COMMON RHETORICAL FALLACIES Flashcards
argument from authority
tempts us to agree with the writer’s assumption based on the authority of a famous person or entity or his or her own character
ad hominem argument
any kind of fallacious argument that criticizes an idea by pointing out something out about the person who holds the idea, rather than directly addressing the actual merit of the idea.
appeal to ignorance
based on the assumption that whatever has not been proven false must be true (or, similarly, what has not been proven true must be false)
begging the question
a fallacious form of argument in which someone assumes that part (or all) of what a person claims to be proving are proven facts
hasty generalization
when a writer will deliberately lead you to a conclusion by providing insufficient, selective evidence
non sequitur
a statement that does not relate logically to what comes before it
false dichotomy
consists of a consideration of only the two extremes when there are one or more immediate possibilities
slippery slope
arguments that suggest dire consequences from relatively minor causes
faulty causality
refers to the (sometimes unintentional) setting up of a cause-and-effect relationship when none exists. In faulty causality, one event can happen after another without the first necessarily being the direct cause of the second
straw man argument
consists of an oversimplification of an opponent’s argument to make it easier to attack
sentimental appeals
a tactic that attempts to appeal to the hearts of readers so that they forget to use their minds
red herring
attempts to shift attention away from an important issue by introducing an issue that has no logical connection to the discussion at hand
scare tactics
used to frighten readers or listeners into agreeing with the speaker; often, when scare tactics are used, the speaker has no logical argument on which to fall back
bandwagon appeals, also called “peer pressure”
encourages the listener to agree with a position because everyone else does
dogmatism
does not allow for discussion because the speaker presumes that his or her beliefs are beyond question; essentially, the “logic” runs thusly: I’m correct because I’m correct
