Basic

Question 1

uses personal attacks rather than logic,

-criticizes another point of view based on non-relevant traits of the person who holds it

Answer 1

ad hominem fallacy

Question 2

“MacDougal roots for a British football team. Clearly he’s unfit to be a police chief in Ireland.”

Answer 2

ad hominem fallacy

Question 3

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

Answer 3

Straw Man

Question 4

Wife: I’d rather have a dog than a cat.

Husband: Why do you hate cats?

Answer 4

Straw Man

Question 5

argues that a proposition must be true because it has not been proven false or there is no evidence against it
shifts the need for proof away from the person making a claim.

Answer 5

appeal to ignorance

Question 6

“We have no evidence that the Illuminati ever existed. They must have been so clever that they destroyed all the evidence.”

Answer 6

Appeal to Ignorance

Question 7

presents limited options — typically by focusing on two extremes — when in fact more possibilities exist

Answer 7

False Dilemma/False Dichotomy

Question 8

“America: Love it or leave it”

Answer 8

False Dilemma/False Dichotomy

Question 9

“Either we go to war or we appear weak.”

Answer 9

False Dilemma/False Dichotomy

Question 10

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.

Answer 10

Slippery Slope

Question 11

“If you miss practice, it means you were probably goofing off. People who goof off drop out of school and end up penniless.”

Answer 11

Slippery Slope

Question 12

when a person’s argument repeats what they already assumed before without arriving at a new conclusion
only appears to be an argument when in fact it’s just restating one’s assumptions

Answer 12

Circular Argument

Question 13

“Smoking pot is against the law because it’s wrong; I know it’s wrong because it is against the law.”

Answer 13

Circular Argument

Question 14

Eighteen-year-olds have the right to vote because it’s legal for them to vote.

Answer 14

Circular Argument

Question 15

Claim based on a few examples rather than substantial proof

might be true in one case, but that doesn’t mean it’s always true.

Question 16

When I was young, my dad and brothers never helped with the household chores. All men are useless in the house.

Answer 16

Hasty Generalization