Fallacies (Faulty Reasoning) Flashcards
Fallacies w/ Irrelevant Premises
- Genetic Fallacy
- Appeal to the Person ( & tu quoque)
- Composition
- Division
- Equivocation
- Appeal to Popularity ( & appeal to common practice)
- Appeal to tradition
- Appeal to ignorance
- Burden of proof
- Appeal to emotion
- Red herring
- Straw Man
Genetic Fallacy
Arguing that a claim is true or false solely because of its origin
Appeal to the Person
Aka “Ad hominem” (to the man) - special case of the genetic fallacy (but in appeal to person it ATTACKS the person and usually IGNORES the argument)
Rejecting a claim by criticizing the person who makes it rather than the claim itself
tu quoque
Type of Ad hominem fallacy - when arguments are put forward as charges of HYPOCRISY.
Composition
Arguing what is true of the parts must be true of the whole
- Also when we assume that whats true of a member of a group is true of the entire group.
- Also shows up in statistical arguments
Division
(Opposite of composition)
Arguing that what is true of the whole is true to its parts.
- What is true of the group is true of the individuals
Equivocation
Use of a word in two different senses in an argument
Appeal to Popularity
aka “appeal to the masses”
Arguing that a claim must be true merely because a substantial number of people BELIEVE it.
Appeal to Common Practice
A type of “Appeal to popularity”
When the argument is about what people DO (vs. what they believe)
Appeal to tradition
Arguing a claim must be true just because of tradition
Appeal to Ignorance
Arguing that a lack of evidence proves something
Burden of proof
Related to “appeal to ignorance”
The weight of evidence or argument required by one side of a debate or disagreement.
Appeal to emotion
The use of emotions as premises in an argument (appealing to guilt, anger, pity, fear etc.) - form of rhetoric
Red herring
Deliberately raising an irrelevant issues during an argument
Straw Man
*Related to the red herring fallacy
Distorting, weakening, or oversimplifying of someones position so it can be more easily attacked/refuted.
Fallacies with unacceptable premises
- Begging the question
- False Dilemma
- Slippery slope
- Hasty generalization
- Faulty Analogy
Begging the question
aka “arguing in a circle”
Attempting to establish the conclusion of an argument by using that conclusion as a premise
False dilemma
Consists of either:
1. Asserting that there are only 2 alternatives to consider (when there are more than 2)
OR
2. Asserting that there are two distinct alternatives that may not be mutually exclusive
Slippery Slope
To argue without good reasons and that taking a particular step will inevitably lead to a further undesirable step.
Hasty generalization
When we draw a conclusion about a whole group based on an inadequate sample of the group
Faulty Analogy
Faulty comparison of two or more things that are alike in a specific respects (but really aren’t)
post hoc fallacy
A occurred, then B occurred.
Therefore, A caused B.
