Fallacies - Critical Thinking Flashcards
Red Herring
an irrelevant issue is introduced to distract from the main topic. The focus of the discussion shifts away from original issue
example: a student asking for a higher grade to keep a scholarship instead of focusing on the essays quality
Guilt by association
rejects a claim because it is associated with someone viewed unfavorably. it attempts to create a negative emotional connection to the view in question
example: dismissing a belief in outlawing firearms by associating it with hitler
straw person
involves misrepresenting an opponents view and then attacking that distorted version. it attributes a view to the proponent that they do not hold
example: claiming a senator wants to leave the country defenseless because they oppose enhanced military spending
irrelevant standard
criticizes a policy or program for not achieving goals it was never intended to achieve. it attempts to undermine a policy by judging it against an impossible or irrelevant goal
example: claiming socialism will never work because humans are inherently greedy
two wrongs
attempts to justify a wrong action by claiming it was done in response to another wrong, or that others have also done it. it tries to justify an action by focusing on the wrongdoing of others
example: justifying speeding because everyone else was speeding
Ad Hominem (personal attack)
this fallacy rejects an argument based on the negative remarks about the person making the argument, rather than the argument itself. It discredits an argument by the proponents background or behavior
example: dismissing Jimi Hendrix’s music because he died of a drug overdose
different types of Ad Hominem
Guilt by association: occurs when someone argues for rejecting the claim because that claim is held by people whoa re viewed unfavorably. It attempts to transfer moral blame from one person to another based on some shared belief
example: “how can you believe that firearms should be outlawed? that is what hitler did”
