13 Fallacies (Examples) Flashcards
“A universal set of moral principles obviously does not exist. After all, no one has been able to come to any definite agreement on what it is”.
Ignorance
“Of course there is a Santa Clause. But he brings toys only to good girls and boys who did what their parents ask them to do”.
Appeal to Force
“Abortion is morally acceptable because it is a woman’s constitutional right”.
Appeal to Tradition
“Smoking isn’t that bad for your health. After all, my grandfather began smoking when he was thirteen and he’s ninety-three years old now and still in good health”.
Hasty Generalization
“Capital Punishment is morally acceptable because murderers should be put to death”.
Begging the Question
“Why all this concern about people who are starving in Africa? Look at all the poverty we have right here in our own country”.
Irrelevant Conclusion
“A recent poll found that the majority of Americans feel that openly homosexual men and women should not be allowed to serve in the military. Therefore, the “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy in the military was morally acceptable”.
Popular Appeal
“My parents used to get into arguments all the time and they ended up getting divorced. Logic teaches people how to make arguments. Therefore, if you want a happy marriage, you should stay away from logic”.
Equivocation
“Euthanasia is wrong because it interferes with thee natural dying process. We should wait until it is our time to die”.
Begging the Question
“So you’re going to argue in class alcohol should be banned on campus. Well, this is the last time we’re going to ask you to go out with us this weekend”.
Appeal to Force
“I’m opposed to affirmative action because I don’t agree with preferential treatment based on race or gender”.
Begging the Question
“Date rape is just a ploy for bitter women like Kim to get back at some guy who spurns them. Why just last week it was found out that Joe, the guy Kim accused of raping her, had broken off the relationship the day before she brought the rape charges against him”.
Hasty Generalization
“You can’t prove definitively that violence in the media has a direct effect on people’s actual behavior. Therefore, violence in the media cannot be morally justified”.
Ignorance
“My dentist doesn’t think that the loss of animal and plant species due to the destruction of rain forests is going to permanently upset the balance of nature. Therefore, it is morally acceptable to continue clearing rain forests for cattle grazing”.
Appeal to Authority
“I’m not surprised that you’re arguing that hate speech should not be banned on campus. You’re one of the most hateful, racist, and insensitive people I’ve ever met. Why, you couldn’t care less about the effect of hate speech on its intended victims”.
Ad Hominen
“How can you argue in favor of cloning? After all, you’re Catholic and the Church recently issued a statement calling for a ban of human cloning”.
Circumstantial
“Noisy children are a real headache. Two Aspirin will make a headache go away. Therefore, two Aspirin will make noisy children go away”.
Equivocation
“I don’t see how you’re an ethical person. It’s so hard to get you to do anything, your work ethic is bad”.
Equivocation
Student: “Hey, Professor Moore, we shouldn’t have to read this book by Freud. Everyone knows that he use cocaine”.
Ad Hominen
“I was assigned a trainer at the Rec, and he gave me a new workout program. But, I don’t have any confidence in his expertise, since he has obvious trouble controlling his own appetite”.
Ad Hominen
“Of course smoking causes cancer. The smoke from cigarettes is a carcinogen”.
Begging the Question
“This whole abortion debate about when human life begins is ridiculous. We should be thinking about the rights of the baby”.
Begging the Question
“Dr. Smith, a renowned physicist, says that ghost exists. Therefore, ghost must be real”.
Appeal to Authority
“The experts say that medicine X is effective and necessary, so you should trust its effectiveness and necessity without question”.
Appeal to Authority
“I met one rude person from that country, so all people from that country must be rude”.
Hasty Generalization
“I tried one brand of this product, and it didn’t work for me. Therefore, all brands of this product must be effective”.
Hasty Generalization
“There’s no evidence that Medicine X is harmful, so Medicine X is safe”.
Ignorance
“No one has disproven the existence of aliens, so aliens must exist”.
Ignorance
“Agree that I am right or else I will beat you up”.
Appeal to Force
“If you don’t vote for me, our neighborhood will become unsafe”.
Appeal to Force
“A child might reject their parents argument that tobacco consumption is unhealthy on the grounds that they are tobacco smokers”.
Circumstantial
“Paula argues that more girls should serve on the student council. Nate says that she only believes that because she is a girl”.
Circumstantial
“The majority of our countrymen think we should have military operations overseas; therefore, it’s the right thing to do”.
Popular Appeal
“Many people but extended warranties, so we should but one for our new computer”.
Popular Appeal
“Birds can fly. Therefore, emus must be able to fly too”.
Accident
“I believe one should never deliberately hurt another person, that’s why I can never be a surgeon”.
Accident
“The professor is attractive, therefore, the class must be excellent”.
Irrelevant Conclusion
“Grizzly bears can’t be dangerous to humans, because they look so cute”.
Irrelevant Conclusion
“Vaccines are unnatural, therefore, they are bad for you”.
Naturalistic
“Herbal supplements are derived from plants, so they’re safer than prescription drugs”.
Naturalistic
“Drinking boiling water is healthy because Chinese people have done it for thousands of years”.
Appeal to Tradition
“Everyone in our family has attended the University of California System, so you must do the same”.
Appeal to Tradition
