays only vote with their emotions

instead of their brains.”
RED HERRING FALLACY (IGNORATIO ELENCHI)

 A red herring fallacy can be difficult to identify because it’s

not always clear how different topics relate. A “side” topic
may be used in a relevant way, or in an irrelevant way. In the
big meaty disagreements of our day, there are usually a lot
of layers involved, with different subtopics weaving into
them. We can guard against the red herring fallacy by
clarifying how our part of the conversation is relevant to the
core topic.
EXAMPLE OF RED HERRING FALLACY (IGNORATIO ELENCHI)

 Example 1: “My wife wants to talk about cleaning out the

garage, so I asked her what she wants to do with our patio
furniture. Now she’s shopping for new patio furniture and not
asking me about the garage.”
 Example 2:  Son: "Wow, Dad, it's really hard to make a living
on my salary."
 Father: "Consider yourself lucky, son.
9. TU QUOQUE FALLACY

 The tu quoque fallacy is an attempt to divert blame, but it

really only distracts from the initial problem. To be clear,
however, it isn’t a fallacy to simply point out hypocrisy
where it occurs. For example, Jack may say, “yes, I
committed adultery. Jill committed adultery. Lots of us did,
but I’m still responsible for my mistakes.” In this example,
Jack isn’t defending himself or excusing his behavior. He’s
admitting his part within a larger problem. The hypocrisy
claim becomes a tu quoque fallacy only when the arguer uses
some (apparent) hypocrisy to neutralize criticism and distract
from the issue.
EXAMPLE OF TU QUOQUE FALLACY

 Example 1: “But, Dad, I know you smoked when you were my

age, so how can you tell me not to do it?”
 Example 2: “Maybe I committed a little adultery, but so did
you Jason!” 
10. CAUSAL FALLACY

 The causal fallacy is any logical breakdown when identifying a

cause. You can think of the causal fallacy as a parent category
for several different fallacies about unproven causes.
 One causal fallacy is the false cause or non causa pro causa ("not
the-cause for a cause") fallacy, which is when you conclude
about a cause without enough evidence to do so. Consider, for
example, “Since your parents named you ‘Harvest,’ they must
be farmers.” It’s possible that the parents are farmers, but that
name alone is not enough evidence to draw that conclusion.
That name doesn’t tell us much of anything about the parents.
This claim commits the false cause fallacy.
EXAMPLE OF CAUSAL FALLACY

 Example 1: “Jimmy has a fever, sinus congestion, a cough,

and can’t come to school, so he probably has a test later
today.”
11. FALLACY OF SUNK COST
Sometimes we invest ourselves so thoroughly in a project that we’re reluctant to ever abandon it,
even when it turns out to be fruitless and futile. It’s natural and usually not a fallacy to want to
carry on with something we find important, not least because of all the resources we’ve put into it.
However, this kind of thinking becomes a fallacy when we start to think that we should continue
with a task or project because of all that we’ve put into it, without considering the future costs
we’re likely to incur by doing so. There may be a sense of accomplishment when finishing, and the
project might have other values, but it’s not enough to justify the cost invested in it.
We are susceptible to this errant behavior when we crave that sense of completion or a sense
of accomplishment
“Sunk cost” is an economic term for any past expenses that can no longer be recovered. For
example, after watching the first six episodes of Battlestar Galactica, you decide the show isn’t for
you. Those six episodes are your “sunk cost.” But, because you’ve already invested roughly six hours
of your life in it, you rationalize that you might as well finish it. All apologies to Edward James
Olmos, but this isn’t "good economics" so to speak. It’s more cost than benefit.
Psychologically, we are susceptible to this errant behavior when we crave that sense of completion
or a sense of accomplishment, or we are too comfortable or too familiar with this unwieldy project.
Sometimes, we become too emotionally committed to an “investment,” burning money, wasting
time, and mismanaging resources to do it.
EXAMPLE OF FALLACY OF SUNK COST

