Fallacies Flashcards
Ad Hominem Fallacy
criticizes another person’s view on the basis of personal characteristics, background, physical appearance, or other features irrelevant to the argument at issue.
“Why believe him. Hes a Twat”
Straw Man
In the straw man fallacy, someone attacks a position the opponent doesn’t really hold.
Guys are cool.
“So youre Saying” So youre saying your a homosexual?
Appeal to Ignorance
ignorance isn’t proof of anything except that one doesn’t know something.
“I believe in God. So far, no one has been able to prove His nonexistence.”
False Dilemma/False Dichotomy
“either-or fallacy,” Dilemma-based arguments are only fallacious when, in fact, there are more than the stated options
“Good students will learn without the threat of an exam, and bad students won’t learn even with the threat of an exam. Therefore, exams are useless.”
“No Middle Ground”
Slippery Slope
“asserting that a relatively small first step inevitably leads to a chain of related events culminating in some significant impact/event that should not happen, thus the first step should not happen
“But, you have to let me go to the party! If I don’t go to the party, I’ll be a loser with no friends. Next thing you know I’ll end up alone and jobless living in your basement when I’m 30!””
Circular Argument
When a person’s argument is just repeating what they already assumed beforehand, it’s not arriving at any new conclusion.
“If someone says, “the Bible is true because the Bible says it’s true”—that’s a circular argument.”
Tu Quoque Fallacy
The tu quoque fallacy is an attempt to divert blame, but it really only distracts from the initial problem.
“Alice: You’re eating without having washed your hands first. You’re increasing your chances of getting sick. Bob: You’re doing it too, so you’re not speaking the truth.”
Appeal to Authority
” Einstein was a pacifist. So pacifism is a good political idea. “→ Appeal to authority
Equivocation (ambiguity)
Equivocation happens when a word, phrase, or sentence is used deliberately to confuse, deceive, or mislead by sounding like it’s saying one thing but actually saying something else.
“In a free country I have the right to watch whatever movie I want, whenever I want. So it is wrong for the guy at the door to prevent me from entering the movie theatre because I don’t have a ticket. He’s trampling on my rights. “
Appeal to Pity
“The prof should have given her an A. After all, she had to spend all her time attending to her mother who is in the hospital. → Appeal to pity”
Fallacy of Composition
assuming that something true of part of a whole must also be true of the whole
“This restaurant makes the dishes using only the best ingredients. Therefore, this restaurant serves some of the best dishes. “
Fallacy of Division
assuming that something true of a whole must also be true of all or some of its parts
“This is a very thick book. Its pages must be thicker than normal. → Fallacy of division”
Post Hoc
X happened, then Y happened; therefore X caused Y.
“I saw a guy with a black hat getting inside the store, and then the store alarm went off. He must have been a thief. → Post hoc,”
Appeal to Force
an argument made through coercion or threats of force to support position.
“If you don’t agree, we’ll get physical here. “
Appeal to Popularity
appeal to widespread belief, bandwagon argument, appeal to the majority, appeal to the people) – a proposition is claimed to be true or good solely because a majority or many people believe it to be so
” Everyone buys this product. So it must be good”. → Appeal to popularity
