COM 21 Exam Flashcards
Post Hoc (Ergo Propter Hoc) Fallacy
A logical fallacy that states “Since event Y followed event X, event Y must have been caused by event X.”
Slippery Slope
In logic, critical thinking, political rhetoric, and caselaw, is a consequentialist logical device in which a party asserts that a relatively small first step leads to a chain of related events culminating in some significant (usually negative) effect, much like an object given a small push over the edge of a slope sliding all the way to the bottom.
Ad Antiquitatem (Appeal to Tradition)
A common fallacy in which a thesis is deemed correct on the basis that it is correlated with some past or present tradition. The appeal takes the form of “this is right because we’ve always done it this way.”
Ad Novitatem (Appeal to Novelty)
A fallacy in which one prematurely claims that an idea or proposal is correct or superior, exclusively because it is new and modern.
Genetic Fallacy (or Fallacy of Origins/ Fallacy of Virtue)
A fallacy of irrelevance where a conclusion is suggested based solely on someone’s or something’s history, origin, or source rather than its current meaning or context. This overlooks any difference to be found in the present situation, typically transferring the positive or negative esteem from the earlier context.
Ad Misericordiam ( or The Sob Story/ the Galileo Argument)
A fallacy in which someone tries to win support for an argument or idea by exploiting his or her opponent’s feelings of pity or guilt. It is a specific kind of appeal to emotion. The name “Galileo argument” refers to the scientist’s suffering as a result of his house arrest by the Inquisition.
Ad Populum
In argumentation theory, it is a fallacious argument that concludes that a proposition is true because many or most people believe it: “If many believe so, it is so.”
Red Herring
An informal fallacy, the red herring falls into a broad class of relevance fallacies. Unlike the straw man, which is premised on a distortion of the other party’s position,[2] the red herring is a seemingly plausible, though ultimately irrelevant, diversionary tactic.
