COM 21 Fallacies Flashcards
Post Hoc Ergo Prompter Hoc Fallacy
A logical fallacy that states “Since event Y followed event X, event Y must have been caused by event X.”
Slippery Slope Argument (SSA)
In logic, critical thinking, political rhetoric, and caselaw, it 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.
Appeal to tradition (also known as argumentum ad antiquitatem, appeal to antiquity, or appeal to common practice)
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.”
The appeal to novelty (also called argumentum ad novitatem)
A fallacy in which one prematurely claims that an idea or proposal is correct or superior, exclusively because it is new and modern. In a controversy between status quo and new inventions, an appeal to novelty argument isn’t in itself a valid argument. The fallacy may take two forms: overestimating the new and modern, prematurely and without investigation assuming it to be best-case, or underestimating status quo, prematurely and without investigation assuming it to be worst-case.
The genetic fallacy (also known as the fallacy of origins or 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.
An appeal to pity (also called argumentum ad misericordiam, the sob story, or 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.
In argumentation theory, an argumentum ad populum (Latin for “appeal to the people”)
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
As 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.