 Example 1: “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.”
12. APPEAL TO AUTHORITY (ARGUMENTUM
AD VERECUNDIAM)
 This fallacy happens when we misuse an authority. This misuse of
authority can occur in a number of ways. We can cite only
authorities — steering conveniently away from other testable and
concrete evidence as if expert opinion is always correct. Or we can
cite irrelevant authorities, poor authorities, or false authorities.
 Like many of the other fallacies in this list, the argumentum ad
verecundiam (“argument from respect”) can be hard to spot. It’s
tough to see, sometimes, because it is normally a good, responsible
move to cite relevant authorities supporting your claim. It can’t
hurt. But if all you have are authorities, and everyone just has to
“take their word for it” without any other evidence to show that
those authorities are correct, then you have a problem.
EXAMPLE OF APPEAL TO AUTHORITY
(ARGUMENTUM AD VERECUNDIAM)
   Example 1: “I’m the most handsome man in the world
because my mommy says so.”
   Example 2: “I buy Hanes™ underwear because Michael
Jordan says it’s the best.”
13. EQUIVOCATION (AMBIGUITY)
 Equivocation happens when a word, phrase, or sentence is used
deliberately to confuse, deceive, or mislead by sounding like it’s saying
one thing but actually saying something else. Equivocation comes from
the roots “equal” and “voice” and refers to two-voices; a single word
can “say” two different things. Another word for this is ambiguity.
 When it’s poetic or comical, we call it a “play on words.” But when it’s
done in a political speech, an ethics debate, or in an economics report,
for example, and it’s done to make the audience think you’re saying
something you’re not, that’s when it becomes a fallacy. Sometimes,
this is not a “fallacy” per se, but just a miscommunication. The
equivocation fallacy, however, has a tone of deception instead of just a
simple misunderstanding. Often this deception shows up in the form of
euphemisms, replacing unpleasant words with “nicer” terminology. 
EXAMPLE OF EQUIVOCATION (AMBIGUITY)
 Example 1: “I’m not a terrorist; I’m a freedom fighter.
 Example 2:: I’m not an illegal immigrant; I’m a refugee.”
14. APPEAL TO PITY (ARGUMENTUM AD
MISERICORDIAM)
 Argumentum ad misericordiam is Latin for “argument to
compassion.” Like the ad hominem fallacy above, it is a
fallacy of relevance. Personal attacks, and emotional
appeals, aren’t strictly relevant to whether something is true
or false. In this case, the fallacy appeals to the compassion
and emotional sensitivity of others when these factors are
not strictly relevant to the argument. Appeals to pity often
appear as emotional manipulation.
EXAMPLE OF APPEAL TO PITY
(ARGUMENTUM AD MISERICORDIAM)
 Example 1: “How can you eat that innocent little carrot? He
was plucked from his home in the ground at a young age and
violently skinned, chemically treated, and packaged, and
shipped to your local grocer, and now you are going to eat
him into oblivion when he did nothing to you. You really
should reconsider what you put into your body.”
15. BANDWAGON FALLACY

 The bandwagon fallacy assumes something is true (or right, or

good) because other people agree with it. A couple different
fallacies can be included under this label, since they are
often indistinguishable in practice. The ad populum fallacy
(Lat., “to the populous/popularity”) is when something is
accepted because it’s popular. The concensus gentium (Lat.,
“consensus of the people”) is when something is accepted
because the relevant authorities or people all agree on it. The
status appeal fallacy is when something is considered true,
right, or good because it has the reputation of lending status,
making you look “popular,” “important,” or “successful.”
EXAMPLE OF BANDWAGON FALLACY
 Example 1: “If you want to be like Mike (Jordan), you’d
better eat your Wheaties.”
 Example 2: “Drink Gatorade because that’s what all the
professional athletes do to stay hydrated.”
 Example 3: “McDonald’s has served over 99 billion, so you
should let them serve you too.”