Fallacies

Question 1

ad hominem

Answer 1

Assumes an opponent’s position is
wrong by focusing the argument
on how the opponent personally
came to believe that position

Question 2

tu quoque

Answer 2

Appeals to an irrelevant authority

as justification for a conclusion

Question 3

transfer

Answer 3

Equates positive characteristics of a

spokesman with their conclusion

Question 4

ipse dixit

Answer 4

Attempts to discredit an opponent’s
conclusion by irrelevantly appealing
to supposed hypocrisy
between argument and actions

Question 5

bulverism

Answer 5

Attacks an opponent’s character
when character is irrelevant
to the argument

Question 6

genetic

fallacy

Answer 6

Attempts to distract from
the truth or validity of an argument
by appealing to pity

Question 7

special

pleading

Answer 7

Attempts to show the truth
of a proposition by means of
the sheer number of people
who already have accepted it

Question 8

ad baculum

Answer 8

Inappropriately
attempts to persuade
by means of threats

Question 9

ad populum

Answer 9

Argues for an exception
to an accepted principle or standard
without offering a justification

Question 10

ad

misericordiam

Answer 10

Rejects or accepts an argument
solely because of the moral character
of another, previous arguer

Question 11

argument from
personal
incredulity

Answer 11

Misrepresents or hyperbolizes
an opponent’s position
to make it much easier to defeat

Question 12

chronological

snobbery

Answer 12

Any fallacy of distraction
that ultimately leads away from
the truth of the matter

Question 13

ad

ignorantiam

Answer 13

Sneakily changes a definition or sense

of a key word during a discussion

Question 14

irrelevant
goals or
functions

Answer 14

When an entire sentence or passage

can be taken in two or more ways

Question 15

irrelevant

thesis

Answer 15

Uses a synonym or restatement
to exempt itself from
an opponent’s charge

Question 16

straw man

Answer 16

Denies a conclusion

solely based on personal belief

Question 17

red herring

Answer 17

Accepts or rejects an idea

solely based on its age

Question 18

equivocation

Answer 18

Argues for a proposition by pointing to

absence of evidence to the contrary

Question 19

amphiboly

Answer 19

Irrelevantly critiques an idea
for failing to do something
it never was intended to do

Question 20

distinction
without a
difference

Answer 20

Addresses a tangentially related
(and perhaps valid) point
that is not the point under discussion

Question 21

composition

Answer 21

Leaves out or disguises
the facts that do not fit with
the presupposed conclusion

Question 22

division

Answer 22

Attempts to persuade
solely or primarily on the basis of
a limited time frame

Question 23

accent

Answer 23

Eliminates an exception to a presupposed
generalization by dismissing the
exception without justification

Question 24

repetition

Answer 24

Assumes what needs to be proven

Question 25

loaded

question

Answer 25

Assumes causation

based on temporal precedence alone

Question 26

selective

arrangement

Answer 26

Assumes something true of the parts

must be true of the whole

Question 27

exigency

Answer 27

Assumes something true of the whole

must be true of the parts

Question 28

no true

scotsman

Answer 28

Sneakily changes the sense
of a sentence by means of
where the emphasis is placed

Question 29

petitio

principii

Answer 29

Uses repetition to bypass a discussion

of the truth or falsity of a proposition

Question 30

post hoc ergo

propter hoc

Answer 30

Veils unproven (presupposed) assertions
under seemingly innocent questions

Question 31

post hoc ergo
propter hoc
in statistics

Answer 31

Makes claims about
how something ought to be
based on its existence
or on its pleasantness

Question 32

affirming the

consequent

Answer 32

Asserts but does not demonstrate a
connection between a proposed idea and
a resulting series of bad consequences
OR baldly denies that some clearly
treacherous and dangerous step will lead
to any negative consequences at all

Question 33

denying the

antecedent

Answer 33

Ignoring differences,
compares one situation to another
to draw the desired conclusion

Question 34

bifurcation

Answer 34

Draws a broad conclusion

based on a too-small sample size

Question 35

fallacy of

compromise

Answer 35

Applies a general rule absolutely,

regardless of reasonable exceptions

Question 36

naturalistic

fallacy

Answer 36

Assumes causation based on

correlation alone

Question 37

slippery slope

Answer 37

Has the general structure

“If P, then Q. Q. Therefore, P.”

Question 38

false

analogy

Answer 38

Has the general structure

“If P, then Q. Not P. Therefore, not Q.”

Question 39

hasty

generalization

Answer 39

Illegitimately limits choices

Question 40

sweeping

generalization

Answer 40

Assumes truth is always to be found
perfectly in between
two opposing positions

Question 41

cool-shame

Answer 41

Sidetracks reasonable argument
with a multitude of discussions
about detailed, insignificant facts
that are not at the root of the issue

Question 42

milquetoastery

Answer 42

Denies any relationship between

the truth of facts and the truth of values

Question 43

polling

fallacy

Answer 43

Uses a hypothetical hostile audience’s
sensitivities to curtail further discussion
of a position or argument

Question 44

hooked on

a feeeling

Answer 44

Suddenly disregards relevant evidence
presented in response to a specific claim
under the pretense of demanding other,
greater evidence

Question 45

ad imperium

Answer 45

Contradicts or rejects absolute truth

absolutely

Question 46

hyperlogicism

Answer 46

Superciliously excludes people
who do not confess to a cultural elite’s
previously held ideals and
flatteringly includes them if they do

Question 47

two-story

fallacy

Answer 47

Although perhaps personally convinced,
refuses to take a stand on
an unpopular position solely because of
the risk of consequences

Question 48

sensitivity

shamming

Answer 48

Considers polling results
to be the unimpeachable last word
in a discussion

Question 49

moving the

goalposts

Answer 49

Refuses to believe an opponent’s
argument solely because of a negative
feeling about that argument

Question 50

pomo

relativism

Answer 50

Avoids personal obligation by

appealing to government