Common fallacies Flashcards
Ad hominem
Attacking the person rather than what’s in the argument
Ad ignorantium
Arguing that a claim is true just because it has not shown to be false
Ad misericordion
Appeal to pity
Ad populum
“everyone is doing it so it must be right”
Affirming the consequent
If p then q
q
therefore, p
(if I’m hot, then my balls are sweaty
my balls are sweaty
therefore, I’m hot)
p is the antecedent, q is the consequent
Begging the question / circular argument
Using your conclusion as a premise
“clean up this mess”
“but why????”
“because it needs to be cleaned”
Complex question
Posing a question in such a way that people cannot agree nor disagree with you without committing themselves to another claim you make
“are you voting for that incompetent candidate???”
u get it ;)
Denying the antecedent
If p, then q
not p
therefore, not q
If I’m sexy as balls, then I’m cool
I’m not sexy as balls
Therefore I’m not cool
p is the antecedent, q is the consequent
Equivocation
Using an ambiguous key term and then changing the meaning of that key term in the middle of your argument
“I know Evolution is true because we see evolution happen all the time” (not the same thing)
Straw person
Refuting an argument that is different from the one that is being said by the opponent. A caricature of the opposing view - not the exact argument, but a variant of it
cats are great!! so you hate dogs??
Red herring
Distracting from the main premise
False cause
Any questionable conclusion about cause and effect
False dilemma
Reducing the options you consider to just two, often opposed to each other and unfair to the people against whom the dilemma is posed
“America: love it or leave it”
Emotive language (loaded language)
Language that is loaded with emotion, ultimately persuading them
“you’re the chosen ones, the others need to be rid of their impurities!!!!!”
“those parasites!!”
Non sequitur
The conclusion is not related to the evidence
Overgeneralising
Generalising from too few arguments
“my grandma is 92 and she smokes 3 packs a day, so smoking must be fine!!”
Persuasive definition
Defining a term in a way that may seem to be straightforward but in fact is loaded.
“abortion is murder!!”
Poisoning the well
Using loaded language to disparage (represent as worthless) an argument before even mentioning it
“don’t listen to him; he’s cheated on 3 different partners”
Post hoc
One event seems to be the cause of another because one event took place before another (form of false causality)
Attacking the person rather than what’s in the argument
Ad hominem
Arguing that a claim is true just because it has not shown to be false
Ad ignorantium
Appeal to pity
Ad misericordion
“everyone is doing it so it must be right”
Ad populum
If p then q
q
therefore, p
(if I’m hot, then my balls are sweaty
my balls are sweaty
therefore, I’m hot)
p is the antecedent, q is the consequent
Affirming the consequent
Using your conclusion as a premise
“clean up this mess”
“but why????”
“because it needs to be cleaned”
Begging the question / circular argument
Posing a question in such a way that people cannot agree nor disagree with you without committing themselves to another claim you make
“are you voting for that incompetent candidate???”
u get it ;)
Complex question
If p, then q
not p
therefore, not q
If I’m sexy as balls, then I’m cool
I’m not sexy as balls
Therefore I’m not cool
p is the antecedent, q is the consequent
Denying the antecedent
Using an ambiguous key term and then changing the meaning of that key term in the middle of your argument
“I know Evolution is true because we see evolution happen all the time” (not the same thing)
Equivocation
Refuting an argument that is different from the one that is being said by the opponent. A caricature of the opposing view - not the exact argument, but a variant of it
cats are great!! so you hate dogs??
Straw person
Distracting from the main premise
Red herring
Any questionable conclusion about cause and effect
False cause
Reducing the options you consider to just two, often opposed to each other and unfair to the people against whom the dilemma is posed
“America: love it or leave it”
False dilemma
Language that is loaded with emotion, ultimately persuading them
“you’re the chosen ones, the others need to be rid of their impurities!!!!!”
“those parasites!!”
Emotive language (loaded language)
The conclusion is not related to the evidence
Non sequitur
Generalising from too few arguments
“my grandma is 92 and she smokes 3 packs a day, so smoking must be fine!!”
Overgeneralising
Defining a term in a way that may seem to be straightforward but in fact is loaded.
“abortion is murder!!”
Persuasive definition
Using loaded language to disparage (represent as worthless) an argument before even mentioning it
“don’t listen to him; he’s cheated on 3 different partners”
Poisoning the well
One event seems to be the cause of another because one event took place before another (form of false causality)
Post hoc
